Bowling Green, Kentucky. 12,267 undergraduate students. 215 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
UNITID 157951 · OPEID 002002 · IPEDS HDVINTAGE · COLLEGE SCORECARD · 2025-05 · HISTORY 1996–2024
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Western 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.
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Western Kentucky University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.1% → 0.0%).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER+10%
100%-time completion
100%-time completion at Western Kentucky University rose 10% between 2021 and 2024 (40.1% → 44.2%).
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.
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$43,889+15% · 6→10y
Kentucky median $37,114
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$38,156
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
53.7%+55% · '97→'24
Kentucky median 49.7%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$14,702+531% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
12,267+0% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
78.0%+9% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
97.0%+7% · '01→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$11,436+360% · '00→'24
out-of-state $27,000
SECTION 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).
ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
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%
0%8% · GE20%+
Median federal debt $14,702 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $43,889 (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.
UNDERGRAD · 1996–202412,155
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1997–202455.6%
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997–2020$22,095
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
COMPLETION · 150% · 1997→2024+55%
Western Kentucky University · completion · 150% rose
35.9% → 55.6%
COMPLETION · 100% · 1997→2024+226%
Western Kentucky University · completion · 100% rose
13.6% → 44.2%
IN-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+360%
Western Kentucky University · in-state tuition rose
$2,534 → $11,652
OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+295%
Western Kentucky University · out-of-state tuition rose
$6,834 → $27,000
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997→2020+531%
Western Kentucky University · median debt rose
$3,500 → $22,095
COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 2011→2024-100%
Western Kentucky University · cohort default rate fell
12.1% → 0.0%
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_10YR · 2007→2020+22%
Western Kentucky University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$36,000 → $43,889
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_8YR · 2005→2020+23%
Western Kentucky University · earnings_median_8yr rose
$33,200 → $40,920
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_6YR · 2003→2020+28%
Western Kentucky University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$29,900 → $38,156
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.
Estimate the financial outcome at Western 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
$374,528
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 11
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
Cost per year
$17,417
HS-only baseline · KY
$33,900
Years to complete
4
CIP family
52
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.
“Western Kentucky University graduates earn $X” — not “Western Kentucky University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Western 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.