-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Gardner-Webb University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.8% → 0.0%).
North Carolina · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Gardner-Webb University
Boiling Springs, North Carolina. 1,836 undergraduate students. 87 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Gardner-Webb 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.
+33%
100%-time completion
100%-time completion at Gardner-Webb University rose 33% between 2021 and 2024 (36.0% → 47.9%).
+16%
150%-time completion
150%-time completion at Gardner-Webb University rose 16% between 2021 and 2024 (47.6% → 55.4%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. North Carolina
Each tile compares this institution to the North Carolina median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$48,039+9% · 6→10y
North Carolina median $36,030$43,996
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry61.7%+71% · '97→'24
North Carolina median 46.1%$16,453+340% · '97→'20
At program completion1,836-16% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS69.5%-19% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time87.0%+252% · '02→'24
latest cohort$33,450+198% · '00→'24
out-of-state $33,450SECTION 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
4.6%Median federal debt $16,453 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $48,039 (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.
+71%
Gardner-Webb University · completion · 150% rose
32.4% → 55.4%
+164%
Gardner-Webb University · completion · 100% rose
18.1% → 47.9%
-19%
Gardner-Webb University · retention fell
68.0% → 55.3%
+198%
Gardner-Webb University · in-state tuition rose
$11,660 → $34,760
+198%
Gardner-Webb University · out-of-state tuition rose
$11,660 → $34,760
+340%
Gardner-Webb University · median debt rose
$5,500 → $24,222
-100%
Gardner-Webb University · cohort default rate fell
10.0% → 0.0%
+23%
Gardner-Webb University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$39,200 → $48,039
+27%
Gardner-Webb University · earnings_median_8yr rose
$36,900 → $46,747
+29%
Gardner-Webb University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$34,200 → $43,996
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.
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$122,903Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$101,137Educational Administration and Supervision.$98,359Curriculum and Instruction.$80,434Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$79,750Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$74,294Business Administration, Management and Operations.$70,847Educational Administration and Supervision.$69,099Accounting and Related Services.$63,996Theological and Ministerial Studies.$61,089Curriculum and Instruction.$60,392Accounting and Related Services.$58,875Biology, General.$56,900Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$56,332Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$54,695Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$54,289Business Administration, Management and Operations.$48,758Criminal Justice and Corrections.$44,376Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences.$44,048Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$43,354Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology.$42,570Sociology.$42,282Psychology, General.$38,416Religion/Religious Studies.$37,084
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
24 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
EDUCATION · CIP 13
Educational Administration and Supervision.$69,099Educational Administration and Supervision.$98,359Curriculum and Instruction.$80,434Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$43,354Curriculum and Instruction.$60,392Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$56,332
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PHILOSOPHY & RELIGIOUS STUDIES · CIP 38
THEOLOGY & RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS · CIP 39
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$79,750Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$101,137Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$122,903Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$54,695Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$74,294
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Gardner-Webb 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
$487,282
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 13
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $19,334
- HS-only baseline · NC
- $35,600
- Years to complete
- 6
- 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 North Carolina
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Gardner-Webb University graduates earn $X” — not “Gardner-Webb University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Gardner-Webb 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.