+23%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Columbia College Chicago rose 23% between 2021 and 2024 ($27.8k → $34.1k).
Illinois · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Columbia College Chicago
Chicago, Illinois. 6,294 undergraduate students. 43 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Columbia College Chicago
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 Columbia College Chicago fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.8% → 0.0%).
+23%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Columbia College Chicago rose 23% between 2021 and 2024 ($27.8k → $34.1k).
-17%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Columbia College Chicago fell 17% between 2021 and 2024 (6.5k → 5.4k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Illinois
Each tile compares this institution to the Illinois median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$42,195+29% · 6→10y
Illinois median $40,810$32,596
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry48.5%+185% · '97→'24
Illinois median 53.3%$16,500+298% · '97→'20
At program completion6,294-29% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS64.0%+8% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time91.2%-1% · '13→'24
latest cohort$32,520+190% · '00→'24
out-of-state $32,520SECTION 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
5.2%Median federal debt $16,500 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $42,195 (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.
+185%
Columbia College Chicago · completion · 150% rose
18.1% → 51.5%
+1589%
Columbia College Chicago · completion · 100% rose
2.5% → 41.9%
-29%
Columbia College Chicago · undergrad enrollment fell
7,510 → 5,368
+190%
Columbia College Chicago · in-state tuition rose
$11,740 → $34,088
+190%
Columbia College Chicago · out-of-state tuition rose
$11,740 → $34,088
+298%
Columbia College Chicago · median debt rose
$6,285 → $25,000
-100%
Columbia College Chicago · cohort default rate fell
11.4% → 0.0%
+84%
Columbia College Chicago · pell share rose
25.0% → 46.0%
+25%
Columbia College Chicago · earnings_median_10yr rose
$33,800 → $42,195
+21%
Columbia College Chicago · earnings_median_8yr rose
$30,900 → $37,399
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.
Graphic Communications.$65,596Marketing.$62,207Business Administration, Management and Operations.$61,887Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies.$57,399Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication.$56,607Film/Video and Photographic Arts.$50,348Journalism.$49,778Movement and Mind-Body Therapies and Education.$49,342American Sign Language.$48,564Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians.$46,106Design and Applied Arts.$46,082Radio, Television, and Digital Communication.$44,985Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other.$43,334Fine and Studio Arts.$41,142Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies.$39,240Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other.$38,616Arts, Entertainment,and Media Management.$37,460Film/Video and Photographic Arts.$36,486Arts, Entertainment,and Media Management.$35,792Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft.$33,746Music.$32,406Dance.$28,579
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
22 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
FOREIGN LANGUAGES · CIP 16
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES · CIP 30
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
Design and Applied Arts.$46,082Film/Video and Photographic Arts.$36,486Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft.$33,746Arts, Entertainment,and Media Management.$37,460Music.$32,406Fine and Studio Arts.$41,142Dance.$28,579Film/Video and Photographic Arts.$50,348Arts, Entertainment,and Media Management.$35,792
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Columbia College Chicago
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
-$29,765
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
—
Doesn’t reach breakeven within the horizon
- Cost per year
- $27,380
- HS-only baseline · IL
- $38,300
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 50
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 Illinois
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Columbia College Chicago graduates earn $X” — not “Columbia College Chicago makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Columbia College Chicago 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.