Community CollegePublic

Big Sandy Community and Technical College

Prestonsburg, Kentucky·Public, 2-year·Southeast·bigsandy.kctcs.edu
6-yr Graduation
38%
Total enrollment
2,618
peer median 2,859
Avg net price
$4,530
-$620 vs Community College
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Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
38%
Full-time retention
61%

Pell equity

18.0pp gap
Pell recipients
35%
Non-Pell
17%

Pell recipients graduate at a higher rate than non-Pell students here — unusual and worth investigating.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 52 Title IV programs, 3 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 48 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
52
Passing
3
5.8% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
1.9% of portfolio
Fail rate
1.9%
+1.3pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

52programs
  • Passing3 · 5.8%
  • No Data48 · 92.3%
  • Failing1 · 1.9%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
1
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
3
No data
48

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

4
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
-5.8%
$32,087 vs $34,058
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+65.2%
$56,259 vs $34,058
Electrical and Power Transmission Installers
Associate Degree · Construction Trades
+78.1%
$60,650 vs $34,058
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+116.2%
$73,640 vs $34,058

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

2
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
26%
$8,404 debt · $32,087 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
16%
$11,835 debt · $73,640 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Accredited since 2003Next review Jun 2028

Programmatic accreditations · 2

Action history · 19

  1. Dec 2025Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Dec 2024Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. Dec 2024Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  4. Jun 2024Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Feb 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Dental Assisting (DA)

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$3,962
$30–48k$3,936
$48–75k$5,893
$75–110k$8,618
$110k+$10,029

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price
$4,530
-$620vs Community College median $5,150
Federal loans
17.2%
In-state tuition
$4,656
Out-of-state
$6,192

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 1,503 students received $7.5M in Pell grants, alongside $2.9M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
1,503
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$7.5M
$7,471,872 total
Direct Loans
$2.9M
868 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

2k
20
1k
21
1k
22
1k
23
2k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.4M
447 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.5M
421 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 709 borrowers who entered repayment, 45 (6.3%) defaulted within three years above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
6.3%
+4.0pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
709
Defaulted
45
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
23.7%
2017
27.1%
2018
18.1%
2019
6.3%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at KCTCS

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs36
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

324 total completions
01Liberal Arts
13140.4%
02Health Professions
6419.8%
03Education
278.3%
04Public Admin
237.1%
05Construction Trades
237.1%
06Business
154.6%
07Security/Protective
154.6%
08Mechanic
123.7%
09Computer Sciences
82.5%
10Visual/Performing Arts
61.9%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
2,618
12-mo unduplicated
3,365
Undergraduate
3,365
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
39%1,311
Women
61%2,054

Race / ethnicity composition

White
94.4%
Hispanic
1.9%
Two or more
1.6%
Unknown
0.9%
Black
0.8%
Asian
0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.00
0 offenses · 2,576 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.001 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
0
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

No criminal offenses reported.

By location

0total

    VAWA offenses

    0
    Domestic violence
    0
    Dating violence
    0
    Stalking
    0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

    Hate crimes by bias

    No hate crimes reported.

    Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

    CategoryArrestsReferrals
    Weapons00
    Drugs00
    Liquor00

    Residence-hall fires

    No residence-hall fires reported.

    Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

    Student-faculty ratio

    Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

    Student-to-faculty
    14.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    76

    KCTCS vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions KCTCS selected for federal comparison reporting.

    GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
    This institutionPeer median

    A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

    Carnegie
    SubjectBig Sandy Community and Technical College
    38%2,618$4,530Community College
    Fletcher Technical Community College
    2,663$10,689Community College
    The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
    3,101
    Copiah-Lincoln Community College
    2,932$3,472Community College
    East Central Community College
    2,785$5,770Community College
    Medical University of South Carolina
    3,246
    Peer group median38%2,859$5,150

    Frequently asked questions about Big Sandy Community and Technical College

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about KCTCS.

    What is the graduation rate at Big Sandy Community and Technical College?

    Big Sandy Community and Technical College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 38% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend Big Sandy Community and Technical College?

    Big Sandy Community and Technical College reports a total enrollment of 2,618 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at Big Sandy Community and Technical College?

    The average net price at Big Sandy Community and Technical College is $4,530 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    Where is Big Sandy Community and Technical College located?

    Big Sandy Community and Technical College is located in Prestonsburg, Kentucky 41653.

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