-14%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Western Technical College fell 14% between 2021 and 2024 (3.7k → 3.2k).
Wisconsin · Public · Predominantly certificates
Western Technical College
La Crosse, Wisconsin. 3,434 undergraduate students. 84 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Western Technical 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 Western Technical College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.3% → 0.0%).
+13%
150%-time completion
150%-time completion at Western Technical College rose 12% between 2006 and 2009 (39.4% → 44.3%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Wisconsin
Each tile compares this institution to the Wisconsin median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$45,303+10% · 6→10y
Wisconsin median $46,297$41,169
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry39.3%+6% · '98→'09
Wisconsin median 58.4%$6,917+259% · '97→'20
At program completion3,434-13% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS44.5%-30% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$4,716+137% · '00→'24
out-of-state $6,909SECTION 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
2.0%Median federal debt $6,917 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $45,303 (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.
-30%
Western Technical College · retention fell
64.0% → 44.7%
+137%
Western Technical College · in-state tuition rose
$2,030 → $4,820
-52%
Western Technical College · out-of-state tuition fell
$14,626 → $7,078
+259%
Western Technical College · median debt rose
$3,200 → $11,500
-100%
Western Technical College · cohort default rate fell
13.2% → 0.0%
+22%
Western Technical College · earnings_median_10yr rose
$37,200 → $45,303
+22%
Western Technical College · earnings_median_8yr rose
$34,700 → $42,336
+26%
Western Technical College · earnings_median_6yr rose
$32,700 → $41,169
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.
Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians.$73,717Electromechanical Instrumentation and Maintenance Technologies/Technicians.$72,827Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$68,772Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications.$63,992Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies.$63,596Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$63,004Criminal Justice and Corrections.$57,230Accounting and Related Services.$53,540Business Administration, Management and Operations.$52,244Precision Metal Working.$51,221Marketing.$49,094Business Administration, Management and Operations.$48,963Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies.$48,346Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants.$45,090Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services.$43,981Dental Support Services and Allied Professions.$41,562Health and Medical Administrative Services.$38,916Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services.$36,299Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$35,912Design and Applied Arts.$34,819
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
20 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 15
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
MECHANIC & REPAIR TECHNOLOGIES · CIP 47
PRECISION PRODUCTION · CIP 48
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants.$45,090Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$68,772Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services.$43,981Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services.$36,299Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$35,912Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions.$63,004Health and Medical Administrative Services.$38,916Dental Support Services and Allied Professions.$41,562
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Western Technical 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
$212,335
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 6
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $12,084
- HS-only baseline · WI
- $37,100
- Years to complete
- 1
- 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 Wisconsin
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Western Technical College graduates earn $X” — not “Western Technical College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Western Technical 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.