Community CollegePublicHSI

Howard College

Big Spring, Texas·Public, 2-year·Southwest·howardcollege.edu
6-yr Graduation
35%
—
Total enrollment
4,101
peer median 6,617
Avg net price
$6,147
-$331 vs Community College
Use this data
Ask Clema
AboutOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersCampusesIR OfficeResearch funding

About

Howard College is a public community college with its main campus in Big Spring, Texas. It also has branch campuses in San Angelo and Lamesa.

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

IPEDS
Overall completion
35%
Full-time retention
71%

Pell equity

5.7pp gap
Pell recipients
32%59 of 182
Non-Pell (all)
38%69 of 183
Subsidized loan, no Pell
17%2 of 12
No Federal Aid
39%67 of 171

Non-Pell students graduate at a 5.7-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.

Program outcomes

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

FVT/GE

Of 61 Title IV programs, 7 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 54 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
61
Passing
7
11.5% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

61programs
  • Passing7 · 11.5%
  • No Data54 · 88.5%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
7
No data
54

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.

7
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Associate Degree · Security And Protective Services
+35.2%
$45,025 vs $33,298
Business/Commerce General
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+35.6%
$45,139 vs $33,298
Health/Medical Preparatory Programs
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+48.0%
$49,287 vs $33,298
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+50.5%
$50,103 vs $33,298
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+111.3%
$70,345 vs $33,298
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+127.4%
$75,720 vs $33,298
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+167.1%
$88,935 vs $33,298

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
14%
$7,050 debt · $50,103 earn
Health/Medical Preparatory Programs
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
13%
$6,500 debt · $49,287 earn
Business/Commerce General
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
13%
$5,698 debt · $45,139 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
11%
$9,500 debt · $88,935 earn
Practical Nursing Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants
Undergraduate Certificate · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
9%
$7,000 debt · $77,012 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Accredited since 1955Next review Jun 2027

Programmatic accreditations · 3

Action history · 15

  1. Jul 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Jun 2025Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. Jun 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology · Radiologic Technology (RAD) - Programs for radiographers
  4. Jan 2025Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Dental Hygiene (DH)
  5. Apr 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (ADNUR) - Associate degree programs

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$4,301
$30–48k$6,056
$48–75k$7,068
$75–110k$9,934
$110k+$12,329

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

Avg net price
$6,147
-$330vs Community College median $6,478
Federal loans
8.7%
In-state tuition
$2,766
Out-of-state
$6,716

Federal aid volume & trends

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

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 1,147 students received $5.8M in Pell grants, alongside $2.3M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
1,147
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$5.8M
$5,802,599 total
Direct Loans
$2.3M
620 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$1000K
332 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.3M
286 loan awards
Parent PLUS$7K
2 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.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 369 borrowers who entered repayment, 13 (3.5%) defaulted within three years — above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
3.5%
+1.2pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
369
Defaulted
13
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
17.1%
2017
13.2%
2018
10.4%
2019
3.5%
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 Howard College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs48
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

453 total completions
01Health Professions
18240.2%
02Business
8318.3%
03Education
5612.4%
04Liberal Arts
4810.6%
05Security/Protective
224.9%
06Parks/Recreation
184.0%
07Biological Sciences
132.9%
08Computer Sciences
112.4%
09Visual/Performing Arts
102.2%
10Agriculture
102.2%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

IPEDS
Fall total
4,101
12-mo unduplicated
5,060
Undergraduate
5,060
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
39%1,957
Women
61%3,103

Race / ethnicity composition

Hispanic
50.5%
White
39.2%
Black
4.5%
Two or more
2.7%
Unknown
1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.8%
Asian
0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

EADA
Athletes
101
58 M · 43 W
Women athletes
42.6%
Athletic aid
$1.0M
Total student aid
Budget
$2.9M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$547K
$501K
Recruiting expense
$19K
$27K
Head-coach salaries
$49K
$50K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 4

Baseball
32 M · —
$648K
Basketball
15 M · 13 W
$832K
Rodeo
11 M · 12 W
$687K
Softball
— · 18 W
$486K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.48
2 offenses · 4,136 students

3-year trend

0.492 yrs ago0.001 yr ago0.48Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
4
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
1
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
2
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Motor vehicle theft
2

By location

2total
  • On campus1
  • Public property1

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
Drugs06
Liquor04

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.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
25.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
87

Howard College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Howard College selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
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
SubjectHoward College
35%—4,101$6,147Community College
College of the Mainland
——5,127$1,342Community College
North Central Texas College
——8,106$6,587Community College
Odessa College
——9,981$6,368Community College
Central Texas College
——8,373$10,265Community College
Santa Fe Community College
——4,469$11,067Community College
Peer group median35%—6,617$6,478

Institutions like Howard College

Explore the federal data for institutions in Howard College's comparison group.

IPEDS

Campuses

The 1 campus that make up Howard College.

IPEDS

Howard College Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Institutional Effectiveness

This page provides information on the Institutional Effectiveness at Howard College, focusing on planning, student achievement, and survey results. It includes links to strategic plans and quick facts data.

Visit IR office page

Research funding

External research funding from NSF, NIH, HERD, and federal spending sources.

NSF
USA Spending
$9,016,002
All sources
$9,016,002

Frequently asked questions about Howard College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Howard College.

What is the graduation rate at Howard College?

Howard College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 35% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Howard College?

Howard College reports a total enrollment of 4,101 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Howard College?

The average net price at Howard College is $6,147 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

Where is Howard College located?

Howard College is located in Big Spring, Texas 79720.

Who runs Institutional Research at Howard College?

Howard College's IR work is done by the Institutional Effectiveness.

About the data on this page

Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.

IPEDS2025 provisional data (Fall 2025–26 release, July 28, 2026)
Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
U.S. Department of Education
FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
U.S. Department of Education
DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Federal Pell Grant volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Pell Grant recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursements by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Federal student loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Federal Direct Loan recipient counts and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Last reviewed July 2026All data sources & release dates →

Have a question this page can’t answer?

Ask Clema anything about Howard College and its peers — plain language in, cited answers out, in minutes instead of days.

Try for freeBook a demo

Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card