Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, Iowa·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Plains·bvu.edu
6-yr Graduation
62%
+2.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Total enrollment
1,890
peer median 1,824
Avg net price
$18,846
-$661 vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
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AdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeers

Admissions & acceptance rate

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

IPEDS
Applied
1,389
1,389 candidates competed
Admitted
1,078
77.6% acceptance rate
Enrolled
223
20.7% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

IPEDS
Overall completion
62%+2.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
4-year graduation
54%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
62%
Full-time retention
76%

Pell equity

13.6pp gap
Pell recipients
55%54 of 99
Non-Pell (all)
69%70 of 102
Subsidized loan, no Pell
70%37 of 53
No Federal Aid
67%33 of 49

Non-Pell students graduate at a 13.6-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.

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 73 Title IV programs, 18 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 55 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
73
Passing
18
24.7% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

73programs
  • Passing18 · 24.7%
  • No Data55 · 75.3%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
2
Safe
16
No data
55

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.

18
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+15.1%
$61,710 vs $53,607
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+24.0%
$44,755 vs $36,082
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies Other
Bachelor Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
+25.2%
$45,185 vs $36,082
Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Master's Degree · Education
+25.8%
$58,059 vs $46,158
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+26.3%
$45,573 vs $36,082
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
+33.2%
$48,048 vs $36,082
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
+36.6%
$49,281 vs $36,082
Education General
Bachelor Degree · Education
+41.3%
$50,997 vs $36,082

Debt vs earnings

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

15
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Master's Degree · Psychology
95%
$59,024 debt · $62,389 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
60%
$29,004 debt · $48,048 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
59%
$27,000 debt · $45,573 earn
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
55%
$27,000 debt · $49,281 earn
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies Other
Bachelor Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
53%
$24,011 debt · $45,185 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
52%
$23,100 debt · $44,755 earn
Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Master's Degree · Education
47%
$27,081 debt · $58,059 earn
Education General
Bachelor Degree · Education
44%
$22,630 debt · $50,997 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1952Next review Aug 2031

Action history · 1

  1. Jun 2021Renewal 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$12,901
$30–48k$14,838
$48–75k$18,094
$75–110k$19,571
$110k+$24,967

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

Avg net price (private)
$18,846
-$661vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs median $19,507
Federal loans
67.1%
In-state tuition
$41,798
Out-of-state
$41,798

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, 844 students received $4.8M in Pell grants, alongside $13.4M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
844
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$4.8M
$4,793,458 total
Direct Loans
$13.4M
2,276 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

1k
’20
1k
’21
1k
’22
1k
’23
1k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$3.6M
887 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$4.0M
928 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$4.5M
356 loan awards
Parent PLUS$1.3M
101 loan awards
Grad PLUS$40K
4 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 822 borrowers who entered repayment, 5 (0.6%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.6%
-1.7pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
822
Defaulted
5
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
5.4%
2017
5.9%
2018
4.1%
2019
0.6%
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 Buena Vista

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs93
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

642 total completions
01Education
30347.2%
02Business
14622.7%
03Psychology
578.9%
04Public Admin
375.8%
05Security/Protective
233.6%
06Parks/Recreation
223.4%
07Biological Sciences
193.0%
08Agriculture
182.8%
09Computer Sciences
101.6%
10Visual/Performing Arts
71.1%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

IPEDS
Fall total
1,890
12-mo unduplicated
2,439
Undergraduate
1,791
Graduate
648

Gender split

Men
30%727
Women
70%1,712

Race / ethnicity composition

White
78.1%
Hispanic
12.6%
Black
3.1%
Unknown
2.0%
Two or more
1.8%
Asian
1.3%
Non-resident
0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.3%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

EADA
Athletes
396
233 M · 163 W
Women athletes
41.2%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$3.7M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$68K
$23K
Head-coach salaries
$58K
$52K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 11

Football
79 M · —
$498K
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
42 M · 24 W
$301K
Soccer
28 M · 24 W
$246K
Baseball
48 M · —
$312K
Basketball
21 M · 25 W
$440K
Other Sports
— · 41 W
$101K

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
2.05
4 offenses · 1,951 students

3-year trend

3.062 yrs ago1.011 yr ago2.05Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
12
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
8
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
2

Criminal offenses by type

Rape
2
Burglary
1
Aggravated assault
1

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
3
Dating violence
1
Stalking
4 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs313
Liquor134

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
13.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
60

Buena Vista vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Buena Vista 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
SubjectBuena Vista University
62%—1,890$18,846Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Northwestern College
66%80.4%1,705$25,907Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
University of Dubuque
40%88.6%1,757$23,386Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Mount Mercy University
58%82.5%1,417$20,168Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Evangel University
65%71.6%2,289$18,669Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Avila University
52%87.8%2,768$16,053Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Peer group median60%82.5%1,824$19,507

Institutions like Buena Vista

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

IPEDS

Frequently asked questions about Buena Vista University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Buena Vista.

What is the graduation rate at Buena Vista University?

Buena Vista University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 62% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Buena Vista University?

Buena Vista University reports a total enrollment of 1,890 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Buena Vista University?

The average net price at Buena Vista University is $18,846 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Buena Vista University?

Buena Vista University's yield rate is 20.7%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Buena Vista University located?

Buena Vista University is located in Storm Lake, Iowa 50588.

About the data on this page

Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.

IPEDS2025 provisional data (Fall 2025–26 release, July 28, 2026)
Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
U.S. Department of Education
FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
U.S. Department of Education
DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Federal Pell Grant volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Pell Grant recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursements by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Federal student loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Federal Direct Loan recipient counts and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Last reviewed July 2026All data sources & release dates →

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