BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

Central College

Pella, Iowa·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Plains·central.edu
6-yr Graduation
66%
Total enrollment
1,084
peer median 1,290
Avg net price
$22,353
-$126 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
1,706
1,706 candidates competed
Admitted
1,470
86.2% acceptance rate
Enrolled
309
21.0% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
66%
4-year graduation
57%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
66%
Full-time retention
80%

Pell equity

7.0pp gap
Pell recipients
59%
Non-Pell
66%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 7.0-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 32 Title IV programs, 9 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 23 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
32
Passing
9
28.1% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

32programs
  • Passing9 · 28.1%
  • No Data23 · 71.9%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
9
No data
23

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.

9
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+40.5%
$50,707 vs $36,082
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+43.2%
$51,671 vs $36,082
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
+43.6%
$51,814 vs $36,082
Sociology
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+44.1%
$51,996 vs $36,082
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+57.8%
$56,941 vs $36,082
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
+65.2%
$59,597 vs $36,082
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+88.5%
$68,021 vs $36,082
Accounting and Related Services
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+140.8%
$86,868 vs $36,082

Debt vs earnings

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

3
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
53%
$27,000 debt · $50,707 earn
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
52%
$27,000 debt · $51,814 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
40%
$27,000 debt · $68,021 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1942Next review Aug 2026

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 2

  1. Feb 2016Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  2. Aug 2014Change in Agency recognition
    National Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Accreditation · Music (MUS) - Institutions and units within institutions offering degree-granting and/or non-degree-granting programs

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$14,745
$30–48k$16,426
$48–75k$19,418
$75–110k$22,308
$110k+$25,764

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

Avg net price (private)
$22,353
-$125vs Baccalaureate median $22,479
Federal loans
65.5%
In-state tuition
$20,988
Out-of-state
$20,988

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 272 students received $1.6M in Pell grants, alongside $5.8M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
272
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$1.6M
$1,568,953 total
Direct Loans
$5.8M
1,189 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$1.8M
437 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$2.5M
645 loan awards
Parent PLUS$1.5M
107 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 368 borrowers who entered repayment, 3 (0.8%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.8%
-1.5pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
368
Defaulted
3
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
2.5%
2017
2.8%
2018
1.2%
2019
0.8%
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 Central College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs36
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

257 total completions
01Business
6625.7%
02Biological Sciences
6424.9%
03Social Sciences
3011.7%
04Education
218.2%
05Psychology
176.6%
06Communication
176.6%
07Computer Sciences
155.8%
08Visual/Performing Arts
124.7%
09Engineering
83.1%
10Foreign Languages
72.7%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
1,084
12-mo unduplicated
1,235
Undergraduate
1,235
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
53%650
Women
47%585

Race / ethnicity composition

White
87.4%
Hispanic
4.3%
Two or more
3.1%
Unknown
2.3%
Black
1.8%
Asian
0.9%
Non-resident
0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
549
364 M · 185 W
Women athletes
33.7%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$4.8M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$68K
$30K
Head-coach salaries
$43K
$38K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 13

Football
122 M ·
$799K
Track and Field (Outdoor)
53 M · 46 W
$157K
Track and Field (Indoor)
54 M · 43 W
$157K
Soccer
41 M · 24 W
$314K
Cross Country
34 M · 28 W
$127K
Basketball
33 M · 22 W
$441K

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
5.99
7 offenses · 1,169 students

3-year trend

5.362 yrs ago7.021 yr ago5.99Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
21
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
7
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Rape
4
Fondling
3

By location

7total
  • On campus7

Includes 7 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
3
Dating violence
0
Stalking
3 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs05
Liquor080

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
11.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
85

Central College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Central 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
SubjectCentral College
66%1,084$22,353Baccalaureate
Coe College
66%64.0%1,195$19,155Baccalaureate
Cornell College
62%79.9%1,094$25,079Baccalaureate
Luther College
71%71.5%1,384$25,635Baccalaureate
Wartburg College
64%75.8%1,483$22,604Baccalaureate
Grinnell College
88%14.5%1,788$15,608Baccalaureate
Peer group median66%71.5%1,290$22,479

Frequently asked questions about Central College

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

What is the graduation rate at Central College?

Central College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 66% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Central College?

Central College reports a total enrollment of 1,084 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Central College?

The average net price at Central College is $22,353 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Central College?

Central College's yield rate is 21.0%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Central College located?

Central College is located in Pella, Iowa 50219.

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