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 8,047
Avg net price
$10,666
+$3.3k vs Community College
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Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
24%
Full-time retention
64%

Pell equity

12.0pp gap
Pell recipients
27%
Non-Pell
39%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 12.0-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 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$8,432
$30–48k$8,833
$48–75k$11,938
$75–110k$14,596
$110k+$15,777

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

Avg net price
$10,666
+$3,343vs Community College median $7,323
Federal loans
26.4%
In-state tuition
$5,310
Out-of-state
$14,730

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 5,083 students received $20.7M in Pell grants, alongside $18.9M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
5,083
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$20.7M
$20,739,337 total
Direct Loans
$18.9M
5,375 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$8.4M
2,681 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$9.5M
2,571 loan awards
Parent PLUS$1.1M
123 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 programs82
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

890 total completions
01Health Professions
18520.8%
02Business
17519.7%
03Liberal Arts
12113.6%
04Computer Sciences
889.9%
05Psychology
849.4%
06Education
606.7%
07Security/Protective
546.1%
08Visual/Performing Arts
515.7%
09Personal/Culinary
444.9%
10Biological Sciences
283.1%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
8,810
12-mo unduplicated
12,063
Undergraduate
12,063
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
36%4,309
Women
64%7,754

Race / ethnicity composition

White
42.5%
Hispanic
28.3%
Black
13.2%
Unknown
8.8%
Two or more
3.7%
Asian
2.5%
Non-resident
0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
114
78 M · 36 W
Women athletes
31.6%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$397K
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$0
$0
Head-coach salaries
$10K
$10K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 5

Basketball
21 M · 13 W
$100K
Baseball
30 M ·
$89K
Soccer
19 M ·
$32K
Volleyball
9 M · 9 W
$55K
Softball
· 14 W
$49K

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
0.83
7 offenses · 8,484 students

3-year trend

0.112 yrs ago0.891 yr ago0.83Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
15
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
12
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
3
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
1

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
3
Rape
2
Fondling
2

By location

7total
  • On campus7

Includes 6 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
6
Dating violence
0
Stalking
6 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons01
Drugs833
Liquor731

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$10,666Community College
Delaware County Community College
7,402$7,395Community College
Butler County Community College
2,317$6,075Community College
UCNJ Union College of Union County, New Jersey
8,330$7,251Community College
Hudson County Community College
7,763$5,902Community College
Brookdale Community College
9,900$8,882Community College
Peer group median24%8,047$7,323

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 $10,666 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.

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