Jefferson Community College
About
Jefferson Community College is a public community college in Watertown, New York. Established on November 7, 1961, Jefferson Community College was the area's first institution of higher education and remains the only college with a campus in a 50 miles (80 km) radius. It was initially accredited in 1969, and is the only college in the State University of New York (SUNY) System with a zoo technology degree program.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 9.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 44 Title IV programs, 6 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 38 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing6 · 13.6%
- No Data38 · 86.4%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
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.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Programmatic accreditations · 2
Action history · 3
- Jun 2024Renewal of AccreditationMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
- Sep 2023Renewal of AccreditationAccreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (ADNUR) - Associate degree programs
- Apr 2018Grant Substantive Change: OtherMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 1,027 students received $4.5M in Pell grants, alongside $3.2M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
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 859 borrowers who entered repayment, 34 (3.9%) defaulted within three years — above the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* 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 Jefferson Community College
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 7
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Jefferson Community College vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Jefferson Community College selected for federal comparison reporting.
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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectJefferson Community College | 28% | — | 2,319 | $11,012 | Community College |
Arkansas State University-Beebe | — | — | 3,277 | $8,652 | Community College |
Barton County Community College | — | — | 5,092 | $11,865 | Community College |
Cayuga County Community College | — | — | 3,580 | $7,278 | Community College |
Cochise County Community College District | — | — | 3,905 | $7,420 | Community College |
Herkimer County Community College | — | — | 1,971 | $10,530 | Community College |
Hopkinsville Community College | — | — | 2,211 | $3,939 | Community College |
Mineral Area College | — | — | 2,447 | $11,123 | Community College |
Rowan College of South Jersey-Cumberland Campus | — | — | 2,686 | $6,549 | Community College |
Schenectady County Community College | — | — | 3,490 | $5,298 | Community College |
SUNY Adirondack | — | — | 2,576 | $10,363 | Community College |
Three Rivers College | — | — | 2,604 | $9,980 | Community College |
Tompkins Cortland Community College | — | — | 4,958 | $12,851 | Community College |
Ulster County Community College | — | — | 3,091 | $4,586 | Community College |
| Peer group median | 28% | — | 2,889 | $9,316 |
Reports & documents (2)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
- DFR reportIPEDS Data Feedback Report 20242024nces.ed.gov
- Strategic planJefferson Community College Strategic Plan2025Jefferson Community College commenced a strategic planning process in 2024 to define its direction from 2025 to 2030. The process was inclusive, transparent, data-informed, and involved broad participation from faculty, staff, students, alumni, community partners, and leaders in education and workforce development. The plan is geared towards shaping Jefferson's future through collaborative engagement and forward-thinking strategies.sunyjefferson.edu
Frequently asked questions about Jefferson Community College
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Jefferson Community College.
What is the graduation rate at Jefferson Community College?
How many students attend Jefferson Community College?
What is the average net price at Jefferson Community College?
Where is Jefferson Community College located?
Have a question this page can’t answer?
Ask Clema anything about Jefferson Community College and its peers — plain language in, cited answers out, in minutes instead of days.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card