-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Northern Illinois University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.1% → 0.0%).
Illinois · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
Northern Illinois University
Dekalb, Illinois. 11,277 undergraduate students. 137 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Northern Illinois 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.
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.
$57,808+25% · 6→10y
Illinois median $40,810$46,113
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry49.6%-2% · '97→'24
Illinois median 53.3%$16,250+262% · '97→'20
At program completion11,277-26% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS70.4%-11% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time70.5%-2% · '01→'24
latest cohort$12,700+189% · '00→'24
out-of-state $12,700SECTION 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
3.7%Median federal debt $16,250 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $57,808 (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.
+43%
Northern Illinois University · completion · 100% rose
20.6% → 29.4%
-11%
Northern Illinois University · retention fell
78.0% → 69.6%
-26%
Northern Illinois University · undergrad enrollment fell
15,370 → 11,301
+189%
Northern Illinois University · in-state tuition rose
$4,583 → $13,248
+71%
Northern Illinois University · out-of-state tuition rose
$7,733 → $13,248
+262%
Northern Illinois University · median debt rose
$6,125 → $22,162
-100%
Northern Illinois University · cohort default rate fell
7.4% → 0.0%
+88%
Northern Illinois University · pell share rose
25.1% → 47.3%
+21%
Northern Illinois University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$47,600 → $57,808
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.
Educational Administration and Supervision.$134,549Business Administration, Management and Operations.$121,495Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$113,538Computer Science.$111,770Management Information Systems and Services.$107,655Mechanical Engineering.$100,075Accounting and Related Services.$94,706Industrial Engineering.$88,954Mechanical Engineering.$86,692Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering.$86,449Computer Science.$85,811Engineering Technology, General.$85,470Psychology, General.$84,125Accounting and Related Services.$83,523Finance and Financial Management Services.$79,501Public Administration.$79,318Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$78,637Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions.$76,638Business Administration, Management and Operations.$76,392Educational/Instructional Media Design.$75,761Law.$74,619Mathematics.$73,553Economics.$69,275Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions.$69,250
Showing top 24 of 65 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
65 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
EDUCATION · CIP 13
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$48,018Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$65,360Educational Administration and Supervision.$63,221Special Education and Teaching.$60,809Special Education and Teaching.$57,132Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$53,340Educational Administration and Supervision.$134,549Student Counseling and Personnel Services.$67,261Educational/Instructional Media Design.$75,761
ENGINEERING · CIP 14
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
FOREIGN LANGUAGES · CIP 16
FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES · CIP 19
LEGAL PROFESSIONS · CIP 22
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS · CIP 27
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$78,637Health/Medical Preparatory Programs.$54,266Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services.$52,265Communication Disorders Sciences and Services.$53,628Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$113,538Communication Disorders Sciences and Services.$65,635Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions.$69,250Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$57,919Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services.$55,738Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions.$76,638
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
Business Administration, Management and Operations.$76,392Business Administration, Management and Operations.$121,495Accounting and Related Services.$83,523Marketing.$68,194Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods.$65,538Finance and Financial Management Services.$79,501Accounting and Related Services.$94,706Management Information Systems and Services.$107,655
HISTORY · CIP 54
NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION · CIP 03
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Northern Illinois 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
$84,157
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 20
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $12,674
- HS-only baseline · IL
- $38,300
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 42
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
“Northern Illinois University graduates earn $X” — not “Northern Illinois University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Northern Illinois 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.