Community CollegePublic

Cape Fear Community College

Wilmington, North Carolina·Public, 2-year·Southeast·cfcc.edu
6-yr Graduation
34%
Total enrollment
14,082
peer median 11,741
Avg net price
$5,416
-$760 vs Community College
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Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
34%
Full-time retention
67%

Program outcomes

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

Of 90 Title IV programs, 5 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 85 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
90
Passing
5
5.6% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

90programs
  • Passing5 · 5.6%
  • No Data85 · 94.4%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
1
Safe
4
No data
85

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.

5
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+24.0%
$39,940 vs $32,203
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+30.7%
$42,093 vs $32,203
Computer and Information Sciences General
Associate Degree · Computer And Information Sciences And Support Services
+56.0%
$50,244 vs $32,203
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+89.2%
$60,921 vs $32,203
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+133.7%
$75,252 vs $32,203

Debt vs earnings

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

5
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
23%
$9,500 debt · $42,093 earn
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
21%
$12,687 debt · $60,921 earn
Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services
Undergraduate Certificate · Personal And Culinary Services
19%
$5,500 debt · $28,983 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
19%
$14,000 debt · $75,252 earn
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Undergraduate Certificate · Security And Protective Services
8%
$4,500 debt · $55,088 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 1971Next review Jun 2027

Programmatic accreditations · 5

Action history · 29

  1. Aug 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) - Programs leading to an associate degree
  2. Apr 2025Warning or Equivalent-Factors Affecting Academic Quality
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) - Programs leading to an associate degree
  3. Mar 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  4. Mar 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Jan 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Dental Hygiene (DH)

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$3,857
$30–48k$4,647
$48–75k$5,301
$75–110k$13,137
$110k+$13,464

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

Avg net price
$5,416
-$759vs Community College median $6,176
Federal loans
3.2%
In-state tuition
$2,748
Out-of-state
$8,892

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 3,610 students received $16.9M in Pell grants, alongside $4.3M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
3,610
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$16.9M
$16,898,112 total
Direct Loans
$4.3M
1,240 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

3k
20
3k
21
3k
22
3k
23
4k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.7M
593 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$2.2M
614 loan awards
Parent PLUS$329K
33 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 993 borrowers who entered repayment, 41 (4.1%) defaulted within three years above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
4.1%
+1.8pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
993
Defaulted
41
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
22.0%
2017
19.2%
2018
14.2%
2019
4.1%
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 Cape Fear Community College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs69
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

1,258 total completions
01Liberal Arts
83266.1%
02Health Professions
21216.9%
03Business
433.4%
04Construction Trades
352.8%
05Visual/Performing Arts
312.5%
06Security/Protective
262.1%
07Computer Sciences
231.8%
08Personal/Culinary
211.7%
09Agriculture
191.5%
10Engineering Tech
161.3%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
14,082
12-mo unduplicated
26,685
Undergraduate
26,685
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
50%13,298
Women
50%13,387

Race / ethnicity composition

White
67.5%
Hispanic
11.7%
Black
10.1%
Unknown
4.8%
Two or more
3.2%
Asian
1.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.9%
Non-resident
0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

Athletes
84
39 M · 45 W
Women athletes
53.6%
Athletic aid
$46K
Total student aid
Budget
$575K
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$22K
$24K
Recruiting expense
$0
$0
Head-coach salaries
$20K
$20K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 3

Soccer
25 M · 24 W
$114K
Basketball
14 M · 10 W
$160K
Volleyball
· 11 W
$54K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.07
1 offenses · 14,170 students

3-year trend

0.122 yrs ago0.001 yr ago0.07Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
2
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
7
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Robbery
1

By location

1total
  • On campus1

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
13.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
259

Cape Fear Community College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Cape Fear Community College 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
SubjectCape Fear Community College
34%14,082$5,416Community College
Wake Technical Community College
24,609$6,935Community College
Georgia State University-Perimeter College
90.8%17,437$10,102Community College
Roanoke-Chowan Community College
668$8,076Community College
Pellissippi State Community College
9,399$5,252Community College
Southwest Tennessee Community College
100.0%7,004$4,588Community College
Peer group median34%95.4%11,741$6,176

Frequently asked questions about Cape Fear Community College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Cape Fear Community College.

What is the graduation rate at Cape Fear Community College?

Cape Fear Community College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 34% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Cape Fear Community College?

Cape Fear Community College reports a total enrollment of 14,082 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Cape Fear Community College?

The average net price at Cape Fear Community College is $5,416 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

Where is Cape Fear Community College located?

Cape Fear Community College is located in Wilmington, North Carolina 28401-3910.

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