BaccalaureatePublicHBCU

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

Cheyney, Pennsylvania·Public, 4-year or above·Mid East·cheyney.edu
6-yr Graduation
41%
-18.0pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
617
peer median 1,527
Avg net price
$9,837
-$3.5k vs Baccalaureate
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AboutOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersIR OfficeDocumentsAlumni

About

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania (CU) is a public historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1837 as the Institute for Colored Youth, it is the oldest of all historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. It is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. The university offers bachelor's degrees and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

IPEDS
Overall completion
41%-18.0pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
32%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
41%
Full-time retention
69%

Pell equity

45.0pp gap
Pell recipients
45%
Non-Pell
0%

Pell recipients graduate at a higher rate than non-Pell students here — unusual and worth investigating.

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 20 Title IV programs, 2 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 18 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
20
Passing
2
10.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

20programs
  • Passing2 · 10.0%
  • No Data18 · 90.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
1
Safe
1
No data
18

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.

2
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+24.9%
$44,072 vs $35,274
Sociology
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+35.8%
$47,889 vs $35,274

Debt vs earnings

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

2
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
57%
$24,949 debt · $44,072 earn
Sociology
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
51%
$24,500 debt · $47,889 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Accredited since 1951Next review Jan 2031

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 6

  1. Jun 2024Accreditation Reaffirmed: Probation Removed
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  2. Nov 2023Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Probation
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  3. Feb 2022Approved for Distance Education
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  4. Nov 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  5. Oct 2019Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education

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$10,536
$30–48k$8,962
$48–75k$7,885
$75–110k$18,471
$110k+—

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

Avg net price
$9,837
-$3,465vs Baccalaureate median $13,302
Federal loans
33.4%
In-state tuition
$10,904
Out-of-state
$18,870

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, 500 students received $3.1M in Pell grants, alongside $2.9M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
500
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$3.1M
$3,147,865 total
Direct Loans
$2.9M
751 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
’19
0k
’21
0k
’22
0k
’23
1k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.4M
363 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.1M
345 loan awards
Parent PLUS$441K
43 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 293 borrowers who entered repayment, 17 (5.8%) defaulted within three years — above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
5.8%
+3.5pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
293
Defaulted
17
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
25.6%
2017
23.3%
2018
11.3%
2019
5.8%
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 Cheyney

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs16
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

97 total completions
01Education
3233.0%
02Biological Sciences
1515.5%
03Psychology
1414.4%
04Business
1313.4%
05Liberal Arts
99.3%
06Social Sciences
99.3%
07Computer Sciences
22.1%
08Mathematics
11.0%
09Communication
11.0%
10Visual/Performing Arts
11.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

IPEDS
Fall total
617
12-mo unduplicated
769
Undergraduate
769
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
34%260
Women
66%509

Race / ethnicity composition

Black
85.9%
Two or more
7.3%
Hispanic
2.5%
Unknown
1.7%
White
1.0%
Asian
1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.4%
Non-resident
0.3%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

EADA
Athletes
42
20 M · 22 W
Women athletes
52.4%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$812K
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$0
$0
Head-coach salaries
$65K
$52K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 3

Basketball
15 M · 11 W
$407K
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
15 M · 9 W
$67K
Volleyball
— · 10 W
$77K

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
1.43
1 offenses · 697 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago1.561 yr ago1.43Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
2
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
3
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
3

Criminal offenses by type

Rape
1

By location

1total
  • On campus1

Includes 1 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

1
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
1
Stalking
2 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons21
Drugs013
Liquor06

Residence-hall fires

  • Tubman Hall1 fire
    CookingDamage $100-$999

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
15.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
33

Cheyney vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Cheyney 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
SubjectCheyney University of Pennsylvania
41%—617$9,837Baccalaureate
Charter Oak State College
100%—2,012$15,663Baccalaureate
CUNY Medgar Evers College
20%86.1%3,736$5,881Baccalaureate
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
56%89.7%896$18,707Baccalaureate
New College of Florida
67%73.2%881$4,536Baccalaureate
St. Mary's College of Maryland
70%68.6%1,630$18,362Baccalaureate
SUNY at Purchase College
63%74.0%3,333$19,067Baccalaureate
University of Mary Washington
66%79.8%3,826$21,108Baccalaureate
University of Minnesota-Morris
63%74.9%981$9,110Baccalaureate
University of New Hampshire at Manchester
59%80.9%663$13,302Baccalaureate
University of North Carolina Asheville
54%91.9%3,056$12,865Baccalaureate
University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg
40%95.2%1,321$17,034Baccalaureate
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
44%65.8%1,027$8,543Baccalaureate
University of Virginia's College at Wise
47%28.5%2,167$11,180Baccalaureate
Virginia Military Institute
76%71.2%1,527$18,849Baccalaureate
Peer group median59%74.9%1,527$13,302

Cheyney Institutional Research office

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

Office
Institutional Research & Assessment
Email
EShehata [at] cheyney.edu
Phone
610-399-2276
Address
Biddle Hall, Room 205

The mission of Institutional Research & Assessment (IRA) is to collect, analyze, organize, disseminate, and communicate data and institutional information to support the University. IRA is also responsible for campus-wide coordination of assessment activities and assists in the development of a culture of assessment directed at continuous improvement based on data-driven decisions and adjustments.

Visit IR office page
Team
5 members
  • Erika Shehata
    Executive Director of Institutional Research & Assessment
  • Dr. Lauren DeCrosta
    Director of Assessment
  • Heather Doyle
    Director of Policy and Compliance
  • Linda Brawner
    Coordinator of Instructional Design and Teaching Innovation
  • Dawn Muchison
    Administrative Assistant II

Reports & documents (2)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Notable alumni of Cheyney (24)

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

  • Reba Dickerson-Hill
    Art
  • Octavius Catto
    Activism
  • Joseph E. Lee
    Law
  • Rebecca J. Cole
    Medicine
  • James B. Dudley
    Education
  • Josephine Silone Yates
    Civil Rights
  • Julian Abele
    Architecture
  • Bayard Rustin
    Civil Rights
  • S. Howard Woodson
    Politics
  • Marcus Foster
    Education
  • Don Evans
    Theatre
  • Ed Bradley
    Journalism
Showing 1–12 of 24
1 / 2

Frequently asked questions about Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Cheyney.

What is the graduation rate at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania?

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania reports a 6-year graduation rate of 41% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Cheyney University of Pennsylvania?

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania reports a total enrollment of 617 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania?

The average net price at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is $9,837 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

Where is Cheyney University of Pennsylvania located?

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is located in Cheyney, Pennsylvania 19319-0200.

Who runs Institutional Research at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania?

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania's IR work is done by the Institutional Research & Assessment.

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