Many a college student likely has experienced this scenario: They read an online article about the average salaries for people with certain degrees. They go down the list looking for their chosen degree. And then they go down the list some more. And then, even farther down the list.

Here’s hoping they are a freshman and not a senior when they get around to that bit of reading.

Soon, perhaps, all students at Kansas colleges and universities will have seen that list before they ever enroll. The Kansas Board of Regents has taken a valuable step in giving students and their parents information about the cost and benefits of a college degree.

The Board of Regents has launched a new and improved version of KSDegreeStats.org. The website has information on essentially every undergraduate degree program for every public university or community college in the state.

Users pick the degrees they are interested in, pick the college or universities they are interested in, and the site then provides a breakdown on how much it costs per year to pursue that particular degree at that particular school. The costs are broken down by tuition, fees, room and board, and books and supplies.

Importantly, the site also provides average wage information for area residents who have recently graduated with that particular degree. The program uses wage data from both Kansas and Missouri to give students an idea of what to expect if they stay within the region. The website also will calculate how much students may have to take out in student debt to pay for the degree and how large of a monthly payment they’ll face to pay off the debt.

Credit the Kansas Legislature with urging the creation of the website. Credit the Kansas Board of Regents with following through on the idea. The board has worked hard to gather useful information pertinent to particular schools, rather than simply broad national averages that can have little meaning in Kansas and the Midwest. Hopefully the Board of Regents will work to refine the data and add to it in future years.

With that said, though, earning potential and degree costs should never be the sole factor in students deciding their futures. Following their interests, their talents and considering how they can make the biggest difference in the world are all important considerations.

However, funding a college degree is likely one of the larger investments that students — or their parents — will ever make. Having access to comprehensive data from a trusted source should be a part of their decision-making process. For that reason, the most important step the Board of Regents can take is to make the website known far and wide. High school counselors should use the site often with their students, and universities should incorporate the website into the information they provide students.

Graduating seniors already face plenty of surprises about life after graduation. Learning that their degree isn’t worth as much as they expected shouldn’t be one of them.