Masters Colleges & Universities: Small ProgramsPublic

Christopher Newport University

Newport News, Virginia·Public, 4-year or above·Southeast·cnu.edu
6-yr Graduation
72%
+30.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Total enrollment
4,454
peer median 3,322
Avg net price
$22,197
+$11k vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
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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
7,341
7,341 candidates competed
Admitted
6,316
86.0% acceptance rate
Enrolled
1,140
18.0% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
72%+30.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
4-year graduation
64%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
72%
Full-time retention
81%

Pell equity

5.0pp gap
Pell recipients
64%
Non-Pell
69%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 5.0-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 35 Title IV programs, 18 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 17 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
35
Passing
18
51.4% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

35programs
  • Passing18 · 51.4%
  • No Data17 · 48.6%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
2
Safe
16
No data
17

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
Visual and Performing Arts General
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+19.3%
$42,907 vs $35,969
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Master's Degree · Education
+22.7%
$56,921 vs $46,391
Social Work
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+34.0%
$48,212 vs $35,969
History
Bachelor Degree · History
+45.8%
$52,458 vs $35,969
Linguistic Comparative and Related Language Studies and Services
Bachelor Degree · Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
+48.9%
$53,564 vs $35,969
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+49.0%
$53,600 vs $35,969
Sociology
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+53.1%
$55,057 vs $35,969
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
+54.0%
$55,379 vs $35,969

Debt vs earnings

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

17
Visual and Performing Arts General
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
58%
$25,000 debt · $42,907 earn
Social Work
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
55%
$26,495 debt · $48,212 earn
History
Bachelor Degree · History
50%
$26,000 debt · $52,458 earn
Linguistic Comparative and Related Language Studies and Services
Bachelor Degree · Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
49%
$26,165 debt · $53,564 earn
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
47%
$26,000 debt · $55,379 earn
Sociology
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
45%
$25,000 debt · $55,057 earn
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
45%
$25,000 debt · $55,657 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Master's Degree · Education
45%
$25,455 debt · $56,921 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 1971Next review Dec 2027

Programmatic accreditations · 2

Action history · 4

  1. Jun 2023Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Dec 2017Renewal of Accreditation
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. 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
  4. Aug 2014Change in Agency recognition
    National Association of Schools of Theatre, Commission on Accreditation · Theatre (THEA) - 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$9,652
$30–48k$11,509
$48–75k$15,030
$75–110k$24,931
$110k+$30,024

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

Avg net price
$22,197
+$11,296vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs median $10,901
Federal loans
36.5%
In-state tuition
$16,351
Out-of-state
$30,988

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 934 students received $5.5M in Pell grants, alongside $18.0M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
934
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$5.5M
$5,479,066 total
Direct Loans
$18.0M
2,667 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$4.2M
1,049 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$4.6M
1,174 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$363K
22 loan awards
Parent PLUS$8.7M
420 loan awards
Grad PLUS$15K
2 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 888 borrowers who entered repayment, 6 (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
888
Defaulted
6
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
1.6%
2017
1.3%
2018
0.9%
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 Christopher Newport

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs28
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

1,031 total completions
01Business
17416.9%
02Psychology
15915.4%
03Social Sciences
15815.3%
04Biological Sciences
15515.0%
05Communication
10710.4%
06Computer Sciences
817.9%
07Multi/Interdisciplinary
636.1%
08Visual/Performing Arts
545.2%
09History
464.5%
10Education
343.3%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
4,454
12-mo unduplicated
4,642
Undergraduate
4,542
Graduate
100

Gender split

Men
48%2,212
Women
52%2,430

Race / ethnicity composition

White
72.1%
Black
8.5%
Hispanic
8.2%
Two or more
5.5%
Asian
4.2%
Unknown
1.1%
Non-resident
0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
627
400 M · 227 W
Women athletes
36.2%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$13.2M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$22K
$17K
Head-coach salaries
$63K
$56K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 13

Football
107 M ·
$831K
Lacrosse
60 M · 34 W
$847K
Track and Field (Indoor)
50 M · 26 W
$359K
Track and Field (Outdoor)
50 M · 26 W
$359K
Soccer
29 M · 30 W
$597K
Baseball
50 M ·
$369K

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
5.48
25 offenses · 4,559 students

3-year trend

4.112 yrs ago7.641 yr ago5.48Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
80
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
97
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
2
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
2

Criminal offenses by type

Rape
8
Motor vehicle theft
5
Aggravated assault
4
Fondling
3
Robbery
2
Burglary
2
Murder
1

By location

25total
  • On campus22
  • Non-campus1
  • Public property2

Includes 11 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

1
Domestic violence
17
Dating violence
19
Stalking
37 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

  • Sexual orientation1

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons20
Drugs210
Liquor2201

Residence-hall fires

  • Potomac River Hall1 fire
    OtherDamage $0-$99
  • CNU Landing Apartments1 fire
    ElectricalDamage $100-$999

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)
274

Christopher Newport vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Christopher Newport 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
SubjectChristopher Newport University
72%4,454$22,197Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
University of South Carolina Aiken
40%78.5%4,022$11,611Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
West Virginia State University
39%96.0%3,246$10,191Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Shepherd University
51%96.8%3,339$12,391Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Fairmont State University
44%98.6%3,305$9,055Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Savannah State University
28%46.1%3,193$8,683Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Peer group median42%96.0%3,322$10,901

Frequently asked questions about Christopher Newport University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Christopher Newport.

What is the graduation rate at Christopher Newport University?

Christopher Newport University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 72% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Christopher Newport University?

Christopher Newport University reports a total enrollment of 4,454 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Christopher Newport University?

The average net price at Christopher Newport University is $22,197 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Christopher Newport University?

Christopher Newport University's yield rate is 18.0%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Christopher Newport University located?

Christopher Newport University is located in Newport News, Virginia 23606-3072.

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