Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

Cumberland University

Lebanon, Tennessee·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Southeast·cumberland.edu
6-yr Graduation
46%
-13.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Total enrollment
3,457
peer median 2,768
Avg net price
$18,292
-$1.9k 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
2,495
2,495 candidates competed
Admitted
1,680
67.3% acceptance rate
Enrolled
681
40.5% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
46%-13.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
4-year graduation
28%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
42%
Full-time retention
59%

Pell equity

2.0pp gap
Pell recipients
41%
Non-Pell
43%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 2.0-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 63 Title IV programs, 13 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 50 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
63
Passing
13
20.6% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

63programs
  • Passing13 · 20.6%
  • No Data50 · 79.4%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
13
No data
50

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.

13
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
+25.4%
$41,369 vs $32,989
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Master's Degree · Education
+26.2%
$54,166 vs $42,937
Education General
Master's Degree · Education
+28.4%
$55,122 vs $42,937
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+29.5%
$42,713 vs $32,989
Fine and Studio Arts
Associate Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+29.8%
$42,827 vs $32,989
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+31.2%
$43,271 vs $32,989
Business/Commerce General
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+38.4%
$45,653 vs $32,989
Public Administration
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+53.6%
$60,726 vs $39,531

Debt vs earnings

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

9
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
53%
$22,437 debt · $42,713 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
50%
$20,735 debt · $41,369 earn
Public Administration
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
45%
$27,100 debt · $60,726 earn
Education General
Master's Degree · Education
37%
$20,570 debt · $55,122 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Master's Degree · Education
36%
$19,570 debt · $54,166 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
31%
$24,750 debt · $80,635 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
31%
$24,167 debt · $78,954 earn
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
25%
$11,000 debt · $43,271 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 1962Next review Dec 2030

Programmatic accreditations · 4

Action history · 14

  1. Nov 2023Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Nov 2023Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. Oct 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the graduate degree levels
  4. Apr 2023Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Apr 2023Grant 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$16,827
$30–48k$18,220
$48–75k$17,891
$75–110k$19,155
$110k+$23,937

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

Avg net price (private)
$18,292
-$1,948vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs median $20,241
Federal loans
25.1%
In-state tuition
$27,840
Out-of-state
$27,840

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 1,017 students received $5.4M in Pell grants, alongside $5.4M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
1,017
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$5.4M
$5,439,352 total
Direct Loans
$5.4M
1,123 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$1.6M
439 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.8M
523 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$1.3M
98 loan awards
Parent PLUS$755K
63 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 566 borrowers who entered repayment, 18 (3.1%) defaulted within three years above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
3.1%
+0.8pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
566
Defaulted
18
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
8.0%
2017
7.9%
2018
6.7%
2019
3.1%
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 Cumberland

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs56
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

634 total completions
01Business
18328.9%
02Liberal Arts
15624.6%
03Health Professions
7812.3%
04Education
548.5%
05Parks/Recreation
467.3%
06Security/Protective
284.4%
07Public Admin
274.3%
08Psychology
264.1%
09Biological Sciences
223.5%
10English Language
142.2%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
3,457
12-mo unduplicated
3,649
Undergraduate
2,953
Graduate
696

Gender split

Men
47%1,731
Women
53%1,918

Race / ethnicity composition

White
55.6%
Unknown
13.6%
Black
10.9%
Hispanic
8.9%
Non-resident
5.5%
Two or more
3.1%
Asian
1.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
402
277 M · 125 W
Women athletes
31.1%
Athletic aid
$7.9M
Total student aid
Budget
$12.3M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$5.6M
$2.4M
Recruiting expense
$32K
$11K
Head-coach salaries
$38K
$31K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 13

Football
66 M ·
$2.6M
Baseball
51 M ·
$845K
Soccer
26 M · 23 W
$1.4M
Track and Field (Indoor)
20 M · 17 W
$751K
Track and Field (Outdoor)
17 M · 18 W
$751K
Wrestling
35 M ·
$666K

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 · 2,588 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.001 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
0
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
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
    Weapons00
    Drugs00
    Liquor00

    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
    19.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    104

    Cumberland vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Cumberland 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
    SubjectCumberland University
    46%3,457$18,292Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    Lee University
    63%70.5%3,714$20,399Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    Southern Adventist University
    55%65.5%3,229$24,334Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    Freed-Hardeman University
    69%59.7%2,306$20,082Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    Christian Brothers University
    55%86.7%1,772$10,896Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    Milligan University
    63%72.3%1,240$21,131Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    Peer group median59%70.5%2,768$20,241

    Frequently asked questions about Cumberland University

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Cumberland.

    What is the graduation rate at Cumberland University?

    Cumberland University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 46% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend Cumberland University?

    Cumberland University reports a total enrollment of 3,457 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at Cumberland University?

    The average net price at Cumberland University is $18,292 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    What is the yield rate at Cumberland University?

    Cumberland University's yield rate is 40.5%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

    Where is Cumberland University located?

    Cumberland University is located in Lebanon, Tennessee 37087.

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