-11%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Purdue University Northwest fell 11% between 2021 and 2024 (6.4k → 5.7k).
Indiana · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Purdue University Northwest
Hammond, Indiana. 5,786 undergraduate students. 98 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at Purdue University Northwest
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 Purdue University Northwest fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.2% → 0.0%).
+24%
100%-time completion
100%-time completion at Purdue University Northwest rose 24% between 2021 and 2024 (20.7% → 25.7%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
Purdue University Northwest earnings, debt, and completion vs. the Indiana median
Each tile compares this institution to the Indiana median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$48,318-0% · 6→10y
Indiana median $46,945$48,439
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry44.0%+25% · '17→'24
Indiana median 60.7%$13,031+1% · '17→'20
At program completion5,786-35% · '17→'24
latest IPEDS67.7%-4% · '17→'24
first-time, full-time70.6%+109% · '17→'24
latest cohort$8,419+14% · '17→'24
out-of-state $15,620SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How Purdue University Northwest 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 at Purdue University Northwest
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
3.6%Median federal debt $13,031 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $48,318 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Purdue University Northwest enrollment, completion, and debt over time
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.
+25%
Purdue University Northwest · completion · 150% rose
34.4% → 42.9%
+107%
Purdue University Northwest · completion · 100% rose
12.4% → 25.7%
-35%
Purdue University Northwest · undergrad enrollment fell
8,665 → 5,671
-100%
Purdue University Northwest · cohort default rate fell
8.8% → 0.0%
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Purdue University Northwest 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 Administration, Management and Operations$122,242Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering$90,673Mechanical Engineering$89,239Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$84,328Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians$83,780Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians$71,650Accounting and Related Services$68,859Business Administration, Management and Operations$61,921Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other$61,566Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services, Other$55,444History$53,040Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods$47,485Biology, General$46,164Hospitality Administration/Management$45,525Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities$45,332Communication and Media Studies$45,137Psychology, General$44,737English Language and Literature, General$44,324Sociology$40,654Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services$37,197
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
20 Purdue University Northwest programs with earnings, grouped by field
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
ENGINEERING · CIP 14
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES · CIP 19
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
HISTORY · CIP 54
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Purdue University Northwest
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
$846,695
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 5
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $10,143
- HS-only baseline · IN
- $36,400
- 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
Institutions similar to Purdue University Northwest in Indiana
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Purdue University Northwest graduates earn $X” — not “Purdue University Northwest makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Purdue University Northwest 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.