by Jenn Donovan

Michigan Tech’s annual return on investment (ROI) — the payback in earnings compared to the cost of education — is the highest in Michigan and 24th in the nation, according to a report released by Payscale.com yesterday.

The report ranked Michigan Tech’s annual ROI percentage at 10.1 percent, tied with Purdue University, California State University Maritime, San Jose State University and Weber State University.

Michigan Tech’s 20-year net ROI was $625,000, tied with Cornell University. Payscale defines 20-year net ROI as the difference between the median pay of a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree 20 years into a career, compared to the median pay of a high school graduate 24 years into a job, minus the cost of the college education. The Payscale report ranked Michigan Tech 46th in the nation in 20-year net ROI.

More than 1,800 colleges and universities were analyzed in Payscale’s latest ROI report.

“Being number one in the state and in the top 50 nationally is significant, especially since Michigan universities have tuition that tends to be higher than the national average,” said President Glenn Mroz. “It’s higher because more than $1 billion in inflation-adjusted funding has been cut from the state’s higher education since 2003,” he explained.

Payscale.com is a data-based website that analyzes and reports on a variety of issues related to salaries and the cost of education.