Completion Rate Is Not a Quality Score

USHE technical colleges median 79% completion; for-profit 50% — but typical pay and debt tell different stories than finish rates alone.

Counselors face completion rates in every dataset. Utah shows why finish rates are not quality scores: USHE technical colleges median 79.0% completion with $38K typical pay; for-profit medians show 49.7% completion at $25K pay; private nonprofit medians report 46.2% completion but $53K pay.

Completion ≠ quality

Part 7 completion is first-time full-time students within 150% of normal time.
For-profit certificate schools median 85.2% completion — pair with Part 3 pay before advising.
See S-4 and C-5.

Completion vs. typical pay

Pathway medians

79.0%

Technical completion

49.7%

For-profit completion

$25K

For-profit pay

$38K

Technical pay

$53K

Private pay

Source: Pathways & Outcomes analysis · College Scorecard Parts 7 and 3

High completion and high pay do not always travel together.

What this means for you

School counselors

Quote completion with typical pay and debt — never as a standalone quality score.
Certificate split: USHE technical 79.0% completion vs. for-profit certificate 85.2%.
Read P-2 for policy framing.

What to compare next

Updated 2026-06-29. Sources: College Scorecard Parts 7 and 3. Backlog C-3 · counselors.

Cite this research

Pathways & Outcomes original analysis; cite the report and link to the primary URL. Data vintage: College Scorecard Parts 7 + 3.

APA: Pathways and Outcomes. (2026). Completion Rate Is Not a Quality Score. https://pathwaysandoutcomes.org/utah/research/completion-rate-not-quality-score/

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How this was produced

Pathways & Outcomes uses AI tools to help draft reports and data briefs from verified public data and analysis. A human editor reviews every publication for accuracy, data consistency, clarity, methodology alignment, and discrepancies before release. AI does not determine what we investigate, what we publish, or what conclusions we reach. Editorial policy · About our team

Utah Opportunity Chain · School profiles · Methodology