-11%
First-year retention
First-year retention at Simmons University fell 11% between 2006 and 2009 (84.0% → 75.0%).
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Simmons University
Boston, Massachusetts. 1,750 undergraduate students. 108 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Simmons 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.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Simmons University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.2% → 0.0%).
-6pp
150%-time completion
150%-time completion fell 6 pp at Simmons University vs the 2018–2022 baseline (71.2% vs 77.0%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Massachusetts
Each tile compares this institution to the Massachusetts median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$63,494+3% · 6→10y
Massachusetts median $56,022$61,420
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry71.3%+9% · '97→'24
Massachusetts median 66.5%$21,780+114% · '97→'20
At program completion1,750+21% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS81.8%-5% · '04→'09
first-time, full-time66.0%+1% · '01→'24
latest cohort$45,538+131% · '00→'24
out-of-state $45,538SECTION 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
4.6%Median federal debt $21,780 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $63,494 (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.
+21%
Simmons University · undergrad enrollment rose
1,379 → 1,670
+131%
Simmons University · in-state tuition rose
$20,260 → $46,874
+131%
Simmons University · out-of-state tuition rose
$20,260 → $46,874
+114%
Simmons University · median debt rose
$11,625 → $24,840
-100%
Simmons University · cohort default rate fell
2.4% → 0.0%
+40%
Simmons University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$43,900 → $61,420
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.$122,823Business Administration, Management and Operations.$99,920Marketing.$88,738Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions.$85,262Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$84,018Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$80,725Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology.$79,901Business Administration, Management and Operations.$75,275Public Health.$70,608Social Work.$69,360Special Education and Teaching.$67,856English Language and Literature, General.$67,394Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services.$66,724Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$65,293History.$64,141Political Science and Government.$63,778Literature.$61,490Library Science and Administration.$59,738Social Work.$59,343Psychology, General.$57,274Communication and Media Studies.$56,409English Language and Literature, General.$49,531
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.
EDUCATION · CIP 13
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
LIBRARY SCIENCE · CIP 25
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
HISTORY · CIP 54
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Simmons 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
$308,524
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 17
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $22,473
- HS-only baseline · MA
- $42,600
- Years to complete
- 6
- CIP family
- 44
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 Massachusetts
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Simmons University graduates earn $X” — not “Simmons University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Simmons 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.