-27%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Northwestern State University of Louisiana fell 27% between 2021 and 2024 (7.5k → 5.5k).
Louisiana · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Natchitoches, Louisiana. 5,840 undergraduate students. 73 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Northwestern State University of Louisiana
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 Northwestern State University of Louisiana fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (3.8% → 0.0%).
-24%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment fell 24% at Northwestern State University of Louisiana vs the 2018–2022 baseline (5.8k vs 7.7k).
+11%
First-year retention
First-year retention at Northwestern State University of Louisiana rose 11% between 2021 and 2024 (63.8% → 70.9%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Louisiana
Each tile compares this institution to the Louisiana median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$47,021+19% · 6→10y
Louisiana median $33,099$39,485
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry44.6%+65% · '97→'24
Louisiana median 52.0%$15,000+173% · '97→'20
At program completion5,840-32% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS70.4%+4% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time93.7%-7% · '01→'24
latest cohort$8,864+239% · '01→'24
out-of-state $19,652SECTION 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
4.2%Median federal debt $15,000 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $47,021 (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.
+65%
Northwestern State University of Louisiana · completion · 150% rose
26.2% → 43.2%
+179%
Northwestern State University of Louisiana · completion · 100% rose
10.6% → 29.6%
-32%
Northwestern State University of Louisiana · undergrad enrollment fell
8,152 → 5,519
+239%
Northwestern State University of Louisiana · in-state tuition rose
$2,613 → $8,864
+137%
Northwestern State University of Louisiana · out-of-state tuition rose
$8,283 → $19,652
+173%
Northwestern State University of Louisiana · median debt rose
$9,159 → $25,000
-100%
Northwestern State University of Louisiana · cohort default rate fell
14.0% → 0.0%
+36%
Northwestern State University of Louisiana · earnings_median_10yr rose
$34,600 → $47,021
+44%
Northwestern State University of Louisiana · earnings_median_8yr rose
$30,500 → $43,941
+47%
Northwestern State University of Louisiana · earnings_median_6yr rose
$26,800 → $39,485
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.
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$109,076Information Science/Studies.$83,443Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$82,918Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians.$75,283Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$74,729Educational Administration and Supervision.$62,601Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$59,583Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$56,512Student Counseling and Personnel Services.$55,424Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$51,088Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$50,756Business Administration, Management and Operations.$49,944Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$49,518Biology, General.$47,666Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$47,139Criminal Justice and Corrections.$47,007Psychology, General.$46,485Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$45,968Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$45,947Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$45,068Social Work.$44,157History.$43,926Accounting and Related Services.$43,280Hospitality Administration/Management.$41,200
Showing top 24 of 27 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
27 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.$51,088Student Counseling and Personnel Services.$55,424Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$45,968Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$50,756Educational Administration and Supervision.$62,601
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES · CIP 19
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$82,918Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$74,729Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$56,512Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$109,076Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$45,947
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
HISTORY · CIP 54
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Northwestern State University of Louisiana
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
$870,967
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 6
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $14,216
- HS-only baseline · LA
- $32,800
- 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 Louisiana
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Northwestern State University of Louisiana graduates earn $X” — not “Northwestern State University of Louisiana makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Northwestern State University of Louisiana 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.