-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Columbus State University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (3.7% → 0.0%).
Georgia · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Columbus State University
Columbus, Georgia. 5,537 undergraduate students. 87 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Columbus State University
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.
+19%
100%-time completion
100%-time completion at Columbus State University rose 19% between 2021 and 2024 (19.4% → 23.2%).
+14%
First-year retention
First-year retention at Columbus State University rose 14% between 2021 and 2024 (61.0% → 69.7%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Georgia
Each tile compares this institution to the Georgia median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$44,544+14% · 6→10y
Georgia median $38,208$39,190
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry41.7%+46% · '97→'09
Georgia median 41.6%$15,000+557% · '97→'20
At program completion5,537+19% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS72.7%-2% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time99.2%+55% · '01→'24
latest cohort$5,751+160% · '00→'24
out-of-state $16,805SECTION 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
4.5%Median federal debt $15,000 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $44,544 (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.
+46%
Columbus State University · completion · 150% rose
22.8% → 33.4%
+270%
Columbus State University · completion · 100% rose
6.3% → 23.2%
+160%
Columbus State University · in-state tuition rose
$2,270 → $5,898
+123%
Columbus State University · out-of-state tuition rose
$7,898 → $17,610
+557%
Columbus State University · median debt rose
$3,958 → $26,000
-100%
Columbus State University · cohort default rate fell
8.7% → 0.0%
+45%
Columbus State University · pell share rose
30.8% → 44.6%
+20%
Columbus State University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$37,100 → $44,544
+21%
Columbus State University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$32,500 → $39,190
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.
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other.$99,441Computer and Information Sciences, General.$93,070Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$82,023Criminal Justice and Corrections.$79,972Educational Administration and Supervision.$79,116Educational Administration and Supervision.$78,235Business Administration, Management and Operations.$75,699Special Education and Teaching.$62,060Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$60,142Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$59,322Student Counseling and Personnel Services.$58,393Finance and Financial Management Services.$58,109Marketing.$55,417Criminal Justice and Corrections.$55,292Business/Commerce, General.$54,271Accounting and Related Services.$53,104Social Sciences, Other.$51,801Business Administration, Management and Operations.$51,469Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$48,884History.$47,914Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$43,723Sociology.$43,568Criminal Justice and Corrections.$43,126English Language and Literature, General.$42,702
Showing top 24 of 30 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
30 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
EDUCATION · CIP 13
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$60,142Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$43,723Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$48,884Special Education and Teaching.$62,060Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$59,322Student Counseling and Personnel Services.$58,393Educational Administration and Supervision.$78,235Educational Administration and Supervision.$79,116
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
Business Administration, Management and Operations.$51,469Business/Commerce, General.$54,271Business Administration, Management and Operations.$75,699Marketing.$55,417Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other.$99,441Accounting and Related Services.$53,104Finance and Financial Management Services.$58,109
HISTORY · CIP 54
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Columbus State University
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$803,654
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 6
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $13,287
- HS-only baseline · GA
- $35,800
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 51
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in Georgia
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Columbus State University graduates earn $X” — not “Columbus State University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Columbus State University 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.