Bethel University
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 16.0-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 82 Title IV programs, 24 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 57 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing24 · 29.3%
- No Data57 · 69.5%
- Failing1 · 1.2%
Severity spectrum
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.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Higher Learning Commission
Programmatic accreditations · 7
Action history · 7
- Jul 2023Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Voluntary WithdrawalCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNDNP) - Nursing education programs at the doctorate degree levels
- Feb 2022Renewal of AccreditationAccreditation Commission for Midwifery Education · Nurse Midwifery (MIDWF) - Basic certificate and graduate nurse-midwifery education programs for registered nurses
- Jun 2020Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools · Theology (THEOL) - Freestanding schools, as well as programs affiliated with larger institutions, offering graduate professional education for ministry and graduate study of theology
- Dec 2019Renewal of AccreditationHigher Learning Commission
- Apr 2016Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the graduate degree levels
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 605 students received $3.2M in Pell grants, alongside $18.8M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
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.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 1,214 borrowers who entered repayment, 14 (1.1%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* 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.
Academic programs at Bethel
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 12
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus6
Includes 2 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Data quality: 1 report was later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Bethel vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Bethel selected for federal comparison reporting.
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 | 71% | — | 3,603 | $28,439 | Doctoral/Professional |
| 61% | 91.8% | 3,651 | $21,563 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 71% | 93.0% | 2,930 | $23,949 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 66% | 92.8% | 4,505 | $21,034 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 77% | 85.4% | 9,410 | $30,525 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 67% | 75.3% | 3,861 | $18,568 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| Peer group median | 69% | 91.8% | 3,756 | $22,756 |
Institutions like Bethel
Explore the federal data for institutions in Bethel's comparison group.
- Doctoral/ProfessionalMinnesota
St Catherine University
Grad rate61%Admit rate91.8%Enrollment3,651Net price$21,563View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalMinnesota
The College of Saint Scholastica
Grad rate71%Admit rate93.0%Enrollment2,930Net price$23,949View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalMinnesota
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
Grad rate66%Admit rate92.8%Enrollment4,505Net price$21,034View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalMinnesota
University of St Thomas
Grad rate77%Admit rate85.4%Enrollment9,410Net price$30,525View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalNorth Dakota
University of Mary
Grad rate67%Admit rate75.3%Enrollment3,861Net price$18,568View data
Bethel Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The purpose of the Office of Institutional Data and Research is to assist campus decision-making and planning in areas such as admissions, financial aid, enrollment management, staffing, student life, finance, academic affairs, and alumni relations. We support the Bethel University vision through the collection and interpretation of institutional data and creation of strategic reports across the university.
Visit IR office page- Jeffrey OlsonChief Institutional Data and Research Officer
- Stefanie HolmInstitutional Data and Research Senior Lead
- Joel Frederickson, Ph.D.Associate Dean of Institutional Assessment & Accreditation
Common Data Set
Bethel's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Selectivity & Admissions
Admissions funnel
C11,945 applied → 1,583 admitted (81.3%) → 664 enrolled.
Selectivity
C1Accessible — 81.3% acceptance rate.
Admit rate by gender
C1Admit rate varies by gender.
High-school class rank
C10Share of enrolled first-years by HS class-rank band.
Waitlist outcome
C265 offered a waitlist spot, 65 accepted it, 5 admitted (7.7% of those who stayed on).
What matters in admission
C7Relative importance of each admission factor.
Affordability & Value
Where grant aid comes from
H120% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.
Graduate debt
H4/H575% of graduates borrowed; those who did owed $30,747 on average.
Outcomes & Equity
Graduation & retention
B6-year graduation rate 76%; first-year retention 85%.
Student Body & Diversity
Undergraduate race/ethnicity
B2Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.
International students
B20% of undergraduates are international (nonresident).
Undergrad vs graduate
B13,392 undergraduates and 2,047 graduate students.
Transfer Path
Transfer admissions
D1310 transfer applicants → 248 admitted (80.0%) → 144 enrolled — more selective than first-year admission.
Source publications
Frequently asked questions about Bethel University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Bethel.
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