+29%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at South Plains College rose 29% between 2006 and 2009 ($2.9k → $3.7k).
Texas · Public · Predominantly associate's
South Plains College
Levelland, Texas. 6,124 undergraduate students. 81 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at South Plains 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.
+21%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at South Plains College rose 21% between 2021 and 2024 ($2.3k → $2.7k).
+21%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at South Plains College rose 21% between 2021 and 2024 ($4.3k → $5.2k).
-11%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at South Plains College fell 11% between 2021 and 2024 (6.7k → 6.0k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Texas
Each tile compares this institution to the Texas median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$41,276+18% · 6→10y
Texas median $39,639$35,025
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry25.2%-32% · '97→'09
Texas median 51.8%$6,724+40% · '97→'09
At program completion6,124+15% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS47.0%+12% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$2,581+227% · '00→'24
out-of-state $4,837SECTION 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
2.2%Median federal debt $6,724 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $41,276 (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%
South Plains College · completion · 150% fell
17.6% → 12.1%
+12%
South Plains College · retention rose
47.0% → 52.5%
+190%
South Plains College · in-state tuition rose
$836 → $2,731
+253%
South Plains College · out-of-state tuition rose
$1,460 → $5,155
+40%
South Plains College · median debt rose
$2,625 → $3,680
-24%
South Plains College · pell share fell
50.5% → 38.5%
+29%
South Plains College · earnings_median_10yr rose
$32,100 → $41,276
+35%
South Plains College · earnings_median_8yr rose
$28,100 → $38,020
+36%
South Plains College · earnings_median_6yr rose
$25,800 → $35,025
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.$70,442Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technology.$67,350Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$62,112Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services.$58,284Business Administration, Management and Operations.$54,236Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants.$50,349Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies.$49,079Precision Metal Working.$44,278Computer and Information Sciences, General.$43,542Precision Metal Working.$42,566Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies.$42,298Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$39,381Criminal Justice and Corrections.$37,071Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians.$34,573Music.$23,595Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services.$22,989Design and Applied Arts.$22,747
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
17 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 10
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
PERSONAL & CULINARY SERVICES · CIP 12
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
MECHANIC & REPAIR TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 47
PRECISION PRODUCTION · CIP 48
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at South Plains 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
$66,650
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 22
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $9,249
- HS-only baseline · TX
- $37,300
- Years to complete
- 2
- CIP family
- 24
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 Texas
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“South Plains College graduates earn $X” — not “South Plains College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending South Plains 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.