Masters Colleges & Universities: Small ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

Bethel University

Mishawaka, Indiana·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Great Lakes·betheluniversity.edu
6-yr Graduation
53%
Total enrollment
1,167
peer median 1,252
Avg net price
$19,726
-$1.2k vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
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Admissions & acceptance rate

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

Applied
985
985 candidates competed
Admitted
962
97.7% acceptance rate
Enrolled
264
27.4% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
53%
4-year graduation
41%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
52%
Full-time retention
72%

Pell equity

22.0pp gap
Pell recipients
45%
Non-Pell
67%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 22.0-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.

Of 71 Title IV programs, 11 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 60 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
71
Passing
11
15.5% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

71programs
  • Passing11 · 15.5%
  • No Data60 · 84.5%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
2
Watch
0
Safe
9
No data
60

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.

11
Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries
Bachelor Degree · Theology And Religious Vocations
+6.0%
$37,149 vs $35,051
Human Services General
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+9.9%
$38,515 vs $35,051
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+29.0%
$45,222 vs $35,051
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Bachelor Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+29.4%
$45,366 vs $35,051
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
+37.6%
$48,243 vs $35,051
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+49.9%
$78,413 vs $52,303
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies General
Bachelor Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
+51.6%
$53,152 vs $35,051
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
+51.7%
$53,186 vs $35,051

Debt vs earnings

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

10
Human Services General
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
64%
$24,786 debt · $38,515 earn
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
56%
$27,000 debt · $48,243 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
53%
$23,764 debt · $45,222 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
51%
$27,000 debt · $53,186 earn
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Bachelor Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
51%
$23,000 debt · $45,366 earn
Business/Commerce General
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
45%
$30,833 debt · $68,689 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
40%
$23,250 debt · $58,731 earn
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies General
Bachelor Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
37%
$19,655 debt · $53,152 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1971Next review Aug 2028

Programmatic accreditations · 5

Action history · 5

  1. Mar 2021Renewal of Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (ADNUR) - Associate degree programs
  2. Mar 2021Renewal of Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (MNUR) - Master's program
  3. Jul 2018Renewal of Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (NUR) - Baccalaureate program
  4. Dec 2017Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  5. Aug 2014Change in Agency recognition
    National Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Accreditation · Music (MUS) - Institutions and units within institutions offering degree-granting and/or non-degree-granting programs

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$14,050
$30–48k$14,913
$48–75k$19,984
$75–110k$25,516
$110k+$23,916

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

Avg net price (private)
$19,726
-$1,209vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs median $20,935
Federal loans
48.6%
In-state tuition
$33,320
Out-of-state
$33,320

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 442 students received $2.4M in Pell grants, alongside $4.3M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
442
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$2.4M
$2,395,170 total
Direct Loans
$4.3M
857 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
0k
22
0k
23
0k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.4M
347 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.4M
400 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$556K
50 loan awards
Parent PLUS$935K
60 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.

Of 478 borrowers who entered repayment, 10 (2.0%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
2.0%
-0.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
478
Defaulted
10
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
6.7%
2017
5.1%
2018
4.6%
2019
2.0%
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 Bethel

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs65
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

278 total completions
01Business
9634.5%
02Health Professions
4817.3%
03Theology
3612.9%
04Parks/Recreation
248.6%
05Education
207.2%
06Liberal Arts
207.2%
07Foreign Languages
103.6%
08Psychology
82.9%
09Biological Sciences
82.9%
10Social Sciences
82.9%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
1,167
12-mo unduplicated
1,392
Undergraduate
1,217
Graduate
175

Gender split

Men
42%587
Women
58%805

Race / ethnicity composition

White
69.6%
Hispanic
9.9%
Non-resident
8.9%
Black
5.2%
Two or more
4.0%
Asian
1.5%
Unknown
0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
560
282 M · 278 W
Women athletes
49.6%
Athletic aid
$4.0M
Total student aid
Budget
$6.5M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$2.1M
$1.8M
Recruiting expense
$0
$0
Head-coach salaries
$26K
$23K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 11

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
118 M · 112 W
$1.1M
Soccer
59 M · 31 W
$1.1M
Basketball
30 M · 27 W
$962K
Swimming
29 M · 25 W
$521K
Volleyball
25 M · 22 W
$581K
Tennis
18 M · 17 W
$492K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
3.10
4 offenses · 1,292 students

3-year trend

2.202 yrs ago2.991 yr ago3.10Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
11
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
1

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
3
Robbery
1

By location

4total
  • On campus4

Includes 1 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

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

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs022
Liquor05

Residence-hall fires

  • Brenneman Hall1 fire
    OtherDamage $0-$99

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
12.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
50

Bethel vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Bethel selected for federal comparison reporting.

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
SubjectBethel University
53%1,167$19,726Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
46%72.4%1,159$43,465Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Manchester University
46%71.1%1,276$19,268Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Anderson University
53%79.3%1,228$22,144Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Huntington University
64%75.6%1,776$13,710Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion
66%88.9%2,204$23,069Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Peer group median53%75.6%1,252$20,935

Frequently asked questions about Bethel University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Bethel.

What is the graduation rate at Bethel University?

Bethel University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 53% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Bethel University?

Bethel University reports a total enrollment of 1,167 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Bethel University?

The average net price at Bethel University is $19,726 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Bethel University?

Bethel University's yield rate is 27.4%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Bethel University located?

Bethel University is located in Mishawaka, Indiana 46545-5591.

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