Doctoral/ProfessionalPrivate nonprofitHSI

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Great Lakes·aurora.edu
6-yr Graduation
60%
-4.0pp vs Doctoral/Professional
Total enrollment
5,923
peer median 3,900
Avg net price
$18,992
-$3.1k vs Doctoral/Professional
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About

Aurora University (AU) is a private university in Aurora, Illinois, United States. Established in 1893 as a seminary of the Advent Christian Church, the university has been independent since 1971. Approximately 6,200 students are enrolled in the university's undergraduate and graduate programs. It was a women's college from 1893 until 1960.

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

IPEDS
Applied
5,384
5,384 candidates competed
Admitted
4,353
80.9% acceptance rate
Enrolled
677
15.6% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
60%-4.0pp vs Doctoral/Professional
4-year graduation
50%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
60%
Full-time retention
77%

Pell equity

4.0pp gap
Pell recipients
57%
Non-Pell
61%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 4.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 65 Title IV programs, 25 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 40 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
65
Passing
25
38.5% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

65programs
  • Passing25 · 38.5%
  • No Data40 · 61.5%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
25
No data
40

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

25
Ethnic Cultural Minority Gender and Group Studies
Bachelor Degree · Area, Ethnic, Cultural, And Gender Studies
+28.7%
$44,786 vs $34,808
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+29.2%
$81,740 vs $63,250
Social Work
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+33.7%
$61,710 vs $46,158
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+33.9%
$46,609 vs $34,808
Accounting and Related Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+34.2%
$84,867 vs $63,250
Special Education and Teaching
Master's Degree · Education
+38.2%
$64,110 vs $46,391
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
+42.1%
$49,471 vs $34,808
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+43.9%
$50,079 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

23
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
54%
$26,759 debt · $49,471 earn
Special Education and Teaching
Master's Degree · Education
54%
$34,454 debt · $64,110 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
52%
$24,197 debt · $46,609 earn
Social Work
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
50%
$30,621 debt · $61,710 earn
Ethnic Cultural Minority Gender and Group Studies
Bachelor Degree · Area, Ethnic, Cultural, And Gender Studies
49%
$21,818 debt · $44,786 earn
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
47%
$24,708 debt · $52,159 earn
Social Work
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
44%
$24,192 debt · $55,546 earn
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
43%
$21,581 debt · $50,079 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1938Next review Aug 2023

Programmatic accreditations · 5

Action history · 3

  1. Feb 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  2. Apr 2020Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
  3. May 2018Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Voluntary Withdrawal
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the graduate degree levels

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$13,980
$30–48k$14,079
$48–75k$16,984
$75–110k$22,070
$110k+$25,042

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$18,992
-$3,056vs Doctoral/Professional median $22,048
Federal loans
48.8%
In-state tuition
$28,220
Out-of-state
$28,220

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 2,371 students received $13.6M in Pell grants, alongside $41.9M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
2,371
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$13.6M
$13,574,934 total
Direct Loans
$41.9M
5,365 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

2k
’20
2k
’21
2k
’22
2k
’23
2k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$7.3M
1,705 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$7.7M
1,832 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$21.8M
1,413 loan awards
Parent PLUS$3.7M
248 loan awards
Grad PLUS$1.5M
167 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 1,831 borrowers who entered repayment, 30 (1.6%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.6%
-0.7pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
1,831
Defaulted
30
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
4.8%
2017
4.4%
2018
4.2%
2019
1.6%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Aurora

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs49
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

2,039 total completions
01Public Admin
72735.7%
02Business
44221.7%
03Health Professions
31015.2%
04Education
1879.2%
05Psychology
1004.9%
06Parks/Recreation
924.5%
07Security/Protective
914.5%
08Computer Sciences
391.9%
09Biological Sciences
261.3%
10Communication
251.2%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
5,923
12-mo unduplicated
7,071
Undergraduate
4,598
Graduate
2,473

