Community CollegePublic

Cowley County Community College

Arkansas City, Kansas·Public, 2-year·Plains·cowley.edu
6-yr Graduation
45%
Total enrollment
2,235
peer median 1,953
Avg net price
$6,752
-$1.4k vs Community College
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Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
45%
Full-time retention
63%

Pell equity

16.0pp gap
Pell recipients
42%
Non-Pell
26%

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 38 Title IV programs, 2 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 36 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
38
Passing
2
5.3% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

38programs
  • Passing2 · 5.3%
  • No Data36 · 94.7%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
1
Safe
1
No data
36

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.

2
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+20.3%
$40,969 vs $34,058
Nuclear and Industrial Radiologic Technologies/Technicians
Associate Degree · Science Technologies/Technicians
+114.3%
$73,002 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
20%
$8,000 debt · $40,969 earn
Nuclear and Industrial Radiologic Technologies/Technicians
Associate Degree · Science Technologies/Technicians
12%
$8,500 debt · $73,002 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1975Next review Aug 2035

Action history · 3

  1. Jan 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  2. May 2016Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  3. May 2016Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission

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$5,702
$30–48k$5,316
$48–75k$7,691
$75–110k$9,327
$110k+$10,731

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

Avg net price
$6,752
-$1,380vs Community College median $8,133
Federal loans
22.4%
In-state tuition
$4,350
Out-of-state
$6,150

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 1,132 students received $5.3M in Pell grants, alongside $3.2M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
1,132
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$5.3M
$5,277,738 total
Direct Loans
$3.2M
941 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

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

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.4M
477 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.8M
452 loan awards
Parent PLUS$73K
12 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 705 borrowers who entered repayment, 10 (1.4%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.4%
-0.9pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
705
Defaulted
10
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
5.4%
2017
7.0%
2018
6.3%
2019
1.4%
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 Cowley

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs29
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

350 total completions
01Liberal Arts
28080.0%
02Health Professions
257.1%
03Science Technologies
205.7%
04Precision Production
102.9%
05Family/Consumer Sci
41.1%
06Business
30.9%
07Personal/Culinary
30.9%
08Security/Protective
20.6%
09Engineering Tech
20.6%
10Construction Trades
10.3%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
2,235
12-mo unduplicated
3,350
Undergraduate
3,350
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
39%1,302
Women
61%2,048

Race / ethnicity composition

White
61.0%
Hispanic
12.9%
Non-resident
8.2%
Two or more
6.7%
Black
6.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native
2.3%
Asian
1.0%
Unknown
1.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.4%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
314
170 M · 144 W
Women athletes
45.9%
Athletic aid
$1.3M
Total student aid
Budget
$3.6M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$662K
$572K
Recruiting expense
$13K
$12K
Head-coach salaries
$49K
$43K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 9

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
70 M · 56 W
$538K
Soccer
31 M · 23 W
$564K
Baseball
39 M ·
$330K
Basketball
15 M · 18 W
$591K
Wrestling
21 M ·
$183K
Tennis
12 M · 8 W
$294K

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
0.90
2 offenses · 2,230 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.831 yr ago0.90Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
4
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
2
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Arson
1
Burglary
1

By location

2total
  • On campus1
  • Public property1

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
1
Stalking
1 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs40
Liquor1120

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
16.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
66

Cowley vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Cowley 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
SubjectCowley County Community College
45%2,235$6,752Community College
Highland Community College
2,190$10,388Community College
Cloud County Community College
1,715$11,477Community College
Colby Community College
1,409$8,021Community College
Pratt Community College
1,322$8,244Community College
Hutchinson Community College
5,119$5,300Community College
Peer group median45%1,953$8,133

Frequently asked questions about Cowley County Community College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Cowley.

What is the graduation rate at Cowley County Community College?

Cowley County Community College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 45% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Cowley County Community College?

Cowley County Community College reports a total enrollment of 2,235 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Cowley County Community College?

The average net price at Cowley County Community College is $6,752 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

Where is Cowley County Community College located?

Cowley County Community College is located in Arkansas City, Kansas 67005.

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