-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Western Carolina University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.3% → 0.0%).
North Carolina · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, North Carolina. 9,867 undergraduate students. 111 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Western Carolina 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.
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.
$49,458+15% · 6→10y
North Carolina median $36,030$43,085
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry59.1%+26% · '97→'24
North Carolina median 46.1%$15,348+317% · '97→'20
At program completion9,867+80% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS75.5%+7% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time86.7%-6% · '01→'24
latest cohort$4,532+105% · '00→'24
out-of-state $8,532SECTION 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
4.1%Median federal debt $15,348 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $49,458 (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.
+26%
Western Carolina University · completion · 150% rose
47.7% → 60.3%
+112%
Western Carolina University · completion · 100% rose
20.8% → 44.0%
+80%
Western Carolina University · undergrad enrollment rose
5,572 → 10,024
+105%
Western Carolina University · in-state tuition rose
$2,260 → $4,630
+317%
Western Carolina University · median debt rose
$5,250 → $21,868
-100%
Western Carolina University · cohort default rate fell
6.0% → 0.0%
+25%
Western Carolina University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$39,700 → $49,458
+25%
Western Carolina University · earnings_median_8yr rose
$36,400 → $45,617
+32%
Western Carolina University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$32,700 → $43,085
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.$120,469Computer Science.$93,802Construction Engineering Technologies.$85,272Business Administration, Management and Operations.$81,402Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions.$77,275Management Information Systems and Services.$77,089Human Resources Management and Services.$73,132Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$72,955Accounting and Related Services.$70,581Educational Administration and Supervision.$68,759Engineering Technology, General.$66,644Finance and Financial Management Services.$64,679Public Administration.$61,307Public Administration.$61,074Accounting and Related Services.$61,038Public Health.$59,893Chemistry.$58,765Marketing.$57,435Health and Medical Administrative Services.$57,280Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$57,020Social Work.$56,936Biology, General.$55,306Education, General.$54,820Communication Disorders Sciences and Services.$54,776
Showing top 24 of 53 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
53 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.$44,949Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$47,600Education, General.$54,820Student Counseling and Personnel Services.$54,018Educational Administration and Supervision.$68,759Special Education and Teaching.$43,364
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS · CIP 27
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PHILOSOPHY & RELIGIOUS STUDIES · CIP 38
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$72,955Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$57,020Communication Disorders Sciences and Services.$45,599Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$120,469Health and Medical Administrative Services.$57,280Communication Disorders Sciences and Services.$54,776Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions.$44,961Public Health.$59,893Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services.$43,962Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions.$77,275
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
Business Administration, Management and Operations.$50,856Marketing.$57,435Business Administration, Management and Operations.$81,402Accounting and Related Services.$61,038Finance and Financial Management Services.$64,679Management Information Systems and Services.$77,089Human Resources Management and Services.$73,132Hospitality Administration/Management.$46,877Accounting and Related Services.$70,581
HISTORY · CIP 54
NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION · CIP 03
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Western Carolina 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
$266,394
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 13
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $13,085
- HS-only baseline · NC
- $35,600
- 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 North Carolina
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Western Carolina University graduates earn $X” — not “Western Carolina University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Western Carolina 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.