-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Philander Smith University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (6.2% → 0.0%).
Arkansas · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Philander Smith University
Little Rock, Arkansas. 842 undergraduate students. 17 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Philander Smith 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.
+74%
100%-time completion
100%-time completion at Philander Smith University rose 74% between 2021 and 2024 (11.8% → 20.5%).
+52%
Earnings trend · post-entry horizons
Earnings 10 years post-entry at Philander Smith University are 52% above 6-year earnings ($25.3k → $38.4k).
+20%
First-year retention
First-year retention at Philander Smith University rose 20% between 2021 and 2024 (54.8% → 65.7%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Arkansas
Each tile compares this institution to the Arkansas median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$38,427+52% · 6→10y
Arkansas median $34,871$25,254
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry32.3%+96% · '97→'24
Arkansas median 47.1%$14,750+607% · '97→'20
At program completion842-19% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS67.3%-5% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—-32% · '05→'11
latest cohort$13,014+259% · '00→'24
out-of-state $13,014SECTION 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
5.1%Median federal debt $14,750 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $38,427 (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.
+96%
Philander Smith University · completion · 150% rose
15.5% → 30.4%
+642%
Philander Smith University · completion · 100% rose
2.8% → 20.5%
+259%
Philander Smith University · in-state tuition rose
$3,624 → $13,014
+259%
Philander Smith University · out-of-state tuition rose
$3,624 → $13,014
+607%
Philander Smith University · median debt rose
$3,500 → $24,736
-100%
Philander Smith University · cohort default rate fell
21.1% → 0.0%
+39%
Philander Smith University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$27,700 → $38,427
+23%
Philander Smith University · earnings_median_8yr rose
$25,900 → $31,824
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
2 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in Arkansas
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Philander Smith University graduates earn $X” — not “Philander Smith University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Philander Smith 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.