Community CollegePublic

West Kentucky Community and Technical College

Paducah, Kentucky·Public, 2-year·Southeast·westkentucky.kctcs.edu
6-yr Graduation
50%
Total enrollment
5,274
peer median 5,157
Avg net price
$5,023
-$714 vs Community College
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Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
50%
Full-time retention
71%

Pell equity

17.0pp gap
Pell recipients
46%
Non-Pell
29%

Pell recipients graduate at a higher rate than non-Pell students here — unusual and worth investigating.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 56 Title IV programs, 7 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 49 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
56
Passing
7
12.5% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

56programs
  • Passing7 · 12.5%
  • No Data49 · 87.5%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
3
Safe
4
No data
49

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.

7
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences General
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+13.0%
$38,499 vs $34,058
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+14.0%
$38,835 vs $34,058
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Associate Degree · Security And Protective Services
+15.3%
$39,279 vs $34,058
Business Administration Management and Operations
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+40.5%
$47,849 vs $34,058
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+40.9%
$47,983 vs $34,058
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies Other
Associate Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
+69.1%
$57,596 vs $34,058
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+105.1%
$69,850 vs $34,058

Debt vs earnings

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

6
Business Administration Management and Operations
Undergraduate Certificate · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
28%
$10,192 debt · $36,252 earn
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
20%
$7,720 debt · $38,835 earn
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
20%
$9,464 debt · $47,983 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
19%
$13,250 debt · $69,850 earn
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences General
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
18%
$7,097 debt · $38,499 earn
Practical Nursing Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants
Undergraduate Certificate · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
16%
$5,500 debt · $35,321 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 2003Next review Jun 2026

Programmatic accreditations · 5

Action history · 22

  1. Apr 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    American Physical Therapy Association, Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education · Physical Therapy (PTA) - Programs for the physical therapist assistant
  2. Dec 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology · Radiologic Technology (RAD) - Programs for radiographers
  3. Jul 2024Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  4. Jul 2024Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Jun 2024Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

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$4,091
$30–48k$4,761
$48–75k$6,921
$75–110k$7,330
$110k+$10,930

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

Avg net price
$5,023
-$714vs Community College median $5,737
Federal loans
9.3%
In-state tuition
$4,656
Out-of-state
$6,192

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 2,267 students received $10.3M in Pell grants, alongside $3.2M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
2,267
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$10.3M
$10,323,183 total
Direct Loans
$3.2M
924 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

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

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.5M
473 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.7M
448 loan awards
Parent PLUS$26K
3 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 695 borrowers who entered repayment, 32 (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
695
Defaulted
32
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
21.3%
2017
19.4%
2018
15.6%
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 KCTCS

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs43
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

499 total completions
01Liberal Arts
20841.7%
02Health Professions
15130.3%
03Business
346.8%
04Multi/Interdisciplinary
326.4%
05Construction Trades
183.6%
06Comm. Technologies
132.6%
07Computer Sciences
122.4%
08Security/Protective
112.2%
09Family/Consumer Sci
112.2%
10Mechanic
91.8%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
5,274
12-mo unduplicated
6,593
Undergraduate
6,593
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
42%2,757
Women
58%3,836

Race / ethnicity composition

White
78.3%
Black
8.6%
Hispanic
7.3%
Two or more
4.0%
Asian
0.8%
Unknown
0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.0%

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 · 5,309 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
    18.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    107

    KCTCS vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions KCTCS 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
    SubjectWest Kentucky Community and Technical College
    50%5,274$5,023Community College
    Gateway Community and Technical College
    5,320$5,897Community College
    Maysville Community and Technical College
    4,434$5,577Community College
    Ashland Community and Technical College
    2,552$4,907Community College
    Northshore Technical Community College
    5,975$9,942Community College
    Holmes Community College
    5,039$5,980Community College
    Peer group median50%5,157$5,737

    Frequently asked questions about West Kentucky Community and Technical College

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about KCTCS.

    What is the graduation rate at West Kentucky Community and Technical College?

    West Kentucky Community and Technical College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 50% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend West Kentucky Community and Technical College?

    West Kentucky Community and Technical College reports a total enrollment of 5,274 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at West Kentucky Community and Technical College?

    The average net price at West Kentucky Community and Technical College is $5,023 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    Where is West Kentucky Community and Technical College located?

    West Kentucky Community and Technical College is located in Paducah, Kentucky 42001.

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