Kentucky · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's

Union College

Barbourville, Kentucky. 736 undergraduate students. 53 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.

ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS

What the data flags at Union 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.

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE-21%

100%-time completion

100%-time completion at Union College fell 21% between 2021 and 2024 (28.2% → 22.2%).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%

3-year cohort default rate

3-year cohort default rate at Union College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (6.6% → 0.0%).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE-13%

150%-time completion

150%-time completion at Union College fell 13% between 2021 and 2024 (37.1% → 32.1%).

SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT

The numbers, vs. Kentucky

Each tile compares this institution to the Kentucky median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.

MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$42,002+15% · 6→10y
Kentucky median $37,114
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$36,529
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
36.0%-3% · '97→'24
Kentucky median 49.7%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$14,250+341% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
736+15% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
57.5%+30% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
55.0%-15% · '01→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$30,946+178% · '00→'24
out-of-state $30,946
SECTION 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).

ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
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

4.5%
0%8% · GE20%+

Median federal debt $14,250 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $42,002 (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.

UNDERGRAD · 19962024746
1,00352919962024
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1997202432.1%
39%27%19972024
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 19972020$24,250
$25,875$4,91019972020
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
COMPLETION · 100% · 19972024+22%

Union College · completion · 100% rose

18.1% → 22.2%

RETENTION · 20042024+30%

Union College · retention rose

49.0% → 63.8%

IN-STATE TUITION · 20002024+178%

Union College · in-state tuition rose

$11,120 → $30,946

OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 20002024+178%

Union College · out-of-state tuition rose

$11,120 → $30,946

MEDIAN DEBT · 19972020+341%

Union College · median debt rose

$5,500 → $24,250

COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 20112024-100%

Union College · cohort default rate fell

10.3% → 0.0%

EARNINGS_MEDIAN_8YR · 20052020+21%

Union College · earnings_median_8yr rose

$33,600 → $40,549

EARNINGS_MEDIAN_6YR · 20032020+24%

Union College · earnings_median_6yr rose

$29,400 → $36,529

FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION

Estimate the financial outcome at Union 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%.

EARNINGS SUPPRESSED

Federal privacy rules suppressed earnings for Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Bachelor's Degree at Union College(cohort below 30 students). The calculator can’t produce a number we’d stand behind, so we don’t.

Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.

CAUSAL DISCIPLINE

Union College graduates earn $X” — not “Union College makes you earn $X”

Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Union 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.

Methodology →