-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Claflin University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (4.4% → 0.0%).
South Carolina · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Claflin University
Orangeburg, South Carolina. 1,727 undergraduate students. 50 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Claflin 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.
-11%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at Claflin University fell 11% between 2017 and 2020 ($32.5k → $29.0k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. South Carolina
Each tile compares this institution to the South Carolina median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$40,304+38% · 6→10y
South Carolina median $39,325$29,227
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry49.1%+4% · '97→'24
South Carolina median 44.4%$22,049+364% · '97→'20
At program completion1,727+77% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS78.6%+2% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time72.5%+294% · '01→'24
latest cohort$17,046+138% · '00→'24
out-of-state $17,046SECTION 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
7.3%Median federal debt $22,049 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $40,304 (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.
+77%
Claflin University · undergrad enrollment rose
964 → 1,706
+138%
Claflin University · in-state tuition rose
$7,688 → $18,282
+138%
Claflin University · out-of-state tuition rose
$7,688 → $18,282
+364%
Claflin University · median debt rose
$6,245 → $29,000
-100%
Claflin University · cohort default rate fell
15.2% → 0.0%
+40%
Claflin University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$28,800 → $40,304
+39%
Claflin University · earnings_median_8yr rose
$26,100 → $36,336
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.
Business Administration, Management and Operations.$51,544Communication and Media Studies.$41,925Biology, General.$41,239Business Administration, Management and Operations.$40,175Psychology, General.$39,003Political Science and Government.$38,842Criminal Justice and Corrections.$38,694Sociology.$37,339Human Resources Management and Services.$36,485Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other.$36,249Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$31,797
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
11 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Claflin 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
-$26,896
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
—
Doesn’t reach breakeven within the horizon
- Cost per year
- $25,768
- HS-only baseline · SC
- $33,700
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 42
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 South Carolina
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Claflin University graduates earn $X” — not “Claflin University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Claflin 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.