BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

Bluffton University

Bluffton, Ohio·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Great Lakes·bluffton.edu
6-yr Graduation
53%
-6.5pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
646
peer median 4,831
Avg net price
$17,430
-$4.9k vs Baccalaureate
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AboutAdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersIR OfficeDocumentsGrantsAlumni

About

Bluffton University is a private Mennonite university in Bluffton, Ohio, United States. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, with three programs that have earned programmatic accreditation: education, nursing and social work. The university has more than ninety majors, minors, and interdisciplinary programs, and eighteen NCAA Division III athletic teams and a co-ed esports team.

Admissions & acceptance rate

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

IPEDS
Applied
3,128
3,128 candidates competed
Admitted
2,103
67.2% acceptance rate
Enrolled
190
9.0% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

IPEDS
Overall completion
53%-6.5pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
50%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
53%
Full-time retention
60%

Pell equity

16.0pp gap
Pell recipients
38%
Non-Pell
54%

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.

FVT/GE

Of 54 Title IV programs, 10 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 44 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
54
Passing
10
18.5% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

54programs
  • Passing10 · 18.5%
  • No Data44 · 81.5%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
2
Safe
8
No data
44

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.

10
Special Education and Teaching
Bachelor Degree · Education
+19.5%
$41,602 vs $34,808
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+22.8%
$42,742 vs $34,808
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+27.2%
$44,290 vs $34,808
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
+29.1%
$44,920 vs $34,808
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+32.2%
$74,947 vs $56,700
Foods Nutrition and Related Services
Bachelor Degree · Family And Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
+36.1%
$47,378 vs $34,808
Social Work
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+58.2%
$55,073 vs $34,808
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+64.6%
$57,308 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

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

9
Special Education and Teaching
Bachelor Degree · Education
65%
$26,961 debt · $41,602 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
63%
$27,000 debt · $42,742 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
61%
$27,000 debt · $44,290 earn
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
60%
$27,000 debt · $44,920 earn
Foods Nutrition and Related Services
Bachelor Degree · Family And Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
57%
$27,000 debt · $47,378 earn
Social Work
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
50%
$27,750 debt · $55,073 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
48%
$35,946 debt · $74,947 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
47%
$27,000 debt · $57,308 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1953Next review Aug 2029

Programmatic accreditations · 6

Action history · 7

  1. Oct 2025Initial Accreditation
    Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Dietetics (DIET) - Coordinated Program in Dietetics
  2. Jan 2024Approved for Distance Education
    Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Dietetics (DIET) - Coordinated Program in Dietetics
  3. May 2023Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Voluntary Withdrawal
    Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Didactic Program in Dietetics
  4. Jun 2021Voluntary Withdrawal Received
    Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Didactic Program in Dietetics
  5. Jan 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission

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$16,521
$30–48k$16,667
$48–75k$18,013
$75–110k$23,361
$110k+$13,482

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

Avg net price (private)
$17,430
-$4,894vs Baccalaureate median $22,325
Federal loans
75.6%
In-state tuition
$36,298
Out-of-state
$36,298

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, 297 students received $1.7M in Pell grants, alongside $4.4M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
297
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$1.7M
$1,684,217 total
Direct Loans
$4.4M
884 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$1.5M
360 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.4M
417 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$305K
22 loan awards
Parent PLUS$1.2M
85 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 272 borrowers who entered repayment, 0 (0.0%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.0%
-2.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
272
Defaulted
0
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
6.8%
2017
6.2%
2018
5.0%
2019
0.0%
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 Bluffton

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs46
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

155 total completions
01Education
6240.0%
02Business
3321.3%
03Parks/Recreation
1912.3%
04Health Professions
127.7%
05Psychology
63.9%
06Biological Sciences
53.2%
07Family/Consumer Sci
53.2%
08Visual/Performing Arts
53.2%
09Communication
42.6%
10Public Admin
42.6%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

IPEDS
Fall total
646
12-mo unduplicated
736
Undergraduate
635
Graduate
101

Gender split

Men
53%392
Women
47%344

Race / ethnicity composition

White
66.7%
Black
18.7%
Unknown
6.0%
Hispanic
3.4%
Two or more
2.9%
Non-resident
1.3%
Asian
0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

EADA
Athletes
417
302 M · 115 W
Women athletes
27.6%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$2.1M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$20K
$11K
Head-coach salaries
$36K
$27K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 10

Football
144 M · —
$501K
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
72 M · 28 W
$194K
Soccer
27 M · 22 W
$202K
Baseball
45 M · —
$150K
Basketball
24 M · 18 W
$285K
Volleyball
— · 21 W
$122K

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
5.37
4 offenses · 745 students

3-year trend

10.672 yrs ago6.321 yr ago5.37Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
17
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
1
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
20
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
27

Criminal offenses by type

Rape
4

By location

4total
  • On campus4

Includes 4 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

  • Gender8

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs08
Liquor019

Residence-hall fires

  • Bren-Dell1 fire
    CookingDamage $0-$99
  • Neufeld1 fire
    CookingDamage $0-$99
  • Ramseyer4 fires
    OtherDamage $0-$99
  • Ramseyer4 fires
    OtherDamage $0-$99
  • Ramseyer4 fires
    OtherDamage $0-$99
  • Ramseyer4 fires
    OtherDamage $0-$99
  • Ropp7 fires
    OtherDamage $0-$99
  • Ropp7 fires
    OtherDamage $0-$99
  • Ropp7 fires
    OtherDamage $0-$99
  • Ropp7 fires
    OtherDamage $0-$99
  • Ropp7 fires
    OtherDamage $0-$99
  • Ropp7 fires
    OtherDamage $0-$99
  • Ropp7 fires
    OtherDamage $0-$99
  • Hirschy Hall1 fire
    CookingDamage $0-$99

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
11.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
47

Bluffton vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Bluffton 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
SubjectBluffton University
53%—646$17,430Baccalaureate
Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
61%81.0%17,594$20,918R2 Research
Ohio Northern University
72%74.4%3,140$25,727Baccalaureate
The University of Findlay
58%83.4%5,016$23,731Doctoral/Professional
Trine University
64%85.5%4,646$25,580Baccalaureate
University of Toledo
58%92.0%14,358$17,460R2 Research
Peer group median60%83.4%4,831$22,325

Institutions like Bluffton

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

IPEDS

Bluffton Institutional Research office

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

Team
1 member
  • Samantha Shrider
    Director of Institutional Research, Assistant Registrar

Reports & documents (2)

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

Notable alumni of Bluffton (5)

A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

  • Mubarak Awad
    Politics
  • Phyllis Diller
    Entertainment
  • Hugh Downs
    Broadcasting
  • Paul G. Comba
    Astronomy
  • Eric R. Gilbertson
    Education

Frequently asked questions about Bluffton University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Bluffton.

What is the graduation rate at Bluffton University?

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

How many students attend Bluffton University?

Bluffton University reports a total enrollment of 646 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Bluffton University?

The average net price at Bluffton University is $17,430 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Bluffton University?

Bluffton University's yield rate is 9.0%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Bluffton University located?

Bluffton University is located in Bluffton, Ohio 45817-2104.

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