-20%
First-year retention
First-year retention at Cornerstone University fell 20% between 2021 and 2024 (97.4% → 78.3%).
Michigan · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Cornerstone University
Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1,387 undergraduate students. 64 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Cornerstone 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 Cornerstone University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.2% → 0.0%).
-11%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Cornerstone University fell 11% between 2021 and 2024 (1.5k → 1.3k).
+21%
100%-time completion
100%-time completion at Cornerstone University rose 21% between 2006 and 2009 (28.1% → 33.9%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Michigan
Each tile compares this institution to the Michigan median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$47,314+11% · 6→10y
Michigan median $38,167$42,598
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry61.6%+95% · '97→'24
Michigan median 57.1%$18,634+418% · '97→'20
At program completion1,387+20% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS83.8%+10% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time73.2%-2% · '01→'24
latest cohort$29,100+92% · '00→'24
out-of-state $29,100SECTION 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 $18,634 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $47,314 (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.
+95%
Cornerstone University · completion · 150% rose
31.7% → 61.9%
+42%
Cornerstone University · completion · 100% rose
23.9% → 33.9%
+10%
Cornerstone University · retention rose
71.0% → 78.3%
+92%
Cornerstone University · in-state tuition rose
$12,005 → $23,000
+92%
Cornerstone University · out-of-state tuition rose
$12,005 → $23,000
+418%
Cornerstone University · median debt rose
$4,825 → $25,000
-100%
Cornerstone University · cohort default rate fell
6.2% → 0.0%
+23%
Cornerstone University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$38,400 → $47,314
+26%
Cornerstone University · earnings_median_8yr rose
$36,400 → $45,964
+30%
Cornerstone University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$32,800 → $42,598
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.
Business Administration, Management and Operations.$82,174Business Administration, Management and Operations.$70,107Business Administration, Management and Operations.$58,693Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$47,695Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$44,505Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$43,478Psychology, General.$35,883
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
7 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Cornerstone 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
$359,478
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 12
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $21,507
- HS-only baseline · MI
- $36,900
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 52
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 Michigan
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Cornerstone University graduates earn $X” — not “Cornerstone University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Cornerstone 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.