Doctoral/ProfessionalPrivate (for-profit)

South College

Knoxville, Tennessee·Private for-profit, 4-year or above·Southeast·south.edu
6-yr Graduation
42%
+28.0pp vs Doctoral/Professional
Total enrollment
11,557
peer median 10,180
Avg net price
$17,182
-$5.7k vs Doctoral/Professional
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Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
42%+28.0pp vs Doctoral/Professional
4-year graduation
50%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
53%
Full-time retention
52%

Pell equity

8.0pp gap
Pell recipients
40%
Non-Pell
48%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 8.0-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 128 Title IV programs, 8 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 120 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
128
Passing
8
6.3% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

128programs
  • Passing8 · 6.2%
  • No Data120 · 93.8%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
8
No data
120

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
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+39.8%
$46,109 vs $32,989
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+51.8%
$78,243 vs $51,545
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+61.8%
$53,367 vs $32,989
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+67.8%
$55,361 vs $32,989
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+85.0%
$61,037 vs $32,989
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+133.7%
$77,096 vs $32,989
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+147.3%
$127,468 vs $51,545
Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+148.1%
$127,893 vs $51,545

Debt vs earnings

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

8
Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
168%
$214,194 debt · $127,893 earn
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
147%
$115,293 debt · $78,243 earn
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
111%
$141,478 debt · $127,468 earn
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
48%
$25,500 debt · $53,367 earn
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
43%
$20,000 debt · $46,109 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
38%
$29,541 debt · $77,096 earn
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
Undergraduate Certificate · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
33%
$12,193 debt · $36,738 earn
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
20%
$12,000 debt · $61,037 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Accredited since 2000Next review Jun 2027

Programmatic accreditations · 16

Action history · 34

  1. Sep 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Sep 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology · Radiologic Technology (RAD) - Programs for radiographers
  3. Aug 2025Initial Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (PNUR) - Practical nursing programs
  4. Aug 2025Initial Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (ADNUR) - Associate degree programs
  5. Apr 2025Grant Substantive Change: Other
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) - Programs leading to an associate degree

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$16,059
$30–48k$17,219
$48–75k$18,193
$75–110k$23,707
$110k+$26,550

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

Avg net price (private)
$17,182
-$5,704vs Doctoral/Professional median $22,886
Federal loans
61.7%
In-state tuition
$17,935
Out-of-state
$17,935

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 13,093 students received $65.2M in Pell grants, alongside $218.0M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
13,093
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$65.2M
$65,180,316 total
Direct Loans
$218.0M
30,922 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

5k
20
6k
21
7k
22
10k
23
13k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$33.2M
12,464 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$48.0M
12,593 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$64.8M
3,621 loan awards
Parent PLUS$5.4M
573 loan awards
Grad PLUS$66.6M
1,671 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 1,318 borrowers who entered repayment, 29 (2.2%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
2.2%
-0.1pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
1,318
Defaulted
29
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
17.9%
2017
15.4%
2018
12.1%
2019
2.2%
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 South College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs74
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

2,337 total completions
01Health Professions
2,06888.5%
02Business
1034.4%
03Security/Protective
472.0%
04Education
391.7%
05Computer Sciences
341.5%
06Engineering Tech
281.2%
07Legal Professions
80.3%
08Psychology
40.2%
09Philosophy/Religion
40.2%
10Public Admin
20.1%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
11,557
12-mo unduplicated
17,912
Undergraduate
14,549
Graduate
3,363

Gender split

Men
16%2,777
Women
84%15,135

Race / ethnicity composition

White
45.4%
Black
37.8%
Two or more
6.4%
Non-resident
3.4%
Hispanic
2.7%
Asian
1.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native
1.1%
Unknown
1.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.4%

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.00
0 offenses · 6,182 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.001 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
0
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

No criminal offenses reported.

By location

0total

    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
    Drugs00
    Liquor00

    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.

    Student-to-faculty
    25.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    499

    South College vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions South College 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
    SubjectSouth College
    42%11,557$17,182Doctoral/Professional
    South University-Savannah Online
    6%8,803$26,308Doctoral/Professional
    University of Management and Technology
    979Doctoral/Professional
    South University-Columbia
    21%504$22,886Doctoral/Professional
    Ashford University
    10%28,004$25,321Doctoral/Professional
    Colorado Technical University-Colorado Springs
    14%31,830$14,954Doctoral/Professional
    Peer group median14%10,180$22,886

    Frequently asked questions about South College

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

    What is the graduation rate at South College?

    South College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 42% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend South College?

    South College reports a total enrollment of 11,557 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at South College?

    The average net price at South College is $17,182 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    Where is South College located?

    South College is located in Knoxville, Tennessee 37909-0000.

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