-78%
100%-time completion
100%-time completion at New Mexico Highlands University fell 78% between 2021 and 2024 (17.8% → 3.9%).
New Mexico · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
New Mexico Highlands University
Las Vegas, New Mexico. 1,561 undergraduate students. 59 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at New Mexico Highlands 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 New Mexico Highlands University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (3.5% → 0.0%).
+18%
Public bachelor's-predominant peer
10-year earnings at New Mexico Highlands University are 18% above the public bachelor's-predominant peer median ($45.9k vs $39.1k).
-17%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at New Mexico Highlands University fell 17% between 2017 and 2020 ($13.8k → $11.4k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. New Mexico
Each tile compares this institution to the New Mexico median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$45,937+18% · 6→10y
New Mexico median $36,869$38,952
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry25.6%+9% · '97→'24
New Mexico median 39.2%$9,500+146% · '97→'20
At program completion1,561-19% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS56.9%-20% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$7,260+272% · '00→'24
out-of-state $12,180SECTION 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
2.8%Median federal debt $9,500 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $45,937 (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.
-66%
New Mexico Highlands University · completion · 100% fell
11.5% → 3.9%
-20%
New Mexico Highlands University · retention fell
62.0% → 49.8%
+272%
New Mexico Highlands University · in-state tuition rose
$1,992 → $7,416
+49%
New Mexico Highlands University · out-of-state tuition rose
$8,275 → $12,336
+146%
New Mexico Highlands University · median debt rose
$4,639 → $11,399
-100%
New Mexico Highlands University · cohort default rate fell
8.7% → 0.0%
+30%
New Mexico Highlands University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$30,000 → $38,952
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.$107,510Educational Administration and Supervision.$78,886Business Administration, Management and Operations.$78,181Curriculum and Instruction.$64,240Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$59,334Business Administration, Management and Operations.$59,300Special Education and Teaching.$56,468Student Counseling and Personnel Services.$55,437Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$49,972Special Education and Teaching.$49,163Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$47,702Criminal Justice and Corrections.$46,465Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$45,243
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
13 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
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$49,972Student Counseling and Personnel Services.$55,437Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas.$45,243Special Education and Teaching.$49,163Curriculum and Instruction.$64,240Educational Administration and Supervision.$78,886Special Education and Teaching.$56,468
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at New Mexico Highlands 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
$316,483
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 14
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $15,596
- HS-only baseline · NM
- $33,800
- Years to complete
- 6
- 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 New Mexico
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“New Mexico Highlands University graduates earn $X” — not “New Mexico Highlands University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending New Mexico Highlands 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.