Roane State
Community College
Public Community College in Harriman, TN. Six-year graduation rate 36%. Median 10-year earnings $39,407.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $39,407, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Only 36% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Median debt at graduation is $8,454, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.21 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 36% graduate within six years. Retention is weak: only 58% of full-time first-years return, so roughly two in five leave after one year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. A 14% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. The student-faculty ratio is 18:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,288 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $5,249 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Income makes less difference than usual: $3,444 at $0–30k, $10,354 at $110k+. About 82% get grants averaging $5,963, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 5% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
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 · 958 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 | $3,444 |
| $30–48k | $3,636 |
| $48–75k | $5,220 |
| $75–110k | $7,594 |
| $110k+ | $10,354 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 172 of these 3,288 students, totalling $980,717 — an average of $5,702 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Roane 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)