BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

Catawba College

Salisbury, North Carolina·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Southeast·catawba.edu
6-yr Graduation
47%
+0.5pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
1,376
peer median 1,306
Avg net price
$18,210
-$5.4k vs Baccalaureate
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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
3,457
3,457 candidates competed
Admitted
2,600
75.2% acceptance rate
Enrolled
325
12.5% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
47%+0.5pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
47%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
47%
Full-time retention
77%

Pell equity

20.0pp gap
Pell recipients
39%
Non-Pell
59%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 20.0-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 39 Title IV programs, 7 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 32 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
39
Passing
7
17.9% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

39programs
  • Passing7 · 17.9%
  • No Data32 · 82.1%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
1
Safe
6
No data
32

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.

7
Music
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+23.1%
$39,633 vs $32,203
Natural Resources Conservation and Research
Bachelor Degree · Natural Resources And Conservation
+32.0%
$42,505 vs $32,203
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
+37.6%
$44,296 vs $32,203
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+49.6%
$48,181 vs $32,203
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+52.1%
$48,982 vs $32,203
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
+63.3%
$52,583 vs $32,203
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+88.5%
$60,718 vs $32,203

Debt vs earnings

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

7
Music
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
67%
$26,677 debt · $39,633 earn
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
58%
$25,648 debt · $44,296 earn
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
54%
$26,000 debt · $48,181 earn
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
48%
$25,250 debt · $52,583 earn
Natural Resources Conservation and Research
Bachelor Degree · Natural Resources And Conservation
45%
$19,207 debt · $42,505 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
40%
$19,500 debt · $48,982 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
37%
$22,217 debt · $60,718 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Accredited since 1928Next review Jun 2031

Programmatic accreditations · 2

Action history · 7

  1. Dec 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Dec 2025Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. May 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
  4. Feb 2023Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Jun 2022Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    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$15,892
$30–48k$13,838
$48–75k$14,971
$75–110k$19,531
$110k+$25,348

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

Avg net price (private)
$18,210
-$5,429vs Baccalaureate median $23,639
Federal loans
59.8%
In-state tuition
$33,400
Out-of-state
$33,400

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 532 students received $3.1M in Pell grants, alongside $5.6M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
532
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$3.1M
$3,139,795 total
Direct Loans
$5.6M
1,047 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
0k
22
0k
23
1k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.7M
428 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.9M
494 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$982K
54 loan awards
Parent PLUS$1.1M
71 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 431 borrowers who entered repayment, 14 (3.2%) defaulted within three years above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
3.2%
+0.9pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
431
Defaulted
14
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
12.2%
2017
9.5%
2018
6.5%
2019
3.2%
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 Catawba College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs46
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

263 total completions
01Business
7026.6%
02Parks/Recreation
6223.6%
03Health Professions
4617.5%
04Communication
197.2%
05Education
186.8%
06Natural Resources
155.7%
07Biological Sciences
124.6%
08Social Sciences
114.2%
09History
51.9%
10Visual/Performing Arts
51.9%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
1,376
12-mo unduplicated
1,471
Undergraduate
1,370
Graduate
101

Gender split

Men
48%711
Women
52%760

Race / ethnicity composition

White
55.3%
Black
21.0%
Hispanic
9.8%
Non-resident
5.8%
Two or more
3.2%
Unknown
3.2%
Asian
1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
600
389 M · 211 W
Women athletes
35.2%
Athletic aid
$5.7M
Total student aid
Budget
$11.3M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$3.4M
$2.3M
Recruiting expense
$13K
$11K
Head-coach salaries
$58K
$50K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 12

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
98 M · 60 W
$881K
Football
132 M ·
$2.1M
Soccer
36 M · 53 W
$1.2M
Lacrosse
48 M · 26 W
$890K
Basketball
47 M · 17 W
$1.3M
Baseball
47 M ·
$630K

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
0.00
0 offenses · 1,172 students

3-year trend

1.462 yrs ago0.001 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
2
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

No criminal offenses reported.

By location

0total

    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
    Weapons10
    Drugs10
    Liquor00

    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
    13.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    84

    Catawba College vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Catawba College 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
    SubjectCatawba College
    47%1,376$18,210Baccalaureate
    Barton College
    46%94.2%1,235$23,665Baccalaureate
    Montreat College
    48%69.2%962$26,328Baccalaureate
    North Carolina Wesleyan University
    42%80.2%1,419$18,165Baccalaureate
    Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte
    34%79.9%1,184$28,901Baccalaureate
    Belmont Abbey College
    47%74.7%1,388$23,613Baccalaureate
    Peer group median47%79.9%1,306$23,639

    Frequently asked questions about Catawba College

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Catawba College.

    What is the graduation rate at Catawba College?

    Catawba College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 47% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend Catawba College?

    Catawba College reports a total enrollment of 1,376 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at Catawba College?

    The average net price at Catawba College is $18,210 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    What is the yield rate at Catawba College?

    Catawba College's yield rate is 12.5%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

    Where is Catawba College located?

    Catawba College is located in Salisbury, North Carolina 28144.

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