-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at University of Northern Iowa fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.1% → 0.0%).
Iowa · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa. 7,599 undergraduate students. 115 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at University of Northern Iowa
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.
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
University of Northern Iowa earnings, debt, and completion vs. the Iowa median
Each tile compares this institution to the Iowa median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$55,177+17% · 6→10y
Iowa median $42,849$47,222
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry68.9%+12% · '97→'24
Iowa median 58.4%$16,486+172% · '97→'20
At program completion7,599-36% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS84.6%+1% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time94.4%+15% · '01→'24
latest cohort$9,728+217% · '00→'24
out-of-state $21,272SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How University of Northern Iowa 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 University of Northern Iowa
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
4.0%Median federal debt $16,486 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $55,177 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
University of Northern Iowa 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.
+96%
University of Northern Iowa · completion · 100% rose
24.1% → 47.4%
-36%
University of Northern Iowa · undergrad enrollment fell
11,702 → 7,529
+217%
University of Northern Iowa · in-state tuition rose
$3,130 → $9,936
+168%
University of Northern Iowa · out-of-state tuition rose
$8,094 → $21,712
+172%
University of Northern Iowa · median debt rose
$7,250 → $19,691
-100%
University of Northern Iowa · cohort default rate fell
4.2% → 0.0%
+29%
University of Northern Iowa · earnings_median_10yr rose
$42,900 → $55,177
+26%
University of Northern Iowa · earnings_median_8yr rose
$40,200 → $50,478
+28%
University of Northern Iowa · earnings_median_6yr rose
$36,900 → $47,222
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
University of Northern Iowa 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.
Computer Science$97,609Business Administration, Management and Operations$90,312Management Information Systems and Services$89,797Accounting and Related Services$89,173Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians$84,528Construction Management$83,917Educational Administration and Supervision$83,785Accounting and Related Services$81,462Economics$76,060Finance and Financial Management Services$71,845Business Administration, Management and Operations$70,623Real Estate$69,867Mathematics$68,157Marketing$67,282Library Science and Administration$64,311Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology$62,739Communication Disorders Sciences and Services$61,505Communication Disorders Sciences and Services$61,422Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods$60,774Biology, General$59,773Apparel and Textiles$58,815Social Work$57,726Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication$57,636Public Administration$55,244
Showing top 24 of 50 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
50 University of Northern Iowa 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.
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 10
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
EDUCATION · CIP 13
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods$46,217Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas$47,443Educational Administration and Supervision$83,785Student Counseling and Personnel Services$53,462Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods$60,774
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
FOREIGN LANGUAGES · CIP 16
FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES · CIP 19
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
LIBRARY SCIENCE · CIP 25
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS · CIP 27
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
Finance and Financial Management Services$71,845Business Administration, Management and Operations$70,623Accounting and Related Services$81,462Marketing$67,282Business Administration, Management and Operations$90,312Real Estate$69,867Construction Management$83,917Management Information Systems and Services$89,797Accounting and Related Services$89,173
HISTORY · CIP 54
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at University of Northern Iowa
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
$64,193
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 21
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $13,872
- HS-only baseline · IA
- $36,800
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 13
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 University of Northern Iowa in Iowa
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“University of Northern Iowa graduates earn $X” — not “University of Northern Iowa makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending University of Northern Iowa 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.