+14%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at Western Iowa Tech Community College rose 14% between 2017 and 2020 ($9.7k → $11.0k).
Iowa · Public · Predominantly certificates
Western Iowa Tech Community College
Sioux City, Iowa. 2,589 undergraduate students. 76 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Western Iowa Tech Community 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 Western Iowa Tech Community College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.7% → 0.0%).
+10%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Western Iowa Tech Community College rose 10% between 2021 and 2024 ($4.8k → $5.3k).
+52%
150%-time completion
150%-time completion at Western Iowa Tech Community College rose 52% between 2006 and 2009 (21.6% → 32.9%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Iowa
Each tile compares this institution to the Iowa median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$40,473+14% · 6→10y
Iowa median $42,849$35,639
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry40.2%-19% · '99→'09
Iowa median 58.4%$7,000+319% · '97→'20
At program completion2,589+60% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS64.1%+18% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$5,042+130% · '00→'24
out-of-state $5,186SECTION 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
2.3%Median federal debt $7,000 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $40,473 (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.
+18%
Western Iowa Tech Community College · retention rose
54.0% → 63.8%
+60%
Western Iowa Tech Community College · undergrad enrollment rose
1,656 → 2,647
+130%
Western Iowa Tech Community College · in-state tuition rose
$2,250 → $5,186
+319%
Western Iowa Tech Community College · median debt rose
$2,625 → $11,000
-100%
Western Iowa Tech Community College · cohort default rate fell
18.7% → 0.0%
+25%
Western Iowa Tech Community College · earnings_median_10yr rose
$32,300 → $40,473
+30%
Western Iowa Tech Community College · earnings_median_8yr rose
$28,900 → $37,504
+24%
Western Iowa Tech Community College · earnings_median_6yr rose
$28,700 → $35,639
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.$67,617Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants.$53,424Criminal Justice and Corrections.$51,330Electrical and Power Transmission Installers.$51,283Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies.$48,346Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$48,017Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies.$46,703Business Operations Support and Assistant Services.$44,572Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services.$43,984Business Operations Support and Assistant Services.$43,797Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$40,777Graphic Communications.$36,284Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services.$34,653Dental Support Services and Allied Professions.$34,615Accounting and Related Services.$34,045Health and Medical Administrative Services.$27,091
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
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
CONSTRUCTION TRADES · CIP 46
MECHANIC & REPAIR TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 47
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants.$53,424Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$48,017Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$67,617Health and Medical Administrative Services.$27,091Dental Support Services and Allied Professions.$34,615Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services.$34,653Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services.$43,984
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Western Iowa Tech Community College
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
$405,189
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 2
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $8,647
- HS-only baseline · IA
- $36,800
- Years to complete
- 1
- 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 Iowa
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Western Iowa Tech Community College graduates earn $X” — not “Western Iowa Tech Community College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Western Iowa Tech Community 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.