Private for-profit · Community college

Fortis College-Columbus

Westerville, Ohio · Large suburb

0%
Transfer rate: $27,708
Avg net price: 40%
Grad / completion: $36,368
Median earnings

Fortis College-Columbus is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Westerville, Ohio (large suburb setting), enrolling 766 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

Private for-profitSmall · 766 undergradsLarge suburbCold winters

About Westerville, Ohio

Westerville is a city in Franklin and Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cultures have inhabited the Westerville area for several millennia. Paleo-Indians and their successor cultures inhabited the area between Big Walnut Creek and Alum Creek. The Wyandotte were the primary inhabitants by the time Europeans arrived, living along Alum Creek. T. Marzetti Company and its parent Lancaster Colony Corporation, as well as Mac Tools are headquartered in Westerville. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Large suburb
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 10 miles to Columbus, OH
To Great Lakes shore: 93 miles
Nearest airport: 6 miles to John Glenn Columbus (CMH) · major hub

How Fortis College-Columbus compares

Graduation rate40%

Higher than 26% · #129 of 168 in Ohio

First-year retention48%

Higher than 9%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$36,368

Higher than 54% · #87 of 157 in Ohio

Average net price$27,708

Cheaper than 12% · #138 cheapest of 155 in Ohio

Median debt at graduation$12,547

Lower than 25%

Student–faculty ratio16 : 1

Lower than 49%

Undergraduate enrollment766

Larger than 69%

Percentiles compare Fortis College-Columbus with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Ohio.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women55773%
Men20927%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White27%
Black51%
Hispanic4.3%
Asian7.7%
Other or multiracial9.8%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 766
Student–faculty ratio: 16 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 73%
First-generation students: 56%
Students over 25: 68%
Median family income: $15,144
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $53,253

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition: $14,935
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,194
Total cost of attendance: $34,877
Average net price: $27,708

Outcomes

Graduated: 40%
First-year retention: 48%
Transferred to another college: 0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $33,189
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $36,368
Median debt at graduation: $12,547
Students with federal loans: 78%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 18%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

40%

Low-income (Pell)

53%

First-generation

52%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: No
Application fee: Free

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.4 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 0
Property offenses (2022–2024): 1

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

0.3reported offenses a year

0 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft

0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k

$27,071

$30–48k

$27,488

$48–75k

$29,095

$75–110k

$25,632

$110k+

$34,877

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

45%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$184

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 45% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $184. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 58 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years): $36,368
Typical debt at graduation: $12,547
Debt vs. one year's pay: 35%
Out-earn a HS grad: 45%

Typical debt would take roughly 3.5 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women

$35,253

Men

$41,523

Men out-earn women by $6,270 (18%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high: 86°F
Winter low: 22°F
Annual rain: 42.2″
Annual snow: 19″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Westerville, OH US station (3.8 mi from campus).

What Fortis College-Columbus graduates study — and earn

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingAssoc.

83 grads$69k 1 yr$76k 5 yr$43k debt

83$69,200$75,709$42,650 Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesCert.

78 grads$27k 1 yr$32k 5 yr$10k debt

78$27,198$32,202$10,263 Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR)Cert.

47 grads$36k 1 yr$44k 5 yr$13k debt

47$35,785$43,961$13,000 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsCert.

41 grads$50k 1 yr$53k 5 yr$28k debt

41$49,956$52,884$28,378 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsAssoc.

26 grads$49k 1 yr$51k 5 yr$32k debt

26$48,753$50,560$32,278 Health and Medical Administrative ServicesCert.

— grads$29k 1 yr$34k 5 yr$14k debt

—$29,157$34,242$13,940

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Fortis College-Columbus

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Fortis College-Columbus side by side →

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Tuition: —
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Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.