Doctoral/ProfessionalPrivate nonprofit

Carson-Newman University

Jefferson City, Tennessee·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Southeast·cn.edu
6-yr Graduation
53%
-6.5pp vs Doctoral/Professional
Total enrollment
2,669
peer median 4,106
Avg net price
$18,661
-$3.5k vs Doctoral/Professional
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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
2,460
2,460 candidates competed
Admitted
2,225
90.4% acceptance rate
Enrolled
373
16.8% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
53%-6.5pp vs Doctoral/Professional
4-year graduation
45%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
53%
Full-time retention
74%

Pell equity

11.0pp gap
Pell recipients
46%
Non-Pell
57%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 11.0-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 84 Title IV programs, 20 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 64 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
84
Passing
20
23.8% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

84programs
  • Passing20 · 23.8%
  • No Data64 · 76.2%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
1
Watch
6
Safe
13
No data
64

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.

20
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+8.7%
$35,843 vs $32,989
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+11.4%
$57,413 vs $51,545
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+15.2%
$37,992 vs $32,989
Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Master's Degree · Education
+20.8%
$51,874 vs $42,937
Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language
Master's Degree · Education
+21.0%
$51,940 vs $42,937
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Master's Degree · Education
+24.0%
$53,243 vs $42,937
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Master's Degree · Education
+24.9%
$53,619 vs $42,937
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+28.3%
$42,340 vs $32,989

Debt vs earnings

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

15
Educational Administration and Supervision
Doctoral Degree · Education
63%
$47,834 debt · $76,497 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
61%
$26,000 debt · $42,340 earn
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
61%
$27,000 debt · $44,311 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
57%
$21,788 debt · $37,992 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
53%
$24,428 debt · $45,780 earn
Psychology Other
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
50%
$25,000 debt · $49,609 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Master's Degree · Education
47%
$25,269 debt · $53,619 earn
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
45%
$21,000 debt · $46,614 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs

Accredited since 2025Next review Oct 2030
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Accredited since 1927Next review Jun 2029

Programmatic accreditations · 7

Action history · 29

  1. Apr 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Apr 2025Grant Substantive Change: Degree
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. Dec 2024Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  4. Nov 2024Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Nov 2024Grant Substantive Change: Degree
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

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$15,134
$30–48k$15,829
$48–75k$17,326
$75–110k$24,387
$110k+$25,010

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

Avg net price (private)
$18,661
-$3,474vs Doctoral/Professional median $22,136
Federal loans
52.4%
In-state tuition
$34,700
Out-of-state
$34,700

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 691 students received $4.0M in Pell grants, alongside $15.2M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
691
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$4.0M
$3,992,149 total
Direct Loans
$15.2M
1,978 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$2.3M
588 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.9M
580 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$9.1M
670 loan awards
Parent PLUS$1.7M
123 loan awards
Grad PLUS$149K
17 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 771 borrowers who entered repayment, 9 (1.1%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.1%
-1.2pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
771
Defaulted
9
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
9.0%
2017
6.6%
2018
4.9%
2019
1.1%
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 Carson-Newman

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs122
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

654 total completions
01Education
19930.4%
02Health Professions
14522.2%
03Business
13720.9%
04Parks/Recreation
528.0%
05Visual/Performing Arts
294.4%
06Liberal Arts
284.3%
07Psychology
233.5%
08Biological Sciences
142.1%
09Communication
142.1%
10Social Sciences
132.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
2,669
12-mo unduplicated
3,294
Undergraduate
1,814
Graduate
1,480

Gender split

Men
37%1,206
Women
63%2,088

Race / ethnicity composition

White
71.2%
Black
10.6%
Hispanic
6.0%
Non-resident
5.5%
Two or more
3.4%
Unknown
1.3%
Asian
0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.4%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
541
363 M · 178 W
Women athletes
32.9%
Athletic aid
$5.6M
Total student aid
Budget
$11.4M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$3.1M
$2.4M
Recruiting expense
$0
$0
Head-coach salaries
$45K
$34K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 13

Football
175 M ·
$1.8M
Track and Field (Indoor)
37 M · 36 W
$559K
Track and Field (Outdoor)
37 M · 36 W
$559K
Baseball
71 M ·
$690K
Soccer
27 M · 25 W
$1.0M
Swimming
20 M · 23 W
$806K

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
0.39
1 offenses · 2,586 students

3-year trend

1.372 yrs ago0.351 yr ago0.39Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
6
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
3
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Fondling
1

By location

1total
  • On campus1

VAWA offenses

2
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
0
Stalking
2 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs01
Liquor213

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.

Student-to-faculty
12.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
123

Carson-Newman vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Carson-Newman 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
SubjectCarson-Newman University
53%2,669$18,661Doctoral/Professional
Union University
66%60.4%2,713$26,815Doctoral/Professional
Trevecca Nazarene University
53%69.4%3,195$14,459Doctoral/Professional
Lipscomb University
72%67.7%5,017$25,610Doctoral/Professional
Lincoln Memorial University
47%62.6%6,081$17,999Doctoral/Professional
Belmont University
70%95.3%8,803$32,096Doctoral/Professional
Peer group median60%67.7%4,106$22,136

Frequently asked questions about Carson-Newman University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Carson-Newman.

What is the graduation rate at Carson-Newman University?

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

How many students attend Carson-Newman University?

Carson-Newman University reports a total enrollment of 2,669 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Carson-Newman University?

The average net price at Carson-Newman University is $18,661 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Carson-Newman University?

Carson-Newman University's yield rate is 16.8%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Carson-Newman University located?

Carson-Newman University is located in Jefferson City, Tennessee 37760.

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