-11%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Fairmont State University fell 11% between 2021 and 2024 (2.9k → 2.6k).
West Virginia · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Fairmont State University
Fairmont, West Virginia. 2,690 undergraduate students. 52 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Fairmont State 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 Fairmont State University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (3.6% → 0.0%).
+10%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Fairmont State University rose 10% between 2021 and 2024 ($7.9k → $8.7k).
+10%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Fairmont State University rose 10% between 2021 and 2024 ($17.1k → $18.9k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. West Virginia
Each tile compares this institution to the West Virginia median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$46,857+14% · 6→10y
West Virginia median $37,714$41,197
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry48.3%+40% · '97→'24
West Virginia median 61.2%$12,500+600% · '97→'20
At program completion2,690-60% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS64.2%-12% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time99.2%-1% · '01→'24
latest cohort$8,454+313% · '00→'24
out-of-state $18,372SECTION 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
3.6%Median federal debt $12,500 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $46,857 (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.
+40%
Fairmont State University · completion · 150% rose
31.6% → 44.3%
+366%
Fairmont State University · completion · 100% rose
8.0% → 37.5%
-12%
Fairmont State University · retention fell
77.0% → 67.4%
-60%
Fairmont State University · undergrad enrollment fell
6,555 → 2,590
+313%
Fairmont State University · in-state tuition rose
$2,106 → $8,708
+251%
Fairmont State University · out-of-state tuition rose
$5,396 → $18,924
+600%
Fairmont State University · median debt rose
$3,000 → $21,000
-100%
Fairmont State University · cohort default rate fell
13.7% → 0.0%
+39%
Fairmont State University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$33,800 → $46,857
+43%
Fairmont State University · earnings_median_8yr rose
$30,100 → $42,893
+63%
Fairmont State University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$25,300 → $41,197
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.
Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians.$99,003Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$85,013Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians.$81,681Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians.$76,954Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$72,166Accounting and Related Services.$56,376Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$52,431Business Administration, Management and Operations.$51,130Criminal Justice and Corrections.$50,877Education, General.$46,061Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$46,014Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$44,626Sociology.$44,585Psychology, General.$39,548History.$36,487Graphic Communications.$27,511
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
16 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 10
EDUCATION · CIP 13
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
HISTORY · CIP 54
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Fairmont State 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
$840,315
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 2
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $9,166
- HS-only baseline · WV
- $32,100
- Years to complete
- 2
- CIP family
- 51
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 West Virginia
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Fairmont State University graduates earn $X” — not “Fairmont State University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Fairmont State 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.