+18%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Lees-McRae College rose 18% between 2021 and 2024 ($28.3k → $33.2k).
North Carolina · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Lees-McRae College
Banner Elk, North Carolina. 817 undergraduate students. 25 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Lees-McRae 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 Lees-McRae College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.4% → 0.0%).
+18%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Lees-McRae College rose 18% between 2021 and 2024 ($28.3k → $33.2k).
-17%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at Lees-McRae College fell 17% between 2017 and 2020 ($20.9k → $17.4k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. North Carolina
Each tile compares this institution to the North Carolina median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$43,415+4% · 6→10y
North Carolina median $36,030$41,599
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry44.2%+111% · '97→'24
North Carolina median 46.1%$12,000+301% · '97→'20
At program completion817+93% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS62.3%+21% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time80.8%-8% · '01→'24
latest cohort$31,140+167% · '01→'24
out-of-state $31,140SECTION 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
3.7%Median federal debt $12,000 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $43,415 (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.
+111%
Lees-McRae College · completion · 150% rose
19.9% → 42.1%
+117%
Lees-McRae College · completion · 100% rose
17.1% → 37.1%
+21%
Lees-McRae College · retention rose
57.0% → 68.8%
+93%
Lees-McRae College · undergrad enrollment rose
453 → 873
+167%
Lees-McRae College · in-state tuition rose
$12,442 → $33,250
+167%
Lees-McRae College · out-of-state tuition rose
$12,442 → $33,250
+301%
Lees-McRae College · median debt rose
$4,336 → $17,375
-100%
Lees-McRae College · cohort default rate fell
10.3% → 0.0%
+22%
Lees-McRae College · earnings_median_10yr rose
$35,700 → $43,415
+33%
Lees-McRae College · earnings_median_8yr rose
$33,600 → $44,802
+34%
Lees-McRae College · earnings_median_6yr rose
$31,000 → $41,599
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.$82,456Business Administration, Management and Operations.$68,923Criminal Justice and Corrections.$44,593Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$44,097Zoology/Animal Biology.$35,006
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
5 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
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Lees-McRae 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
-$82,085
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
—
Doesn’t reach breakeven within the horizon
- Cost per year
- $20,899
- HS-only baseline · NC
- $35,600
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 26
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 North Carolina
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Lees-McRae College graduates earn $X” — not “Lees-McRae College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Lees-McRae 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.