-26%
150%-time completion
150%-time completion at University of South Carolina-Lancaster fell 25% between 2006 and 2009 (33.2% → 24.7%).
South Carolina · Public · Predominantly associate's
University of South Carolina-Lancaster
Lancaster, South Carolina. 649 undergraduate students. 8 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at University of South Carolina-Lancaster
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 University of South Carolina-Lancaster fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (4.5% → 0.0%).
-58%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at University of South Carolina-Lancaster fell 58% between 2017 and 2020 ($22.7k → $9.6k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. South Carolina
Each tile compares this institution to the South Carolina median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$39,426+12% · 6→10y
South Carolina median $39,325$35,206
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry29.5%-12% · '97→'09
South Carolina median 44.4%$5,500+266% · '97→'20
At program completion649-3% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS38.3%-32% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time75.8%-6% · '01→'24
latest cohort$7,558+244% · '00→'24
out-of-state $18,238SECTION 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
1.9%Median federal debt $5,500 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $39,426 (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.
-32%
University of South Carolina-Lancaster · retention fell
64.0% → 43.3%
+244%
University of South Carolina-Lancaster · in-state tuition rose
$2,200 → $7,558
+235%
University of South Carolina-Lancaster · out-of-state tuition rose
$5,452 → $18,238
+266%
University of South Carolina-Lancaster · median debt rose
$2,625 → $9,616
-100%
University of South Carolina-Lancaster · cohort default rate fell
8.1% → 0.0%
-63%
University of South Carolina-Lancaster · pell share fell
27.2% → 10.0%
+25%
University of South Carolina-Lancaster · earnings_median_10yr rose
$31,500 → $39,426
+24%
University of South Carolina-Lancaster · earnings_median_8yr rose
$29,800 → $36,835
+29%
University of South Carolina-Lancaster · earnings_median_6yr rose
$27,200 → $35,206
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.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
1 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at University of South Carolina-Lancaster
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
$258,546
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 12
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $11,940
- HS-only baseline · SC
- $33,700
- 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 South Carolina
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“University of South Carolina-Lancaster graduates earn $X” — not “University of South Carolina-Lancaster makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending University of South Carolina-Lancaster 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.