Southern Arkansas
University Tech
Public Community College in Camden, AR. Six-year graduation rate 62%. Median 10-year earnings $36,376.
Ten-year median earnings of $36,376 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Six-year completion sits at 62%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates leave owing a median of $6,000 — 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 0.16 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
62% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Just 57% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. The part-time picture is harder: 32% return, against 57% full-time. A 11:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 663 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $8,914 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The income table below is the number that matters — $8,848 at $0–30k versus $17,294 at $110k+. 96% of students get grant aid averaging $5,669, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. 15% 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 · 190 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 | $8,848 |
| $30–48k | $9,208 |
| $48–75k | $8,633 |
| $75–110k | $11,321 |
| $110k+ | $17,294 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 98 of these 663 students, totalling $571,714 — an average of $5,834 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Calhoun 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)