+43%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at American River College rose 43% between 2007 and 2010 ($3.5k → $5.0k).
California · Public · Predominantly associate's
American River College
Sacramento, California. 25,758 undergraduate students. 135 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at American River College
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 American River College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (3.7% → 0.0%).
+24%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at American River College rose 24% between 2021 and 2024 ($10.2k → $12.6k).
+39%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at American River College rose 39% between 2007 and 2010 (22.3k → 31.0k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. California
Each tile compares this institution to the California median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$40,162+18% · 6→10y
California median $42,588$34,072
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry32.7%-42% · '97→'10
California median 61.3%$9,354+90% · '97→'10
At program completion25,758+102% · '96→'10
latest IPEDS71.9%+12% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$1,288+318% · '00→'24
out-of-state $12,808SECTION 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
3.1%Median federal debt $9,354 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $40,162 (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.
-42%
American River College · completion · 150% fell
35.9% → 21.0%
+12%
American River College · retention rose
64.0% → 72.0%
+102%
American River College · undergrad enrollment rose
15,325 → 31,000
+98%
American River College · in-state tuition rose
$308 → $1,288
+211%
American River College · out-of-state tuition rose
$4,060 → $12,616
+90%
American River College · median debt rose
$2,625 → $5,000
-100%
American River College · cohort default rate fell
27.5% → 0.0%
+29%
American River College · pell share rose
16.3% → 21.1%
+26%
American River College · earnings_median_8yr rose
$29,300 → $36,795
+29%
American River College · earnings_median_6yr rose
$26,500 → $34,072
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.
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$114,068Physical Sciences.$68,572Accounting and Related Services.$61,406Business Administration, Management and Operations.$58,167Social Sciences, General.$52,793Legal Support Services.$52,151Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$51,671Biological and Physical Sciences.$49,867Radio, Television, and Digital Communication.$36,446Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$35,502Psychology, General.$35,258
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
11 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
EDUCATION · CIP 13
LEGAL PROFESSIONS · CIP 22
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES · CIP 30
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in California
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“American River College graduates earn $X” — not “American River College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending American River College 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.