Columbus State University
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 10.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 107 Title IV programs, 34 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 72 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing34 · 31.8%
- No Data72 · 67.3%
- Failing1 · 0.9%
Severity spectrum
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.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Programmatic accreditations · 9
Action history · 20
- Oct 2025Grant Substantive Change: ProgramSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Sep 2025Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
- Jun 2025Grant Substantive Change: OtherSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Jun 2024Grant Substantive Change: OtherSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Jun 2024Grant Substantive Change: OtherSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 3,381 students received $20.1M in Pell grants, alongside $32.4M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
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.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 2,260 borrowers who entered repayment, 84 (3.7%) defaulted within three years — above the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* 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.
Academic programs at Columbus State
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 8
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus35
- Public property6
Includes 23 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Data quality: 2 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Columbus State vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Columbus State selected for federal comparison reporting.
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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectColumbus State University | 42% | — | 7,913 | $13,115 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
| 64% | 78.2% | 7,097 | $20,686 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs | |
| 50% | 67.9% | 19,291 | $9,823 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs | |
| 42% | 87.0% | 8,579 | $15,359 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs | |
| 28% | 42.7% | 6,820 | $12,684 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs | |
| 44% | 93.3% | 7,674 | $10,260 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs | |
| Peer group median | 43% | 78.2% | 7,794 | $12,900 |
Institutions like Columbus State
Explore the federal data for institutions in Columbus State's comparison group.
- Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsGeorgia
Georgia College & State University
Grad rate64%Admit rate78.2%Enrollment7,097Net price$20,686View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsGeorgia
University of North Georgia
Grad rate50%Admit rate67.9%Enrollment19,291Net price$9,823View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsNorth Carolina
North Carolina Central University
Grad rate42%Admit rate87.0%Enrollment8,579Net price$15,359View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsAlabama
University of West Alabama
Grad rate28%Admit rate42.7%Enrollment6,820Net price$12,684View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsNorth Carolina
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Grad rate44%Admit rate93.3%Enrollment7,674Net price$10,260View data
Columbus State Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The mission of the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness (OIRE) at Columbus State University is to conduct research and analysis about the university's students, faculty, staff, and programs to provide information in support of institutional planning, assessment, policy analysis, and decision making. OIRE will also facilitate institutional effectiveness to advance the mission of the University.
Visit IR office page- Drew JonesBusiness Intelligence Manager
- Richard PikeSystems Support Specialist III
- Adrian WadeInstitutional Research Associate
Common Data Set
Columbus State's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Selectivity & Admissions
Admissions funnel
C13,651 applied → 3,617 admitted (99.1%) → 1,175 enrolled.
Selectivity
C1Accessible — 99.1% acceptance rate.
Admit rate by gender
C1Admit rate varies by gender.
SAT range (middle 50%)
C9Middle 50% SAT 800–1030 (median 930).
ACT range (middle 50%)
C9Middle 50% ACT 16–22 (median 19).
High-school class rank
C10Share of enrolled first-years by HS class-rank band.
What matters in admission
C7Relative importance of each admission factor.
Affordability & Value
Cost of attendance
GTotal sticker cost of attendance is $27,310 (2025-2026).
Sticker vs. net price
G+HSticker $27,310 → about $17,584 net for aided students after the average need-based grant ($9,726); 56% of demonstrated need is met.
Where grant aid comes from
H10% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.
Graduate debt
H4/H557% of graduates borrowed; those who did owed $31,489 on average.
Outcomes & Equity
Graduation & retention
B6-year graduation rate 43%; first-year retention 70%.
Equity: Pell graduation gap
B4Pell-grant recipients graduate 6 pts below the overall rate (37% vs 43%).
Academic Experience
Class-size distribution
I358% of classes have under 20 students; 2% have 50+.
Faculty profile
IKey faculty indicators.
Degrees by discipline
JSTEM-dominant: ~18% of bachelor's degrees are in computing, engineering, math & sciences.
Student Body & Diversity
Undergraduate race/ethnicity
B2Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.
International students
B21% of undergraduates are international (nonresident).
Undergrad vs graduate
B16,147 undergraduates and 1,781 graduate students.
Transfer Path
Transfer admissions
D1982 transfer applicants → 685 admitted (69.7%) → 406 enrolled — more selective than first-year admission.
Source publications
Frequently asked questions about Columbus State University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Columbus State.
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About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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