Public · COLLEGE PAYOFF

Ashland Community and Technical College

Ashland, KY · 16 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

10-year estimate · Negative payoff

−$260,268 over 10 years

Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.

With these assumptions, the added earnings do not recover the cost within ten years.

Modeled economic break-even
−128%Modeled 10-year ROI
$39,260Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedMaximum annual price for positive 10-year payoff
Includes direct price and earnings forgone while studying. Assumes $45,000 in alternative annual earnings and no wage growth. How we calculate it
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK

Estimated payoff over ten years.

The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.

10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$260,268at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$202,8680
2
4
6
8
−$260,26810
Years after graduationBreak-even: years
FEDERAL COST DATA

Four ways to read college price.

Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.

Published in-state tuition$4,728
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$6,432
Sticker price
Average net price$5,717
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$14,374
Tuition + living budget
PRICE SOURCECollege reported · annual amount · federal dataset
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE

Institution details

Current federal characteristics describing the college—not the outcomes of a specific program.

Accreditor
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Main award level
Certificates
Campus setting
City
Admissions
Open admission
Delivery
Campus or mixed delivery
Federal designation
No special designation reported
Sources: College Scorecard June 2026 release and IPEDS 2024 institutional characteristics.
OBSERVED FEDERAL MEASURES

Cost, debt, completion and earnings context

$5,717Average net price / year
$14,374Cost of attendance
$10,950Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$116/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$39,260Median earnings · year 5 after completion
50.9%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
1,631Student size

Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.

PRICE BY FAMILY INCOME

Average net price is not one price

Federal averages for aided students in each family-income band. Your aid offer can differ.

$0–30k$4,881
$30–48k$5,068
$48–75k$6,629
$75–110k$8,806
$110k+$11,667
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$39,260
Year 6$30,330
Year 10$34,504
Full-time retention
65.0%
Part-time retention
56.4%
Completion within 200% of normal time
61.3%

Earnings timepoints may use different historical cohorts and should not be read as one group’s guaranteed salary growth.

NATIONAL CONTEXT

How this college compares

Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.

37thEarnings percentile
39thCompletion percentile
WHAT STANDS OUT

A faster read on this college

These summaries use only reportable field-and-credential records at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.

$37,274Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$12,725Median federal debt across categories that report debt
17%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

$34,392Year 1
$47,467Year 4
$39,260Year 5

Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.

PROGRAM PAYOFF SPREAD

The college average is not the whole story.

Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.

1Physical Science Technologies/Technicians · Associate's Degree$103,6072Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Associate's Degree$76,7473Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other · Associate's Degree$45,5004Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities · Associate's Degree$37,2745Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$37,2176Business Administration, Management and Operations · Associate's Degree$37,015

Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding

BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST

Comparable colleges in KY

Currently operating public institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.

Hopkinsville, KY

Hopkinsville Community College

Annual net price
$5,875
Observed earnings · year 5
$39,181
Modeled 10-year ROI
-129%
Open college profile →
Owensboro, KY

Owensboro Community and Technical College

Annual net price
$5,800
Observed earnings · year 5
$40,186
Modeled 10-year ROI
-124%
Open college profile →
Paducah, KY

West Kentucky Community and Technical College

Annual net price
$5,353
Observed earnings · year 5
$38,202
Modeled 10-year ROI
-134%
Open college profile →
Prestonsburg, KY

Big Sandy Community and Technical College

Annual net price
$3,873
Observed earnings · year 5
$39,046
Modeled 10-year ROI
-130%
Open college profile →
ALL REPORTABLE PROGRAM CATEGORIES

Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes

Federal fieldCredentialEarnings, year 4Federal debt2023–24 awards
Physical Science Technologies/TechniciansAssociate's Degree$103,607$10,867Not reported
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssociate's Degree$76,747$18,756Not reported
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, OtherAssociate's Degree$45,500$12,719Not reported
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssociate's Degree$37,274$13,399Not reported
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$37,217$8,81230
Business Administration, Management and OperationsAssociate's Degree$37,015$20,584Not reported
Electromechanical Technologies/TechniciansUndergraduate Certificate or DiplomaNot available$15,167Not reported
Electromechanical Technologies/TechniciansAssociate's DegreeNot available$16,289Not reported
Quality Control and Safety Technologies/TechniciansUndergraduate Certificate or DiplomaNot available$10,500Not reported
Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersUndergraduate Certificate or DiplomaNot available$7,25059
Precision Metal WorkingUndergraduate Certificate or DiplomaNot available$5,50013
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, GeneralAssociate's DegreeNot available$11,062Not reported
Health and Medical Administrative ServicesUndergraduate Certificate or DiplomaNot available$14,700109
Health and Medical Administrative ServicesAssociate's DegreeNot available$16,847Not reported
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied ProfessionsUndergraduate Certificate or DiplomaNot available$12,725Not reported
Business Administration, Management and OperationsUndergraduate Certificate or DiplomaNot available$20,58419

Awards use first-major IPEDS completions aggregated to the same four-digit field and credential.

Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.