-18%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Central Washington University fell 18% between 2021 and 2024 (9.5k → 7.8k).
Washington · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Central Washington University
Ellensburg, Washington. 8,081 undergraduate students. 171 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Central Washington 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.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Central Washington University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.8% → 0.0%).
-5pp
150%-time completion
150%-time completion fell 5 pp at Central Washington University vs the 2018–2022 baseline (49.9% vs 55.2%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Washington
Each tile compares this institution to the Washington median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$61,580+25% · 6→10y
Washington median $47,350$49,398
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry49.9%+16% · '97→'24
Washington median 46.8%$13,000+130% · '97→'20
At program completion8,081-5% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS69.0%-12% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time90.2%+3% · '01→'24
latest cohort$9,192+198% · '00→'24
out-of-state $26,771SECTION 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
2.8%Median federal debt $13,000 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $61,580 (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.
+69%
Central Washington University · completion · 100% rose
16.4% → 27.6%
-12%
Central Washington University · retention fell
80.0% → 70.0%
+198%
Central Washington University · in-state tuition rose
$3,162 → $9,417
+164%
Central Washington University · out-of-state tuition rose
$10,413 → $27,526
+130%
Central Washington University · median debt rose
$8,483 → $19,500
-100%
Central Washington University · cohort default rate fell
4.6% → 0.0%
+34%
Central Washington University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$45,900 → $61,580
+32%
Central Washington University · earnings_median_8yr rose
$42,000 → $55,463
+34%
Central Washington University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$37,000 → $49,398
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.
Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians.$111,285Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$107,747Computer Science.$106,796Construction Management.$103,530Educational Administration and Supervision.$102,389Accounting and Related Services.$96,647Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians.$92,822Air Transportation.$86,851Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians.$83,351Mathematics.$82,411Computer and Information Sciences, General.$73,779Accounting and Related Services.$73,436Economics.$72,632Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$67,447Business Administration, Management and Operations.$65,927Special Education and Teaching.$64,230Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$62,919Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$62,318Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$61,893Criminal Justice and Corrections.$61,698Political Science and Government.$61,390Social Sciences, General.$60,508Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences.$60,504Chemistry.$60,029
Showing top 24 of 47 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
47 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.$62,318Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$62,919Educational Administration and Supervision.$102,389Special Education and Teaching.$64,230Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$61,893
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
FOREIGN LANGUAGES · CIP 16
FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES · CIP 19
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS · CIP 27
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES · CIP 30
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
TRANSPORTATION & MATERIALS MOVING · CIP 49
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION · CIP 03
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Central Washington 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
$252,312
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 10
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $15,182
- HS-only baseline · WA
- $41,200
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 13
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 Washington
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Central Washington University graduates earn $X” — not “Central Washington University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Central Washington 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.