+10%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at Southern Union State Community College rose 10% between 2017 and 2020 ($10.0k → $11.0k).
Alabama · Public · Predominantly certificates
Southern Union State Community College
Wadley, Alabama. 3,888 undergraduate students. 39 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Southern Union State Community College
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Southern Union State Community College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (4.3% → 0.0%).
+18%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Southern Union State Community College rose 18% between 2021 and 2024 (3.5k → 4.2k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Alabama
Each tile compares this institution to the Alabama median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$36,597+11% · 6→10y
Alabama median $39,017$32,844
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry27.0%+5% · '97→'09
Alabama median 43.4%$6,250+738% · '00→'20
At program completion3,888-0% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS67.5%+20% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$4,980+180% · '00→'24
out-of-state $8,790SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
2.3%Median federal debt $6,250 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $36,597 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+20%
Southern Union State Community College · retention rose
56.0% → 67.2%
+180%
Southern Union State Community College · in-state tuition rose
$1,800 → $5,040
+165%
Southern Union State Community College · out-of-state tuition rose
$3,360 → $8,910
+738%
Southern Union State Community College · median debt rose
$1,313 → $11,000
-100%
Southern Union State Community College · cohort default rate fell
20.0% → 0.0%
+26%
Southern Union State Community College · earnings_median_10yr rose
$29,100 → $36,597
+25%
Southern Union State Community College · earnings_median_8yr rose
$27,900 → $34,846
+33%
Southern Union State Community College · earnings_median_6yr rose
$24,700 → $32,844
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$67,692Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants.$60,505Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$46,877Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$36,998Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services.$25,047
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
5 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
PERSONAL & CULINARY SERVICES · CIP 12
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in Alabama
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Southern Union State Community College graduates earn $X” — not “Southern Union State Community College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Southern Union State Community College caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.