Community CollegePublicHSI

William Rainey Harper College

Palatine, Illinois·Public, 2-year·Great Lakes·harpercollege.edu/index.php
6-yr Graduation
48%
Total enrollment
13,988
peer median 8,864
Avg net price
$6,186
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Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
48%
Full-time retention
77%

Pell equity

1.0pp gap
Pell recipients
43%
Non-Pell
44%

Pell and non-Pell students graduate at nearly identical rates — a notably small equity gap.

Program outcomes

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

Of 80 Title IV programs, 9 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 71 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
80
Passing
9
11.3% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

80programs
  • Passing9 · 11.2%
  • No Data71 · 88.8%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
9
No data
71

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.

9
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+33.2%
$46,359 vs $34,808
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+43.9%
$50,088 vs $34,808
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Associate Degree · Security And Protective Services
+45.2%
$50,553 vs $34,808
Biological and Physical Sciences
Associate Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
+56.2%
$54,379 vs $34,808
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+100.2%
$69,701 vs $34,808
Engineering General
Associate Degree · Engineering
+118.3%
$75,970 vs $34,808
Business Administration Management and Operations
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+124.9%
$78,284 vs $34,808
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+132.5%
$80,912 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

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

6
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
27%
$18,500 debt · $69,701 earn
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
20%
$15,875 debt · $80,912 earn
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
18%
$8,875 debt · $50,088 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
14%
$11,572 debt · $82,445 earn
Biological and Physical Sciences
Associate Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
12%
$6,545 debt · $54,379 earn
Practical Nursing Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants
Undergraduate Certificate · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
11%
$7,298 debt · $69,119 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation

Accredited since 2020Next review Apr 2027
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1971Next review Aug 2028

Programmatic accreditations · 12

Action history · 14

  1. Nov 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    American Physical Therapy Association, Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education · Physical Therapy (PTA) - Programs for the physical therapist assistant
  2. Sep 2025Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (PNUR) - Practical nursing programs
  3. Dec 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology · Radiologic Technology (RAD) - Programs for radiographers
  4. Feb 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Dental Hygiene (DH)
  5. Sep 2022Renewal of Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (PNUR) - Practical nursing 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$4,276
$30–48k$5,310
$48–75k$8,614
$75–110k$10,663
$110k+$11,805

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

Avg net price
$6,186
vs Community College median $6,187
Federal loans
2.1%
In-state tuition
$3,822
Out-of-state
$11,802

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 3,853 students received $17.4M in Pell grants, alongside $2.0M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
3,853
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$17.4M
$17,401,693 total
Direct Loans
$2.0M
553 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

3k
20
3k
21
3k
22
3k
23
4k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$848K
264 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.1M
284 loan awards
Parent PLUS$35K
5 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 679 borrowers who entered repayment, 14 (2.0%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
2.0%
-0.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
679
Defaulted
14
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
8.4%
2017
7.3%
2018
7.8%
2019
2.0%
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 William Rainey Harper College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs89
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

1,800 total completions
01Liberal Arts
93051.7%
02Multi/Interdisciplinary
40122.3%
03Health Professions
18110.1%
04Business
814.5%
05Engineering
522.9%
06Security/Protective
422.3%
07Visual/Performing Arts
362.0%
08Computer Sciences
281.6%
09Engineering Tech
271.5%
10Family/Consumer Sci
221.2%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
13,988
12-mo unduplicated
22,904
Undergraduate
22,904
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
44%10,085
Women
56%12,819

Race / ethnicity composition

White
43.7%
Hispanic
32.0%
Asian
13.0%
Black
5.0%
Two or more
3.5%
Non-resident
1.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.7%
Unknown
0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
183
123 M · 60 W
Women athletes
32.8%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$775K
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$0
$0
Head-coach salaries
$8K
$7K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 8

Track and Field (Outdoor)
29 M · 22 W
$108K
Soccer
23 M · 12 W
$78K
Baseball
33 M ·
$72K
Wrestling
23 M ·
$61K
Cross Country
13 M · 8 W
$39K
Softball
· 16 W
$23K

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
0.16
2 offenses · 12,434 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.001 yr ago0.16Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
2
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
2
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
2

By location

2total
  • On campus2

VAWA offenses

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

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons10
Drugs10
Liquor70

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
21.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
202

William Rainey Harper College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions William Rainey Harper 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
SubjectWilliam Rainey Harper College
48%13,988$6,186Community College
College of Lake County
12,530$6,212Community College
Oakton College
8,329$6,188Community College
McHenry County College
9,399$8,093Community College
City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College
7,798$2,651Community College
City Colleges of Chicago-Harry S Truman College
6,839$3,816Community College
Peer group median48%8,864$6,187

Frequently asked questions about William Rainey Harper College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about William Rainey Harper College.

What is the graduation rate at William Rainey Harper College?

William Rainey Harper College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 48% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend William Rainey Harper College?

William Rainey Harper College reports a total enrollment of 13,988 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at William Rainey Harper College?

The average net price at William Rainey Harper College is $6,186 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

Where is William Rainey Harper College located?

William Rainey Harper College is located in Palatine, Illinois 60067-7398.

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