Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Overall completion
34%
Overall completion
34%
Full-time retention
67%
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.
Program
Typical
Benchmark
EP gap
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
$39,940
$32,203
Same-State HS Median
+24.0%
+$7,737
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
$42,093
$32,203
Same-State HS Median
+30.7%
+$9,890
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
$50,244
$32,203
Same-State HS Median
+56.0%
+$18,041
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
$60,921
$32,203
Same-State HS Median
+89.2%
+$28,718
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
$75,252
$32,203
Same-State HS Median
+133.7%
+$43,049
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.
Program
Median debt
Median earnings
Debt burden
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
$9,500
$42,093
23%
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
$9,500 debt · $42,093 earn
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
$12,687
$60,921
21%
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
$12,687 debt · $60,921 earn
Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services
Undergraduate Certificate · Personal And Culinary Services
$5,500
$28,983
19%
Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services
Undergraduate Certificate · Personal And Culinary Services
$5,500 debt · $28,983 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
$14,000
$75,252
19%
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
$14,000 debt · $75,252 earn
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Undergraduate Certificate · Security And Protective Services
$4,500
$55,088
8%
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Undergraduate Certificate · Security And Protective Services
$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
- Aug 2025Renewal of AccreditationAmerican Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) - Programs leading to an associate degree
- Apr 2025Warning or Equivalent-Factors Affecting Academic QualityAmerican Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) - Programs leading to an associate degree
- Mar 2025Grant Substantive Change: ProgramSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Mar 2025Grant Substantive Change: ProgramSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Jan 2025Grant Substantive Change: ProgramAmerican Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Dental Hygiene (DH)
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Aid exceeds costFamily pays
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Avg net price
$5,416
+$164vs Community College median $5,252
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.
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%+12.7
2017
19.2%+10.0
2018
14.2%+7.2
2019
4.1%+1.8
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.
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%
01Liberal Arts
83266.1%
02Health Professions
21216.9%
02Health Professions
21216.9%
03Business
433.4%
03Business
433.4%
04Construction Trades
352.8%
04Construction Trades
352.8%
05Visual/Performing Arts
312.5%
05Visual/Performing Arts
312.5%
06Security/Protective
262.1%
06Security/Protective
262.1%
07Computer Sciences
231.8%
07Computer Sciences
231.8%
08Personal/Culinary
211.7%
08Personal/Culinary
211.7%
09Agriculture
191.5%
09Agriculture
191.5%
10Engineering Tech
161.3%
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
Sport
Men
Women
Expenses
Soccer
25
24
$114,451
Soccer
25 M · 24 W
Basketball
14
10
$159,961
Basketball
14 M · 10 W
Volleyball
—
11
$54,146
Volleyball
— · 11 W
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.
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.
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 | $5,416 | Community College |
| — | — | 6,950 | $6,235 | Community College | |
| — | — | 9,876 | $6,313 | Community College | |
| — | — | 6,841 | $16,051 | Community College | |
| — | — | 9,457 | $13,328 | Community College | |
| — | — | 12,842 | $4,616 | Community College | |
| — | — | 12,861 | $11,812 | Community College | |
| — | — | 5,712 | $4,576 | Community College | |
| — | — | 6,787 | $4,342 | Community College | |
| — | — | 5,478 | $5,001 | Community College | |
| — | — | 10,337 | $4,620 | Community College | |
| — | — | 8,397 | $4,550 | Community College | |
| — | — | 11,273 | $2,895 | Community College | |
| — | — | 8,873 | $1,697 | Community College | |
| — | — | 8,103 | $4,175 | Community College | |
| — | — | 8,455 | $5,692 | Community College | |
| — | — | 5,980 | $10,421 | Community College | |
| — | — | 6,718 | $6,258 | Community College | |
| — | — | 7,533 | $6,283 | Community College | |
| — | — | 11,475 | $5,135 | Community College | |
| — | — | 7,361 | $659 | Community College | |
| — | — | 9,399 | $5,252 | Community College | |
| — | — | 5,364 | $8,508 | Community College | |
| — | — | 5,218 | $10,818 | Community College | |
| — | — | 11,897 | $3,407 | Community College | |
| — | — | 9,098 | $7,062 | Community College | |
| — | 100.0% | 7,004 | $4,588 | Community College | |
| — | — | 6,143 | $5,981 | Community College | |
| — | — | 12,222 | $2,257 | Community College | |
| — | — | 6,963 | $10,477 | Community College | |
| — | — | 5,899 | $4,153 | Community College | |
| Peer group median | 34% | 100.0% | 8,103 | $5,252 |
Institutions like Cape Fear Community College
Explore the federal data for institutions in Cape Fear Community College's comparison group.
