Community CollegePublic

NorthWest Arkansas Community College

Bentonville, Arkansas·Public, 2-year·Southeast·nwacc.edu
6-yr Graduation
31%
Total enrollment
8,412
peer median 4,409
Avg net price
$5,719
-$260 vs Community College
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Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
31%
Full-time retention
62%

Pell equity

13.0pp gap
Pell recipients
25%
Non-Pell
38%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 13.0-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 60 Title IV programs, 8 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 52 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
60
Passing
8
13.3% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

60programs
  • Passing8 · 13.3%
  • No Data52 · 86.7%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
1
Safe
7
No data
52

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.

8
Culinary Arts and Related Services
Associate Degree · Personal And Culinary Services
+14.4%
$36,169 vs $31,625
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+36.6%
$43,192 vs $31,625
Business Administration Management and Operations
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+39.7%
$44,173 vs $31,625
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+52.2%
$48,127 vs $31,625
Computer and Information Sciences General
Associate Degree · Computer And Information Sciences And Support Services
+73.1%
$54,737 vs $31,625
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+91.1%
$60,422 vs $31,625
Business/Commerce General
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+104.8%
$64,778 vs $31,625
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+117.8%
$68,866 vs $31,625

Debt vs earnings

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

5
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences General
Undergraduate Certificate · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
28%
$15,077 debt · $53,283 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
22%
$15,422 debt · $68,866 earn
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
17%
$7,302 debt · $43,192 earn
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Undergraduate Certificate · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
16%
$8,450 debt · $51,796 earn
Business/Commerce General
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
16%
$10,437 debt · $64,778 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1995Next review Aug 2030

Programmatic accreditations · 2

Action history · 7

  1. Oct 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
  2. Sep 2022Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Probation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (ADNUR) - Associate degree programs
  3. Dec 2020Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  4. Mar 2020Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (ADNUR) - Associate degree programs
  5. Mar 2020Renewal 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.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$4,080
$30–48k$4,729
$48–75k$7,432
$75–110k$9,260
$110k+$10,240

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

Avg net price
$5,719
-$260vs Community College median $5,979
Federal loans
9.8%
In-state tuition
$2,982
Out-of-state
$5,022

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 2,529 students received $10.7M in Pell grants, alongside $6.4M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
2,529
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$10.7M
$10,728,603 total
Direct Loans
$6.4M
1,714 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

2k
20
2k
21
2k
22
2k
23
3k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$2.8M
861 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$3.4M
828 loan awards
Parent PLUS$189K
25 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 994 borrowers who entered repayment, 46 (4.6%) defaulted within three years above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
4.6%
+2.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
994
Defaulted
46
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
13.8%
2017
14.4%
2018
12.5%
2019
4.6%
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 NWACC

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs52
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

1,171 total completions
01Liberal Arts
81569.6%
02Health Professions
14112.0%
03Business
11710.0%
04Engineering Tech
252.1%
05Computer Sciences
191.6%
06Education
171.5%
07Personal/Culinary
161.4%
08Visual/Performing Arts
90.8%
09Agriculture
60.5%
10Security/Protective
60.5%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
8,412
12-mo unduplicated
11,290
Undergraduate
11,290
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
41%4,639
Women
59%6,651

Race / ethnicity composition

White
55.8%
Hispanic
28.2%
Two or more
4.7%
Asian
3.6%
Black
3.1%
Unknown
2.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native
1.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
1.0%
Non-resident
0.3%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
11
6 M · 5 W
Women athletes
45.5%
Athletic aid
$11K
Total student aid
Budget
$278K
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$9K
$3K
Recruiting expense
$980
$980
Head-coach salaries
$22K
$22K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 1

Cross Country
6 M · 5 W
$137K

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
0.13
1 offenses · 7,593 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.001 yr ago0.13Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
1
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
4
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Motor vehicle theft
1

By location

1total
  • Non-campus1

VAWA offenses

1
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
2
Stalking
3 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons01
Drugs130
Liquor00

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Data quality: 1 report was 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
13.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
165

NWACC vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions NWACC 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
SubjectNorthWest Arkansas Community College
31%8,412$5,719Community College
Germanna Community College
8,544$6,239Community College
Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas
1,312$5,200Community College
Catawba Valley Community College
4,904$9,415Community College
Blue Ridge Community College
3,790$8,755Community College
Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute
3,914$5,517Community College
Peer group median31%4,409$5,979

Frequently asked questions about NorthWest Arkansas Community College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about NWACC.

What is the graduation rate at NorthWest Arkansas Community College?

NorthWest Arkansas Community College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 31% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend NorthWest Arkansas Community College?

NorthWest Arkansas Community College reports a total enrollment of 8,412 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at NorthWest Arkansas Community College?

The average net price at NorthWest Arkansas Community College is $5,719 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

Where is NorthWest Arkansas Community College located?

NorthWest Arkansas Community College is located in Bentonville, Arkansas 72712-5091.

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