Gender split

Men
27%1,933
Women
73%5,138

Race / ethnicity composition

Hispanic
42.3%
White
39.2%
Black
5.9%
Unknown
5.8%
Asian
3.5%
Two or more
2.4%
Non-resident
0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

EADA
Athletes
586
385 M · 201 W
Women athletes
34.3%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$5.7M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$62K
$33K
Head-coach salaries
$62K
$48K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 14

Football
143 M · —
$663K
Track and Field (Indoor)
45 M · 44 W
$153K
Lacrosse
47 M · 24 W
$402K
Track and Field (Outdoor)
36 M · 34 W
$153K
Soccer
39 M · 23 W
$260K
Basketball
30 M · 31 W
$409K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.00
0 offenses · 5,918 students

3-year trend

0.322 yrs ago0.161 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
3
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
2
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
1

Criminal offenses by type

No criminal offenses reported.

By location

0total

    VAWA offenses

    0
    Domestic violence
    1
    Dating violence
    0
    Stalking
    1 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

    Hate crimes by bias

    No hate crimes reported.

    Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

    CategoryArrestsReferrals
    Weapons00
    Drugs00
    Liquor012

    Residence-hall fires

    No residence-hall fires reported.

    Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

    Student-faculty ratio

    Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

    IPEDS
    Student-to-faculty
    18.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    125

    Aurora vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Aurora selected for federal comparison reporting.

    IPEDS
    GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
    This institutionPeer median

    A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

    Carnegie
    SubjectAurora University
    		60%—5,923$18,992Doctoral/Professional
    Benedictine University
    		50%95.2%2,917$23,529Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Bradley University
    		76%76.8%4,777$23,572Doctoral/Professional
    Carroll University
    		71%66.8%3,138$24,362Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Carthage College
    		64%87.1%2,844$24,813Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
    Concordia University-Chicago
    		36%92.8%4,770$16,774Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Concordia University-Wisconsin
    		69%78.2%5,253$26,067Doctoral/Professional
    Dominican University
    		55%90.3%3,803$15,113Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Elmhurst University
    		70%73.6%3,997$21,063Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Lewis University
    		67%71.3%7,011$18,370Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Marian University
    		67%95.5%3,486$23,594Doctoral/Professional
    North Central College
    		64%77.3%3,003$23,033Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
    Saint Xavier University
    		57%84.3%3,485$12,093Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    University of Indianapolis
    		56%66.5%5,000$18,748Doctoral/Professional
    Peer group median64%78.2%3,900$22,048

    Institutions like Aurora

    Explore the federal data for institutions in Aurora's comparison group.

    IPEDS

    Aurora Institutional Research office

    The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

    Office
    Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Decision Support
    Phone
    630-892-6431
    Address
    347 S. Gladstone Ave. Aurora, Illinois 60506-4892

    The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Decision Support coordinates the university’s institutional effectiveness evaluation and assessment processes; supports institutional data literacy; directs institutional research; and provides university analytics and reporting.

    Visit IR office page

    Common Data Set

    Aurora's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.

    Acceptance rate
    80.8%
    Accessible
    Yield
    15.6%
    of admitted students enroll
    Total enrollment
    5,923
    4,106 UG · 1,817 grad
    6-yr graduation rate
    60%
    First-year retention
    77%
    Student–faculty ratio
    18 to 1
    Est. net price (aided)
    $8,541
    after avg need-based grant
    01

    Selectivity & Admissions

    Admissions funnel

    C1
    Applied
    5,381
    Admitted
    4,351
    Enrolled
    678

    5,381 applied → 4,351 admitted (80.8%) → 678 enrolled.

    Selectivity

    C1
    Acceptance rate
    80.8%

    Accessible — 80.8% acceptance rate.

    Admit rate by gender

    C1
    men79.8%
    women81.6%
    another gender76.7%

    Admit rate varies by gender.

    SAT range (middle 50%)

    C9
    25th
    900
    Median
    1045
    75th
    1160

    Middle 50% SAT 900–1160 (median 1045).

