10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$194,102at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
Highland Community College
⌖ Freeport, IL · 3 reportable field-and-credential outcomes
10-year estimate · Negative payoff
−$194,102 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.
231.8 yrsModeled economic break-even
−96%Modeled 10-year ROI
$45,875Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedMaximum annual price for positive 10-year payoff
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
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.
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE
Institution details
Current federal characteristics describing the college—not the outcomes of a specific program.
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
- Main award level
- Certificates
- Campus setting
- Rural
- Admissions
- Open admission
- Delivery
- Campus or mixed delivery
- Federal designation
- No special designation reported
Cost, debt, completion and earnings context
$5,713Average net price / year
$13,161Cost of attendance
$8,029Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$85/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$45,875Median earnings · year 5 after completion
44.9%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
931Student size
Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
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.
EARNINGS PATH
Reported earnings over time
$47,415Year 1
$48,834Year 4
$45,875Year 5
Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.
The college average is not the whole story.
Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.
1Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Associate's Degree$74,1162Biological and Physical Sciences · Associate's Degree$41,2023Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities · Associate's Degree$38,237Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding
Comparable colleges in IL
Currently operating public institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.
Rockford, IL
Rock Valley College
- Annual net price
- $5,242
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $46,150
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -94%
Morton College
- Annual net price
- $5,191
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $46,967
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -90%
Lincoln Land Community College
- Annual net price
- $4,299
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $46,142
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -94%
Kaskaskia College
- Annual net price
- $6,477
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $44,312
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -103%
Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes
| Federal field | Credential | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 2023–24 awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Associate's Degree | $74,116 | $17,500 | Not reported |
| Biological and Physical Sciences | Associate's Degree | $41,202 | Not available | Not reported |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Associate's Degree | $38,237 | $10,066 | Not reported |
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.