College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Central Arkansas

ARMedium public institution · Overall rank #440 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of Central Arkansas #440 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Central Arkansas is a public university in Conway, Arkansas, where Business and Health Professions lead the degree mix. The strongest is mobility, which is well above average, and the fit is clearest for a student who expects to work after graduating.

Graduates fall short of what predicts for similar students. The model finds the factors it measures add, while the unexplained remainder subtracts.

Return is modestly below average, with earnings below the median at comparable schools. Families in the lowest income band pay less than the published cost, and those in the highest band also pay less.

Pell students complete below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and access is above average. The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and the degree mix leans toward health and business fields.

A student drawn to Psychology should know that the largest program is not the best-paid one.

University of Central Arkansas at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
89.5%
Six-year completion[2]
53.5%
Four-year earnings[3]
$52,203

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$16,203
Median student debt[4]
$20,346
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$16,180

University of Central Arkansas rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Central Arkansas is a public university in Conway, Arkansas, enrolling 7,762 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (70th percentile).

The university admits 89.5% of applicants, a rate close to the 85.9% median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Of students who start full time, 73.3% return for a second year, against a peer median of 73.7%.

The six-year graduation rate for that first-time, full-time cohort is 53.5%, above the peer median of 49.1%. An estimated 17.5% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the graduation rate describes a portion of the student body rather than the whole.

The peer median is the middle value for comparable institutions of the same type and size. The four pillars are spread out: mobility is the strongest (80th percentile), and return is the weakest (34th percentile).

Access and affordability sit close together between them, at the 73rd and 75th percentiles respectively. The shape is a broad-access public university where completion and mobility outpace the return on investment.

Azimuth evaluates University of Central Arkansas on four pillars among nonprofit four-year institutions. Mobility is the strongest, at the 80th percentile.

Affordability sits at the 75th percentile and access at the 73rd percentile. Return is the weakest of the four, at the 34th percentile.

University of Central Arkansas enrolls a student body where 38.0% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Among enrolled students who submitted scores, the SAT middle 50% fell between 910 and 1,170, and the ACT middle 50% fell between 19 and 25.

The six-year completion rate for Pell recipients is 38.0%, which sits below the overall cohort rate (53.5%) by 15.5 percentage points. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth ranks University of Central Arkansas #402 for access.

The university ranks #297 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $2,950 less than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

University of Central Arkansas rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#440

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 80
Access & reach
National percentile: 73
Affordability
National percentile: 75
Return on investment
National percentile: 34

Top-ranked majors

  1. Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions#18
  2. Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other#19
  3. Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General#20

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / University of Central Arkansas briefing

University of Central Arkansas cost & financial aid[6][7]

Azimuth ranks University of Central Arkansas #356 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 75th percentile.

For the average recipient here, that annual price is $16,511. The published cost of attendance is $25,029.

It is built from $10,523 in tuition and fees for Arkansas residents and $18,023 for nonresidents, plus $9,110 for room and board. Aid covers about 34% of the published cost for the average recipient, lowering the sticker price by $8,518.

That leaves the average net price $2,443 above the $14,068 median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

The published cost of attendance at University of Central Arkansas is $25,029. Azimuth ranks the university #356 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $14,656, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $16,203, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $20,157. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $5,501.

Aid covers about 34% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The across all aid recipients is $16,511, which is $2,443 above the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $20,346 in federal student loans. That is $883 below the median for comparable institutions, $21,229.

82.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $16,180 in Parent PLUS loans.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $231 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$16,203

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Central Arkansas

Federal borrowing is common at University of Central Arkansas. 82.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and among those who complete, median federal student debt is $20,346.

That is $883 below the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the median debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $231 a month.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $16,180 in Parent PLUS loans.

At University of Central Arkansas, the return picture is mixed. The median earnings of $52,203 four years after completion rank at the 24th percentile and sit $5,098 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions.

