-20%
150%-time completion
150%-time completion at Southern Maine Community College fell 20% between 2006 and 2009 (24.3% → 19.5%).
Maine · Public · Predominantly associate's
Southern Maine Community College
South Portland, Maine. 5,279 undergraduate students. 50 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at Southern Maine Community College
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 Southern Maine Community College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.9% → 0.0%).
-9pp
150%-time completion
150%-time completion fell 9 pp at Southern Maine Community College vs the 2003–2007 baseline (21.2% vs 29.8%).
+36%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Southern Maine Community College rose 36% between 2021 and 2024 (4.2k → 5.7k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
Southern Maine Community College earnings, debt, and completion vs. the Maine median
Each tile compares this institution to the Maine median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$41,661+13% · 6→10y
Maine median $44,433$36,780
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry21.2%-52% · '97→'09
Maine median 56.4%$6,046+136% · '97→'20
At program completion5,279+260% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS58.9%-1% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—+34% · '01→'10
latest cohort$3,797+59% · '01→'24
out-of-state $6,677SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How Southern Maine Community College 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 Southern Maine Community College
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
1.9%Median federal debt $6,046 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $41,661 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Southern Maine Community College 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.
-52%
Southern Maine Community College · completion · 150% fell
40.7% → 19.5%
+260%
Southern Maine Community College · undergrad enrollment rose
1,577 → 5,675
+59%
Southern Maine Community College · in-state tuition rose
$2,610 → $4,156
+40%
Southern Maine Community College · out-of-state tuition rose
$5,040 → $7,036
+136%
Southern Maine Community College · median debt rose
$4,375 → $10,331
-100%
Southern Maine Community College · cohort default rate fell
16.8% → 0.0%
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Southern Maine Community College 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$72,849Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions$70,124Fire Protection$63,780Precision Metal Working$61,312Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR)$60,742Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians$55,874Criminal Justice and Corrections$52,803Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management$51,837Business Administration, Management and Operations$43,132Culinary Arts and Related Services$41,344Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services$40,057Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities$38,484Radio, Television, and Digital Communication$34,687Agricultural Production Operations$32,486Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods$31,758Human Services, General$31,080
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
16 Southern Maine Community College 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
PERSONAL & CULINARY SERVICES · CIP 12
EDUCATION · CIP 13
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
MECHANIC & REPAIR TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 47
PRECISION PRODUCTION · CIP 48
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
AGRICULTURE · CIP 01
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Southern Maine Community College
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
$62,813
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 22
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $12,767
- HS-only baseline · ME
- $36,200
- Years to complete
- 2
- CIP family
- 24
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 Southern Maine Community College in Maine
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Southern Maine Community College graduates earn $X” — not “Southern Maine Community College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Southern Maine Community College 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.