Chippewa Valley
Technical College
Public Community College in Eau Claire, WI. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $46,297.
Students who entered Chippewa Valley Technical College land at a median of $46,297 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Six-year completion sits at 50%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates leave owing a median of $11,432 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.25 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
50% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. First-year retention is 72% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. The part-time picture is harder: 55% return, against 72% full-time. At 14:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,127 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $10,992 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Income makes less difference than usual: $9,483 at $0–30k, $16,821 at $110k+. Only 48% of students receive grant aid, so most families are paying near the published price. About 32% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 635 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $9,483 |
| $30–48k | $9,105 |
| $48–75k | $11,868 |
| $75–110k | $15,585 |
| $110k+ | $16,821 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,339 of these 4,127 students, totalling $7,868,428 — an average of $5,876 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Eau Claire County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)