Is a liberal arts and general studies degree from Windward Community College worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 44% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 38%. Compare the cost with other Hawaii programs before deciding.

Windward Community College Liberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Windward Community College liberal arts and general studies graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $12,000, which ranks 5th lowest of 6 liberal arts and general studies associate's programs in Hawaii. That works out to about $127 a month over 10 years.

Q: Do Windward Community College liberal arts and general studies graduates stay in Hawaii?

Most do. 88% (52 of 59) were working in Hawaii one year after graduating.

Associate's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
Public college
Kaneohe, HI
About 202 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Windward Community College liberal arts and general studies graduates earn about what liberal arts and general studies graduates earn nationally, $27,200 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $12,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $10,864. Two other Hawaii programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$27,20051st percentile of 728 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$37,87639% more than year one

Median federal debt$12,0005th lowest of 6 Hawaii programs

Debt-to-earnings44%Hawaii median 40%, national 38%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Hawaii and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies associate's programs that report the figure.

	Windward Community College	Hawaii	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$27,200	$26,206	$27,139
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$37,876	$37,813	$40,284
Median federal debt at graduation	$12,000	$9,387	$10,864
Debt as share of first-year pay	44%	40%	38%
Programs compared		6	728

Five years out, Windward Community College graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Hawaii median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Hawaii liberal arts and general studies program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Hawaii medians.

Windward Community CollegeOther Hawaii programs

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 39% between the first and fifth year.

Windward Community College grads, year 1$27,200

Windward Community College grads, year 5$37,876

All Hawaii liberal arts and general studies grads, year 5$37,813

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 $127 a month, or 5.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (53 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20% or less
Paying down the balance	20% or less
Paused payments (forbearance)	20–39%
In default	20% or less

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

88% of graduates (52 of 59) were working in Hawaii one year after graduating. Prices in the Honolulu area are about 11% above the national average, so a $27,200 salary here buys what about $24,513 buys in a typical US city.

About Windward Community College

In-state tuition and fees	$3,194 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$8,330 / year
Average net price after aid	$8,169 / year
Graduation rate (within 1.5 times the normal program length)	31%
Undergraduate students	1,159

Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 2nd of 2 associate's programs at Windward Community College by first-year earnings. The other is Veterinary Technology ($38,109).

Other liberal arts and general studies associate's programs near Kaneohe

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Windward Community CollegeKaneohe, HI · public		$27,200	$12,000
Kapiolani Community CollegeHonolulu, HI · public	9 mi	$33,307	$10,500
Leeward Community CollegePearl City, HI · public	11 mi	$21,784	$9,387

Common questions

The median graduate earns $27,200 one year after graduating and $37,876 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies associate's programs in Hawaii is $26,206.

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 Hawaii 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

Liberal Arts and General Studies associate's programs in Hawaii, ranked6 programs by pay and debt Liberal Arts and General Studies associate's programs in the US, ranked728 programs by pay and debt All Windward Community College programs, ranked2 programs by pay and debt