Graduates earn about $2,950 less than the model expects for similar students, at the 44th percentile. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $41,552 on the downside to $69,700 on the upside, with a typical scenario of $52,203.

On the debt side, the median federal loan balance at completion is $20,346, which is $883 below the peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $231 a month if repaid over ten years.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $16,180. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $231 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$20,346
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$16,180

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$231/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$206/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / University of Central Arkansas briefing

University of Central Arkansas career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of University of Central Arkansas who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $52,203. That is $5,098 below the peer median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size), and sits at the 24th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $2,950 less than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 44th percentile.

Azimuth puts the return pillar at the 34th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,880.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,830. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $522.

Earnings four years after graduation at University of Central Arkansas sit below the peer median, with a wide spread between lower- and higher-earning program clusters. Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $52,203, drawn from an earnings cohort of 1,836.

That median is $5,098 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth places the university's earnings in the 24th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $2,950 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a typical outcome of $52,203, a downside of $41,552, and an upside of $69,700.

An estimated 29.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The median earnings picture at University of Central Arkansas is a story of two forces pulling in opposite directions. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $52,203, at the 24th percentile nationally.

That is $5,098 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #970 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $2,950 less than the model expects for similar students. The gap sits at the 44th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,880. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,830.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $522. The program mix tilts toward health professions and business, with an estimated 29.1% of graduates continuing to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings scenarios estimated from that mix range from $41,552 on the downside to $69,700 on the upside.

The earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix run from $41,552 on the downside to $69,700 on the upside. The typical earnings scenario is $52,203.

These figures are estimates from the program mix, not observed cohorts. Graduates of Nursing earn a median of $76,783 four years after completion.

Computer and Information Sciences and Management Information Systems and Services follow at $75,893 and $74,094. The largest program, Psychology, shows $43,363, a result much nearer the downside scenario.

Most undergraduates at University of Central Arkansas borrow: 82.7% of federal aid recipients take out federal student loans. The median federal debt for borrowers who finish is $20,346.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the median is $21,229, so this school's figure is $883 below. Repaying that debt if repaid over ten years brings an estimated monthly payment of $231.

Parent borrowers hold a separate median of $16,180 in Parent PLUS loans, a debt that falls outside the student-borrower figures. Graduates earn about $2,950 less than the model expects for similar students.

Debt runs below the peer median, yet the earnings gap leaves the return picture mixed.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$6,880
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$9,830
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$2,950

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / University of Central Arkansas briefing

University of Central Arkansas acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University of Central Arkansas admits 89.5% of applicants, the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The two figures are close, so the university is about as open as its reference group.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
89.5%
Approximate lower endpoint
910
Reported average
1118
Approximate upper endpoint
1170

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Central Arkansas briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Central Arkansas?[12]

The highest-earning programs at University of Central Arkansas are in health and technology. Several of the largest programs by degrees awarded sit in fields with more moderate pay four years after completion.

Nursing leads in earnings at $76,783, with 113 degrees awarded. Azimuth ranks it #281 nationally in its field.

Computer and Information Sciences follows closely at $75,893 from 53 degrees awarded. The largest program, Psychology, awarded 137 degrees, shows median earnings of $43,363, and is ranked #296 nationally in its field.

Kinesiology and Physical Education, the second largest with 117 degrees awarded, reports $50,557 and an Azimuth national rank of #156 within its field.

University of Central Arkansas has 26 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, with several in the health and social services fields landing in the top fifty in the country. The largest program, however, is in psychology, and its earnings sit below the university's overall median.

Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions is the highest-ranked program, at #18 nationally and #1 in Arkansas. It awarded 57 degrees and its graduates earned a median of $49,129 four years after completion.

Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences follows closely at #19 nationally, with 31 degrees awarded and median earnings of $54,517. The largest single program is Psychology, ranked #296 nationally, with 137 degrees awarded and median earnings of $43,363.