    ACT range (middle 50%)

    C9
    25th
    21
    Median
    26
    75th
    29

    Middle 50% ACT 21–29 (median 26).

    What matters in admission

    C7
    Very Important2
    Rigor of secondary school recordAcademic GPA
    Considered3
    Class rankApplication EssayRecommendation(s)
    Not Considered1
    Standardized test scores

    Relative importance of each admission factor.

    02

    Affordability & Value

    Cost of attendance

    G
    Total$33,114
    Tuition
    $29,60089%
    Fees
    $3701%
    Books
    $1,2004%
    Other
    $1,9446%

    Total sticker cost of attendance is $33,114 (2025-2026).

    Sticker vs. net price

    G+H
    Sticker COA
    $33,114
    Net (aided)
    $8,541
    Avg need grant
    $24,573

    Sticker $33,114 → about $8,541 net for aided students after the average need-based grant ($24,573); 88% of demonstrated need is met.

    Where grant aid comes from

    H1
    Institutional52.6%
    State25.8%
    Federal20.8%
    External0.9%

    53% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.

    Graduate debt

    H4/H5
    Grads with debt
    64%
    Avg debt
    $24,250

    64% of graduates borrowed; those who did owed $24,250 on average.

    03

    Outcomes & Equity

    Graduation & retention

    B
    6-yr grad rate
    60%
    Retention
    77%

    6-year graduation rate 60%; first-year retention 77%.

    Equity: Pell graduation gap

    B4
    All students60%
    Pell recipients57%

    Pell-grant recipients graduate 3 pts below the overall rate (57% vs 60%).

    04

    Academic Experience

    Class-size distribution

    I3
    2-9 students33
    10-19 students97
    20-29 students177
    30-39 students94
    40-49 students30
    50-99 students19
    100+ students0

    29% of classes have under 20 students; 4% have 50+.

    Faculty profile

    I
    Student–faculty ratio
    18 to 1
    Women faculty
    69%

    Key faculty indicators.

    Degrees by discipline

    J
    Business/marketing24.6%
    Health professions and related programs22.9%
    Public administration and social services15.4%
    Psychology7.1%
    Education5.2%
    Parks and recreation5.1%
    Homeland Security, law enforcement, firefighting, and protective services4.8%
    Computer and information sciences2.7%

    STEM-dominant: ~5% of bachelor's degrees are in computing, engineering, math & sciences.

    05

    Student Body & Diversity

    Undergraduate race/ethnicity

    B2
    hispanic42.5%
    white38.7%
    black6.3%
    unknown5.2%
    asian3.2%
    two_or_more_races3.1%
    nonresident0.8%
    american_indian0.1%
    native_hawaiian0.1%

    Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.

    International students

    B2
    International UG
    32
    Share
    1%

    1% of undergraduates are international (nonresident).

    Undergrad vs graduate

    B1
    Undergraduate
    4,10669%
    Graduate
    1,81731%

    4,106 undergraduates and 1,817 graduate students.

    06

    Transfer Path

    Transfer admissions

    D1
    Applied
    1,049
    Admitted
    1,016
    Enrolled
    591

    1,049 transfer applicants → 1,016 admitted (96.9%) → 591 enrolled

    Source publications

    Reports & documents (1)

    Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

    Grants & funding (1)

    Federal grant awards and open funding opportunities awarded to this institution.

    USA Spending

    Frequently asked questions about Aurora University

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Aurora.

    What is the graduation rate at Aurora University?

    Aurora University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 60% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend Aurora University?

    Aurora University reports a total enrollment of 5,923 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at Aurora University?

    The average net price at Aurora University is $18,992 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    What is the yield rate at Aurora University?

    Aurora University's yield rate is 15.6%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

    Where is Aurora University located?

    Aurora University is located in Aurora, Illinois 60506-4892.

    Who runs Institutional Research at Aurora University?

    Aurora University's IR work is done by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Decision Support.

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