Private for-profit · Community college
Fortis Institute-Cookeville
Cookeville, Tennessee · Remote town
- 0%
- Transfer rate
- $23,582
- Avg net price
- 50%
- Grad / completion
- $34,509
- Median earnings
Fortis Institute-Cookeville is a private for-profit associate-granting institution in Cookeville, Tennessee (remote town setting), enrolling 334 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About Cookeville, Tennessee
Cookeville is the county seat of and the largest city in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. The Cherokee used the region as hunting grounds. Cherokee claims to the land in the Cumberland Plateau ended after the Treaty of Tellico was signed in October 1805. As of June 30, 2020, 16 commercial banks and four credit unions operated in the city, with combined deposits over $2.5 billion. Total retail sales in Cookeville for 2016 were $1.6 billion. Putnam County's unemployment rate was 3.0% as of May 2017, down from 3.7% in April. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Remote town
- Highest degree offered
- Associate
- Nearest big city
- 73 miles to Nashville, TN
- To the ocean
- 363 miles
- Nearest airport
- 67 miles to Nashville (BNA) · major hub
How Fortis Institute-Cookeville compares
Higher than 37% · #57 of 81 in Tennessee
Higher than 48%
Higher than 48% · #37 of 70 in Tennessee
Cheaper than 21% · #72 cheapest of 82 in Tennessee
Lower than 22%
Lower than 35%
Larger than 55%
Percentiles compare Fortis Institute-Cookeville 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 Tennessee.
Student body
Undergraduates by gender
- Women21464%
- Men12036%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White83%
- Black6.6%
- Hispanic6.9%
- Other or multiracial3.6%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 334
- Student–faculty ratio
- 19 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 78%
- First-generation students
- 54%
- Students over 25
- 62%
- Median family income
- $21,456
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $53,469
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $15,120
- Room & board
- —
- Books & supplies
- $1,146
- Total cost of attendance
- $31,248
- Average net price
- $23,582
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated
- 50%
- First-year retention
- 72%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $33,226
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $34,509
- Median debt at graduation
- $13,000
- Students with federal loans
- 84%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 24%
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
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
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- A
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 0.0 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 0
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 0
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (334 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
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.
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.
Modest institutional aid: 57% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $138. 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 23 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)
- $34,509
- Typical debt at graduation
- $13,000
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 38%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 40%
Typical debt would take roughly 3.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
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.
Men out-earn women by $9,309 (28%) 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
- 87°F
- Winter low
- 27°F
- Annual rain
- 60″
- Annual snow
- 6.1″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Cookeville, TN US station (2.8 mi from campus).
What Fortis Institute-Cookeville graduates study — and earn
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 Institute-Cookeville
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Fortis Institute-Cookeville side by side →
Fortis Institute-Nashville
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- Students
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- Tuition
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- Transfer
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Paul Mitchell the School-Murfreesboro-Nashville
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- Transfer
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Paul Mitchell the School-Murfreesboro
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Fortis College-Cutler Bay
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- Tuition
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Ross Medical Education Center-Johnson City
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Colleges near Fortis Institute-Cookeville
Mr Wayne's School of Unisex Hair Design
Cookeville, TN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 20 students
Genesis Career College-Cookeville
Cookeville, TN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 300 students
Tennessee Technological University
Cookeville, TN · Public · Bachelor's · 8,698 students
Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Livingston
Livingston, TN · Public · Certificate · 340 students
Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Upper Cumberland
Crossville, TN · Public · Certificate · 360 students
Tennessee College of Applied Technology-McMinnville
McMinnville, TN · Public · Certificate · 302 students
Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Hartsville
Hartsville, TN · Public · Certificate · 247 students
Cumberland University
Lebanon, TN · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 2,104 students
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.