+26%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Northwestern Michigan College rose 26% between 2021 and 2024 ($4.6k → $5.9k).
Michigan · Public · Predominantly associate's
Northwestern Michigan College
Traverse City, Michigan. 2,668 undergraduate students. 78 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Northwestern Michigan 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 Northwestern Michigan College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.8% → 0.0%).
+25%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Northwestern Michigan College rose 25% between 2021 and 2024 ($10.8k → $13.5k).
-11%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at Northwestern Michigan College fell 11% between 2017 and 2020 ($14.0k → $12.5k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Michigan
Each tile compares this institution to the Michigan median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$38,167+9% · 6→10y
Michigan median $38,167$34,918
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry24.9%+89% · '97→'24
Michigan median 57.1%$8,191+297% · '97→'20
At program completion2,668-28% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS81.0%+34% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$5,350+208% · '00→'24
out-of-state $12,762SECTION 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
2.9%Median federal debt $8,191 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $38,167 (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.
+89%
Northwestern Michigan College · completion · 150% rose
13.2% → 24.8%
+34%
Northwestern Michigan College · retention rose
63.0% → 84.4%
-28%
Northwestern Michigan College · undergrad enrollment fell
3,891 → 2,813
+208%
Northwestern Michigan College · in-state tuition rose
$1,904 → $5,860
+285%
Northwestern Michigan College · out-of-state tuition rose
$3,504 → $13,476
+297%
Northwestern Michigan College · median debt rose
$3,146 → $12,500
-100%
Northwestern Michigan College · cohort default rate fell
15.4% → 0.0%
-21%
Northwestern Michigan College · pell share fell
38.1% → 30.0%
+24%
Northwestern Michigan College · earnings_median_10yr rose
$30,900 → $38,167
+22%
Northwestern Michigan College · earnings_median_8yr rose
$30,200 → $36,925
+27%
Northwestern Michigan College · earnings_median_6yr rose
$27,500 → $34,918
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.
Marine Transportation.$133,180Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$66,994Criminal Justice and Corrections.$48,384Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants.$46,581Business Administration, Management and Operations.$40,803Culinary Arts and Related Services.$38,650Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$34,098
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
7 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
PERSONAL & CULINARY SERVICES · CIP 12
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
TRANSPORTATION & MATERIALS MOVING · CIP 49
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Northwestern Michigan 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
-$31,458
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
—
Doesn’t reach breakeven within the horizon
- Cost per year
- $6,964
- HS-only baseline · MI
- $36,900
- 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
Same sector and degree mix in Michigan
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Northwestern Michigan College graduates earn $X” — not “Northwestern Michigan College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Northwestern Michigan 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.