Kettering University students enter the workforce with the highest starting salaries of any graduates in Michigan, according to a new ranking by Smart Asset, a financial technology company based in New York City. 

“Kettering University’s value is driven by our personalized and hands-on approach to learning in the classroom and on the job through our unique cooperative experience model,” said Kip Darcy, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing. “In addition, their connections to our accomplished alumni coupled with valuable real-world experience while they are students with some of the most respected organizations and industries in the world, ensure they are in high demand the moment they graduate.”

As part of its annual Best Value College Index rating, Kettering also was named No. 3 overall based on five factors: Tuition, student living costs, scholarship and grant offerings, student retention rate and starting salary for new graduates.

Information used for the study was compiled from the 2019 National Center for Educational Statistics, 2020 Payscale, The Institute for College Access & Success, College InSight and Peterson’s Undergraduate Financial Aid and Undergraduate Database. 

As part of the analysis, starting salary, tuition and living costs received a 25 percent weight, while scholarships and grants and retention rates were weighted at 12.5 percent to create the Best Value College Index. Schools were ranked based on their index scores, with the No. 1 school receiving a score of 100 and each additional school’s index value representing how closely they compared.

Kettering’s College Educational Value Index was 58.76. It’s ranked No. 67 nationally.