If colleges are going to boast about how much a degree is worth to graduates, then they shouldn’t be irritated when someone takes them at their word and examines the actual data.

And then publishes the findings for all to see.

That’s what Launch My Career Colorado has done, and the result is a valuable contribution to transparency in higher education. The project, endorsed by the state of Colorado and funded by the non-profit USA Funds, gives people deciding what to study in college — or whether to go at all — crucial insight on how much they might expect to earn based on the school, major and profession they choose. And it also charts likely earnings over 20 years.

The estimates aren’t pulled from thin air. They’re based on income data collected by schools and state agencies.

No one should be discouraged pursuing from a major whose likely monetary payoff is modest, but those who do should understand the reality from the outset. And yet for obvious reasons, higher education officials are not always eager to promote such data.

The Denver Post’s Elizabeth Hernandez reports that colleges and universities aren’t exactly singing the new website’s praises, either. “The University of Denver had such strong concerns about the listed data pertaining to their school that they didn’t want to comment before addressing what they felt were misconceptions,” she wrote.

Meanwhile, University of Colorado spokesman Ken McConnellogue cautioned the earnings data did not include graduates who took jobs out of state. He also pointed out that “the value of a college education can’t be measured by a simple [return on investment]. Part of the reason people go to college is to become well-rounded individuals.”

McConnellogue is clearly correct. For that matter, well-rounded, highly literate graduates in any major can be very successful financially even if that was never their goal. But let’s be honest about why many people go to college: because they’ve had it hammered into them throughout their K-12 years that a college degree is indispensable to success, including financial security. Don’t they deserve to know that while some majors will set them up for likely earnings of a million dollars more than a high school graduate over 20 years, others won’t come close to that figure?

Some will return less than $100,000 more than high school graduates over that span even before subtracting the investment on tuition and fees.

“There are many degrees that don’t have a return on investment, and you should know before you go,” said Mark Schneider, president of College Measures, which is involved in the Launch My Career project.

It’s not as if colleges and universities ignore earnings when touting their virtues. Indeed, CU-Boulder has listed the median career salary for its entire set of graduates with bachelor’s degrees as part of its “guarantee.”

That’s the overview. What Launch My Career provides are the widely varying stories that go into the median. Such information is clearly in the interest of Colorado’s students.

To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by e-mail or mail.