-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Northern Kentucky University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.2% → 0.0%).
Kentucky · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Northern Kentucky University
Highland Heights, Kentucky. 8,065 undergraduate students. 120 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Northern Kentucky 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 Northern Kentucky University rose 19% between 2021 and 2024 (30.6% → 36.4%).
+12%
Public bachelor's-predominant peer
10-year earnings at Northern Kentucky University are 12% above the public bachelor's-predominant peer median ($50.2k vs $44.7k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Kentucky
Each tile compares this institution to the Kentucky median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$50,220+19% · 6→10y
Kentucky median $37,114$42,105
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry48.3%+114% · '97→'24
Kentucky median 49.7%$15,159+484% · '97→'20
At program completion8,065-16% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS77.8%+18% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time96.0%-10% · '05→'24
latest cohort$10,896+303% · '00→'24
out-of-state $21,480SECTION 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
4.0%Median federal debt $15,159 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $50,220 (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.
+114%
Northern Kentucky University · completion · 150% rose
24.4% → 52.2%
+783%
Northern Kentucky University · completion · 100% rose
4.1% → 36.4%
+18%
Northern Kentucky University · retention rose
64.0% → 75.5%
+303%
Northern Kentucky University · in-state tuition rose
$2,754 → $11,088
+213%
Northern Kentucky University · out-of-state tuition rose
$7,002 → $21,912
+484%
Northern Kentucky University · median debt rose
$3,938 → $23,000
-100%
Northern Kentucky University · cohort default rate fell
10.9% → 0.0%
+33%
Northern Kentucky University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$37,700 → $50,220
+33%
Northern Kentucky University · earnings_median_8yr rose
$35,300 → $46,837
+30%
Northern Kentucky University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$32,400 → $42,105
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/Commerce, General.$114,221Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$106,573Human Resources Management and Services.$97,238Construction Management.$89,765Management Information Systems and Services.$88,946Computer and Information Sciences, General.$86,745Accounting and Related Services.$85,876Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians.$84,729Law.$83,680Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General.$74,867Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology.$72,569Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$70,920Accounting and Related Services.$69,638Finance and Financial Management Services.$69,586Mathematics.$68,890Information Science/Studies.$65,863Business/Commerce, General.$65,218Business Administration, Management and Operations.$63,791Human Resources Management and Services.$63,578Chemistry.$63,085Marketing.$61,687Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$60,471Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$56,835Biology, General.$56,236
Showing top 24 of 47 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
47 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
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
LEGAL PROFESSIONS · CIP 22
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS · CIP 27
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$106,573Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$70,920Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General.$74,867Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$55,224Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$53,762Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$40,779Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$60,471
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
Business Administration, Management and Operations.$63,791Business/Commerce, General.$114,221Human Resources Management and Services.$63,578Construction Management.$89,765Management Information Systems and Services.$88,946Human Resources Management and Services.$97,238Accounting and Related Services.$85,876Business/Commerce, General.$65,218Accounting and Related Services.$69,638Finance and Financial Management Services.$69,586Marketing.$61,687
HISTORY · CIP 54
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Northern Kentucky 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
$1,124,628
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 7
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $6,638
- HS-only baseline · KY
- $33,900
- Years to complete
- 6
- 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 Kentucky
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Northern Kentucky University graduates earn $X” — not “Northern Kentucky University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Northern Kentucky 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.