The highest-earning program is Nursing, which ranks #281 nationally, awarded 113 degrees, and shows median earnings of $76,783. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid and highest-ranked fields are not the ones that award the most degrees.

University of Central Arkansas awards bachelor's degrees across 26 ranked programs, with 37 programs reporting four-year earnings data. The largest program families are Business and Health Professions, accounting for 18.1% and 17.4% of degrees awarded, respectively.

Psychology is a distant third at 8.0%. The largest single program is Psychology, with 137 degrees awarded a year.

Kinesiology and Physical Education follows at 117 degrees awarded, and Nursing awards 113 degrees. The highest-ranked program is Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions, which awards 57 degrees a year and ranks #1 in Arkansas within its field.

Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences follows closely at #19 nationally and #1 in Arkansas, with 31 degrees awarded and median earnings of $54,517. The highest-earning program is Nursing, at $76,783 from 113 degrees awarded.

Computer and Information Sciences is close behind at $75,893, though it awards fewer degrees at 53 degrees a year. Management Information Systems and Services is a smaller program with 24 degrees awarded, yet its graduates earn $74,094 and Azimuth ranks it #66 nationally and #1 in Arkansas within its field.

The pattern is one of concentrated strength in health and human services fields, with several programs ranked at or near the top in Arkansas. The largest programs by degrees awarded are not the highest earners, and the highest-ranked programs tend to be smaller. Across all fields, 13.2% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 137 degrees awarded
$43,363
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 117 degrees awarded
$50,557
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 113 degrees awarded
$76,783
Biology, General 82 degrees awarded
$50,742
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 78 degrees awarded
$46,295
Business Administration, Management and Operations 66 degrees awarded
$57,826

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / University of Central Arkansas briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Central Arkansas?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with University of Central Arkansas.

Admissions peerDallas Baptist University88.8% admitted
Comparison with University of Central Arkansas
MeasureUniversity of Central ArkansasDallas Baptist University
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,203$59,308+$7,105 vs University of Central Arkansas
Average annual net price$16,511$28,516+$12,005 vs University of Central Arkansas · higher cost
Admission rate89.5%88.8%
Higher-admission alternativeNortheastern State University99.6% admitted
Comparison with University of Central Arkansas
MeasureUniversity of Central ArkansasNortheastern State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,203$50,752-$1,451 vs University of Central Arkansas
Average annual net price$16,511$12,710-$3,801 vs University of Central Arkansas · lower cost
Admission rate89.5%99.6%
Explore Northeastern State University →
Nearby alternativeHarding UniversityNearby option · AR
Comparison with University of Central Arkansas
MeasureUniversity of Central ArkansasHarding University
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,203$53,024+$821 vs University of Central Arkansas
Average annual net price$16,511$22,130+$5,619 vs University of Central Arkansas · higher cost
Admission rate89.5%70.5%
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Massachusetts-Lowell$81,163 earnings
Comparison with University of Central Arkansas
MeasureUniversity of Central ArkansasUniversity of Massachusetts-Lowell
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,203$81,163+$28,960 vs University of Central Arkansas
Average annual net price$16,511$17,163+$652 vs University of Central Arkansas · higher cost
Admission rate89.5%83.0%
Explore University of Massachusetts-Lowell →
Lower-cost alternativeCentral Baptist College$12,287 average net price
Comparison with University of Central Arkansas
MeasureUniversity of Central ArkansasCentral Baptist College
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,203$46,683-$5,520 vs University of Central Arkansas
Average annual net price$16,511$12,287-$4,224 vs University of Central Arkansas · lower cost
Admission rate89.5%63.5%
Similar profileWest Texas A & M UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Central Arkansas
MeasureUniversity of Central ArkansasWest Texas A & M University
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,203$55,166+$2,963 vs University of Central Arkansas
Average annual net price$16,511$19,487+$2,976 vs University of Central Arkansas · higher cost
Admission rate89.5%98.7%
Explore West Texas A & M University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings