Community CollegePublicHSI

Northampton County Area Community College

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania·Public, 2-year·Mid East·northampton.edu
6-yr Graduation
24%
Total enrollment
8,810
peer median 7,082
Avg net price
$12,119
+$5.4k vs Community College
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About

Northampton Community College is a public community college in Pennsylvania with campuses in Bethlehem in Northampton County and Tannersville in Monroe County. The college, founded in 1967, also has satellite locations in the south side of Bethlehem and Hawley. The college serves more than 34,000 students a year in credit and non-credit programs.

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
24%
Full-time retention
64%

Pell equity

6.2pp gap
Pell recipients
27%142 of 533
Non-Pell (all)
21%122 of 585
Subsidized loan, no Pell
39%122 of 312
No Federal Aid
0%0 of 273

Pell recipients here graduate at a 6.2-point higher rate than non-Pell students, unusual and worth a closer look.

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.

Of 89 Title IV programs, 17 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 72 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
89
Passing
17
19.1% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

89programs
  • Passing17 · 19.1%
  • No Data72 · 80.9%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
1
Watch
7
Safe
9
No data
72

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.

17
Communication and Media Studies
Associate Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+4.1%
$36,736 vs $35,274
Hospitality Administration/Management
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+11.3%
$39,251 vs $35,274
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+13.8%
$40,129 vs $35,274
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Associate Degree · Education
+16.5%
$41,092 vs $35,274
Social Work
Associate Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+16.9%
$41,245 vs $35,274
Design and Applied Arts
Associate Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+17.0%
$41,282 vs $35,274
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+17.9%
$41,577 vs $35,274
Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians
Associate Degree · Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, And Related Sciences
+21.5%
$42,858 vs $35,274

Near the line (±5%)

Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.

1
Communication and Media Studies
Associate Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+4.1%
+$1,462

Debt vs earnings

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

14
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
40%
$16,773 debt · $41,577 earn
Communication and Media Studies
Associate Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
39%
$14,304 debt · $36,736 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Associate Degree · Education
37%
$15,250 debt · $41,092 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
37%
$18,500 debt · $50,143 earn
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
36%
$14,250 debt · $40,129 earn
Social Work
Associate Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
35%
$14,250 debt · $41,245 earn
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Associate Degree · Security And Protective Services
32%
$15,832 debt · $48,886 earn
Design and Applied Arts
Associate Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
29%
$12,000 debt · $41,282 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Accredited since 2015
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Accredited since 1970Next review Jan 2033

Programmatic accreditations · 6

Action history · 13

  1. Jan 2026Renewal of Accreditation
    Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology · Radiologic Technology (RAD) - Programs for radiographers
  2. Jun 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  3. Dec 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology · Radiologic Technology (RAD) - Programs for radiographers
  4. Sep 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (PNUR) - Practical nursing programs
  5. Aug 2022Renewal of Accreditation
    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$8,986
$30–48k$10,102
$48–75k$13,016
$75–110k$15,912
$110k+$17,697

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

Avg net price
$12,119
+$5,442vs Community College median $6,677
Federal loans
28.5%
In-state tuition
$5,550
Out-of-state
$15,270

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 5,130 students received $21.2M in Pell grants, alongside $19.4M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
5,130
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$21.2M
$21,199,929 total
Direct Loans
$19.4M
5,408 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

4k
20
4k
21
4k
22
4k
23
5k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$8.5M
2,695 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$9.7M
2,591 loan awards
Parent PLUS$1.1M
122 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 2,002 borrowers who entered repayment, 115 (5.7%) defaulted within three years above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
5.7%
+3.4pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
2,002
Defaulted
115
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
13.6%
2017
14.5%
2018
14.2%
2019
5.7%
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 Northampton

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs85
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

817 total completions
01Health Professions
19423.7%
02Business
12915.8%
03Liberal Arts
10512.9%
04Psychology
9211.3%
05Computer Sciences
738.9%
06Visual/Performing Arts
627.6%
07Education
577.0%
08Security/Protective
394.8%
09Personal/Culinary
374.5%
10Comm. Technologies
293.5%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
8,810
12-mo unduplicated
11,064
Undergraduate
11,064
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
35%3,873
Women
65%7,191

Race / ethnicity composition

White
40.0%
Hispanic
30.1%
Black
12.1%
Unknown
10.3%
Two or more
3.8%
Asian
2.6%
Non-resident
0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
124
91 M · 33 W
Women athletes
26.6%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$925K
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$0
$0
Head-coach salaries
$8K
$9K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 6

Baseball
31 M ·
$78K
Basketball
19 M · 10 W
$112K
Volleyball
10 M · 11 W
$78K
Soccer
21 M ·
$34K
Wrestling
10 M · 3 W
$33K
Softball
· 13 W
$47K

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
1.50
13 offenses · 8,695 students

3-year trend

0.892 yrs ago0.831 yr ago1.50Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
27
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
32
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
2
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
1

Criminal offenses by type

Aggravated assault
6
Rape
4
Fondling
3

By location

13total
  • On campus13

Includes 10 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
11
Dating violence
9
Stalking
20 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons12
Drugs1024
Liquor229

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Data quality: 2 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
19.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
110

Northampton vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Northampton 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
SubjectNorthampton County Area Community College
24%8,810$12,119Community College
6,232$6,389Community College
7,402$6,576Community College
5,085$6,835Community College
4,036$4,858Community College
6,394$5,279Community College
9,374$2,624Community College
9,278$11,124Community College
56,457$9,919Community College
896$1,095Community College
98.6%6,762$6,778Community College
6,620$5,344Community College
16,884$11,762Community College
13,988$11,607Community College
Peer group median24%98.6%7,082$6,677

Institutions like Northampton

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

Northampton Institutional Research office

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

Office
Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Email
data [at] northampton.edu
Phone
610.861.5300
Address
3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem, PA 18020

The mission of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (IE) is to provide leadership and support for institution-wide planning, assessment, evaluation, reporting, and research compliance activities in support of NCC's mission.

Visit IR office page
Team
3 members
  • Scott Schaeffer, D.C.
    Director, Institutional Effectiveness, MSCHE Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO)
  • Sam Temples
    Assistant Director, Institutional Effectiveness
  • Emily Burger
    Institutional Data and Compliance Analyst

Reports & documents (2)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Frequently asked questions about Northampton County Area Community College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Northampton.

What is the graduation rate at Northampton County Area Community College?

Northampton County Area Community College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 24% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Northampton County Area Community College?

Northampton County Area Community College reports a total enrollment of 8,810 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Northampton County Area Community College?

The average net price at Northampton County Area Community College is $12,119 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

Where is Northampton County Area Community College located?

Northampton County Area Community College is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18020-7599.

Who runs Institutional Research at Northampton County Area Community College?

Northampton County Area Community College's IR work is done by the Office of 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.
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.
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.
DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
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.
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.
Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.

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