New federal law holds colleges accountable if their grads earn less than $36,000 a year

WITH JUST A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA IN HAND, and no additional training or education, the average Californian is currently expected to earn about $18 an hour, or $36,000 a year — just above the state’s minimum wage.

Effective this month, all colleges, universities and short-term certificate programs in the U.S. must prove that their graduates earn at least the median wage of someone in their state with only a high school diploma. Otherwise, their students will soon become ineligible for federal loans.