Which South Plains College certificate program has the lowest debt?

Criminal Justice graduates leave with a median of $9,291 in federal loans, the lowest among 3 South Plains College certificate programs that report debt.

How much does South Plains College cost?

In-district tuition and fees are $2,731 a year, and $5,155 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $6,791 a year.

How many South Plains College programs report graduate pay?

One associate's program and 4 certificate programs at South Plains College report first-year pay, and 4 of them also report federal debt.

South Plains College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Levelland, TX
6,005 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

4 South Plains College certificate programs report what graduates earn. Criminal Justice pays the most in the first year ($49,987), and Cosmetology the least ($11,557). The median program pays $36,867. South Plains College also has one associate's program that reports pay.

In-district tuition and fees$2,731Per year. Out-of-state $5,155

Average net price after aid$6,791Per year

Graduation rate29%Within 1.5 times the normal program length

One associate's program

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Texas" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Texas.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Texas
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 386 graduates a year	$19,469	$39,381	$13,446	45th of 47

Program names link to the program's own page, and Texas ranks link to the full ranking for the field.

One more associate's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

All 4 certificate programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Texas" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across Texas. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Texas
1	Criminal JusticeAbout 30 graduates a year	$49,987	Not reported	$9,291	10th of 15
2	Practical NursingAbout 49 graduates a year	$42,000	$50,349	$16,705	28th of 37
3	Welding and MachiningAbout 89 graduates a year	$31,733	$42,566	Not reported	9th of 20
4	CosmetologyAbout 88 graduates a year	$11,557	$22,989	$11,000	74th of 78

Program names link to the program's own page, and Texas ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five Texas programs in the field do too.

Common questions

Criminal Justice graduates earn a median of $49,987 in their first year, the most of 4 South Plains College certificate programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Texas rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels