Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

Columbia International University

Columbia, South Carolina·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Southeast·ciu.edu
6-yr Graduation
47%
-0.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Total enrollment
2,914
peer median 3,215
Avg net price
$21,660
-$148 vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium 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
416
416 candidates competed
Admitted
393
94.5% acceptance rate
Enrolled
138
35.1% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
47%-0.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
4-year graduation
37%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
46%
Full-time retention
53%

Pell equity

34.0pp gap
Pell recipients
39%
Non-Pell
73%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 34.0-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 68 Title IV programs, 4 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 63 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
68
Passing
4
5.9% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
1.5% of portfolio
Fail rate
1.5%
+0.9pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

68programs
  • Passing4 · 5.9%
  • No Data63 · 92.6%
  • Failing1 · 1.5%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
1
At Risk
0
Watch
2
Safe
2
No data
63

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.

5
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
First Professional Degree · Psychology
-1.0%
$42,129 vs $42,572
Bible/Biblical Studies
Bachelor Degree · Theology And Religious Vocations
+15.5%
$38,117 vs $32,989
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+22.6%
$40,432 vs $32,989
Theological and Ministerial Studies
First Professional Degree · Theology And Religious Vocations
+25.0%
$48,301 vs $38,643
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+31.0%
$43,210 vs $32,989

Near the line (±5%)

Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.

1
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
First Professional Degree · Psychology
-1.0%
$443

Debt vs earnings

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

1
Bible/Biblical Studies
Bachelor Degree · Theology And Religious Vocations
56%
$21,500 debt · $38,117 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 1982Next review Dec 2028
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Association for Biblical Higher Education, Commission on Accreditation

Accredited since 1948Next review Feb 2029

Programmatic accreditations · 2

Action history · 12

  1. Jun 2025Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Apr 2024Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. Jun 2023Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  4. Nov 2022Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Jun 2022Grant Substantive Change: Program
    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$17,430
$30–48k$21,740
$48–75k$15,633
$75–110k$24,406
$110k+$27,598

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

Avg net price (private)
$21,660
-$147vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs median $21,808
Federal loans
35.9%
In-state tuition
$27,900
Out-of-state
$27,900

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 425 students received $2.4M in Pell grants, alongside $10.8M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
425
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$2.4M
$2,394,864 total
Direct Loans
$10.8M
1,352 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$1.3M
351 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.6M
414 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$6.4M
472 loan awards
Parent PLUS$950K
68 loan awards
Grad PLUS$677K
47 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 239 borrowers who entered repayment, 3 (1.2%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.2%
-1.1pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
239
Defaulted
3
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
4.2%
2017
10.6%
2018
4.3%
2019
1.2%
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 Columbia International

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs50
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

556 total completions
01Theology
18332.9%
02Business
14425.9%
03Education
13724.6%
04Psychology
203.6%
05Liberal Arts
203.6%
06Public Admin
193.4%
07Health Professions
122.2%
08Parks/Recreation
112.0%
09Communication
61.1%
10Philosophy/Religion
40.7%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
2,914
12-mo unduplicated
3,657
Undergraduate
1,303
Graduate
2,354

Gender split

Men
45%1,644
Women
55%2,013

Race / ethnicity composition

White
62.5%
Black
19.6%
Unknown
4.9%
Non-resident
4.8%
Two or more
4.3%
Asian
2.5%
Hispanic
1.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
242
131 M · 111 W
Women athletes
45.9%
Athletic aid
$2.1M
Total student aid
Budget
$4.1M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$1.2M
$815K
Recruiting expense
$9K
$9K
Head-coach salaries
$44K
$39K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 7

Soccer
26 M · 26 W
$622K
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
25 M · 24 W
$651K
Baseball
41 M ·
$591K
Basketball
20 M · 15 W
$720K
Softball
· 31 W
$370K
Volleyball
· 19 W
$321K

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 · 2,481 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.001 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
0
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
2
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
    Weapons01
    Drugs00
    Liquor00

    Residence-hall fires

    No residence-hall fires reported.

    Data quality: 2 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.

    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)
    56

    Columbia International vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Columbia International 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
    SubjectColumbia International University
    47%2,914$21,660Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    Charleston Southern University
    47%96.5%3,832$21,955Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    Cumberland University
    42%67.3%3,457$18,292Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    Xavier University of Louisiana
    48%69.0%3,218$18,285Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    Florida Southern College
    71%64.4%3,211$29,664Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    Tuskegee University
    55%48.7%3,121$32,977Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    Peer group median48%67.3%3,215$21,808

    Frequently asked questions about Columbia International University

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Columbia International.

    What is the graduation rate at Columbia International University?

    Columbia International University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 47% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend Columbia International University?

    Columbia International University reports a total enrollment of 2,914 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at Columbia International University?

    The average net price at Columbia International University is $21,660 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    What is the yield rate at Columbia International University?

    Columbia International University's yield rate is 35.1%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

    Where is Columbia International University located?

    Columbia International University is located in Columbia, South Carolina 29203-1513.

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