- Community CollegeMassachusetts
Bristol Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment6,950Net price$6,235View data - Community CollegeMassachusetts
Bunker Hill Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment9,876Net price$6,313View data - Community CollegeKansas
Butler Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment6,841Net price$16,051View data - Community CollegeCalifornia
Cabrillo College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment9,457Net price$13,328View data - Community CollegeCalifornia
Chabot College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment12,842Net price$4,616View data - Community CollegeCalifornia
College of the Desert
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment12,861Net price$11,812View data - Community CollegeTennessee
Columbia State Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment5,712Net price$4,576View data - Community CollegeNew York
CUNY Bronx Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment6,787Net price$4,342View data - Community CollegeNew York
CUNY Hostos Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment5,478Net price$5,001View data - Community CollegeNew York
CUNY Queensborough Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment10,337Net price$4,620View data - Community CollegeMichigan
Delta College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment8,397Net price$4,550View data - Community CollegeCalifornia
Hartnell College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment11,273Net price$2,895View data - Community CollegeCalifornia
Imperial Valley College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment8,873Net price$1,697View data - Community CollegeCalifornia
Las Positas College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment8,103Net price$4,175View data - Community CollegeCalifornia
Los Medanos College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment8,455Net price$5,692View data - Community CollegeTennessee
Motlow State Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment5,980Net price$10,421View data - Community CollegeMichigan
Mott Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment6,718Net price$6,258View data - Community CollegeTennessee
Nashville State Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment7,533Net price$6,283View data - Community CollegeOklahoma
Oklahoma City Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment11,475Net price$5,135View data - Community CollegeCalifornia
Oxnard College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment7,361Net price$659View data - Community CollegeTennessee
Pellissippi State Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment9,399Net price$5,252View data - Community CollegeNew York
Rockland Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment5,364Net price$8,508View data - Community CollegeNew Jersey
Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester Campus
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment5,218Net price$10,818View data - Community CollegeCalifornia
Santiago Canyon College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment11,897Net price$3,407View data - Community CollegeTexas
South Plains College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment9,098Net price$7,062View data - Community CollegeTennessee
Southwest Tennessee Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate100.0%Enrollment7,004Net price$4,588View data - Community CollegeMissouri
St Charles Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment6,143Net price$5,981View data - Community CollegeCalifornia
Ventura College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment12,222Net price$2,257View data - Community CollegeTennessee
Volunteer State Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment6,963Net price$10,477View data - Community CollegeTennessee
Walters State Community College
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment5,899Net price$4,153View data
Cape Fear Community College Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
Office
Institutional Effectiveness, Planning, and Compliance
Phone
910-362-7000
The page is related to the Institutional Effectiveness, Planning, and Compliance department at Cape Fear Community College and invites feedback to help improve customer service quality. It includes a survey to evaluate the service and asks for contact information for follow-up.
Visit IR office pageTeam
2 members
- Dr. Michael CobbVice President of Institutional Effectiveness, Planning and Compliance
- Robin HardinDirector, Institutional Effectiveness & SACS Liaison
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.
Who runs Institutional Research at Cape Fear Community College?
Cape Fear Community College's IR work is done by the Institutional Effectiveness, Planning, and Compliance.
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