Illinois Valley Community College Liberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
- Public college
- Oglesby, IL
- About 100 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Illinois Valley Community College liberal arts and general studies graduates earn less than graduates of most liberal arts and general studies programs nationally, $22,700 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $6,800 in federal loans, less than at 88% of liberal arts and general studies programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Illinois median of $27,529.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Illinois and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Illinois Valley Community College graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the Illinois median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois liberal arts and general studies program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Illinois medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 77% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $72 a month, or 3.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
100% of graduates (31 of 31) were working in Illinois one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Illinois outside metro areas are about 13% below the national average, so a $22,700 salary here buys what about $25,967 buys in a typical US city.
About Illinois Valley Community College
Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 2nd of 3 associate's programs at Illinois Valley Community College by first-year earnings. The others are Nursing ($62,734) and Biological and Physical Sciences ($18,345).
Other liberal arts and general studies associate's programs near Oglesby
Common questions
The median graduate earns $22,700 one year after graduating and $40,290 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies associate's programs in Illinois is $27,529.
The median federal loan balance is $6,800, which ranks 9th lowest of 40 liberal arts and general studies associate's programs in Illinois. That works out to about $72 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 30% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 38%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Illinois programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 100% (31 of 31) were working in Illinois one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Illinois comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the liberal arts and general studies program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024