Washington · Private for-profit · Predominantly certificates

KaiStar

Federal Way, Washington. 151 undergraduate students. 1 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.

ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS

What the data flags at KaiStar

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.

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE-37%

Undergraduate enrollment

Undergraduate enrollment at KaiStar fell 37% between 2021 and 2024 (233 → 147).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%

3-year cohort default rate

3-year cohort default rate at KaiStar fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.9% → 0.0%).

COMPLETION DROP · TRENDING WORSE-29pp

150%-time completion

150%-time completion fell 29 pp at KaiStar vs the 2003–2007 baseline (46.3% vs 75.5%).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE-13%

150%-time completion

150%-time completion at KaiStar fell 13% between 2006 and 2009 (80.4% → 70.2%).

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.

MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$31,123+2% · 6→10y
Washington median $47,350
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$30,632
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
46.3%-9% · '99→'09
Washington median 46.8%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$7,780+133% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
151+50% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
84.4%+2% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
+2% · '01→'08
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
annual
SECTION 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).

ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
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

3.3%
0%8% · GE20%+

Median federal debt $7,780 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $31,123 (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.

UNDERGRAD · 19962024147
3939819962024
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1999200970.2%
90%70%19992009
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 19972020$10,555
$11,243$4,53919972020
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT · 19962024+25%

KaiStar · undergrad enrollment rose

98 → 147

MEDIAN DEBT · 19972020+133%

KaiStar · median debt rose

$4,539 → $10,555

COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 20112024-100%

KaiStar · cohort default rate fell

20.9% → 0.0%

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.

SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY

1 programs with earnings, grouped

Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.

PERSONAL & CULINARY SERVICES · CIP 12

FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION

Estimate the financial outcome at KaiStar

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
-$176,048
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Doesn’t reach breakeven within the horizon
graduationyear 0year 39
Cost per year
$10,244
HS-only baseline · WA
$41,200
Years to complete
1
CIP family
12

Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.

CAUSAL DISCIPLINE

KaiStar graduates earn $X” — not “KaiStar makes you earn $X”

Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending KaiStar 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.

Methodology →