-26%
150%-time completion
150%-time completion at University of South Carolina-Union fell 26% between 2006 and 2009 (44.2% → 32.8%).
South Carolina · Public · Predominantly associate's
University of South Carolina-Union
Union, South Carolina. 267 undergraduate students. 2 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at University of South Carolina-Union
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 University of South Carolina-Union fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (6.3% → 0.0%).
+10%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at University of South Carolina-Union rose 10% between 2017 and 2020 ($10.0k → $11.0k).
+47%
First-year retention
First-year retention at University of South Carolina-Union rose 47% between 2021 and 2024 (43.8% → 64.2%).
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.
$33,699-1% · 6→10y
South Carolina median $39,325$34,202
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry37.5%+43% · '97→'09
South Carolina median 44.4%$5,500+319% · '97→'20
At program completion267+34% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS66.0%+2% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time69.9%-30% · '01→'24
latest cohort$7,558+244% · '00→'24
out-of-state $18,238SECTION 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
2.2%Median federal debt $5,500 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $33,699 (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.
+43%
University of South Carolina-Union · completion · 150% rose
22.9% → 32.8%
+34%
University of South Carolina-Union · undergrad enrollment rose
202 → 270
+244%
University of South Carolina-Union · in-state tuition rose
$2,200 → $7,558
+235%
University of South Carolina-Union · out-of-state tuition rose
$5,452 → $18,238
+319%
University of South Carolina-Union · median debt rose
$2,625 → $11,000
-100%
University of South Carolina-Union · cohort default rate fell
18.8% → 0.0%
-74%
University of South Carolina-Union · pell share fell
39.5% → 10.1%
+33%
University of South Carolina-Union · earnings_median_8yr rose
$26,000 → $34,663
+50%
University of South Carolina-Union · earnings_median_6yr rose
$22,800 → $34,202
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at University of South Carolina-Union
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%.
EARNINGS SUPPRESSED
Federal privacy rules suppressed earnings for Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities · Associate's Degree at University of South Carolina-Union(cohort below 30 students). The calculator can’t produce a number we’d stand behind, so we don’t.
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
“University of South Carolina-Union graduates earn $X” — not “University of South Carolina-Union makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending University of South Carolina-Union 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.