Dakota 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 10.5-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 68 Title IV programs, 10 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 58 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing10 · 14.7%
- No Data58 · 85.3%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
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.
Higher Learning Commission
Higher Learning Commission
Programmatic accreditations · 1
Action history · 2
- Jan 2019Renewal of AccreditationHigher Learning Commission
- Feb 2012Renewal of AccreditationHigher Learning Commission
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, 693 students received $3.8M in Pell grants, alongside $9.8M 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 691 borrowers who entered repayment, 11 (1.5%) defaulted within three years — below 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 Dakota 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
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
- Sexual orientation2
- Gender identity1
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Dakota State vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Dakota 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectDakota State University | 51% | — | 3,774 | $21,057 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
| 52% | 79.9% | 2,576 | $20,183 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| 44% | — | 6,033 | $15,280 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| 56% | 75.5% | 6,045 | $17,503 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| 69% | 83.8% | 3,664 | $12,780 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| 44% | 98.7% | 6,660 | $16,863 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| Peer group median | 52% | 81.8% | 4,904 | $17,183 |
Institutions like Dakota State
Explore the federal data for institutions in Dakota State's comparison group.
- Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsSouth Dakota
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Grad rate52%Admit rate79.9%Enrollment2,576Net price$20,183View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsKansas
Washburn University
Grad rate44%Admit rate—Enrollment6,033Net price$15,280View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsMinnesota
Winona State University
Grad rate56%Admit rate75.5%Enrollment6,045Net price$17,503View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsMissouri
Truman State University
Grad rate69%Admit rate83.8%Enrollment3,664Net price$12,780View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsMinnesota
Metropolitan State University
Grad rate44%Admit rate98.7%Enrollment6,660Net price$16,863View data
Dakota State Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The OIR administers and analyzes survey results as well as institutional data to support the accreditation processes and other units.
Visit IR office page- Sierra HepplerDirector of Institutional Research
- Dr. Jeanette McGreevyDirector of Institutional Effectiveness, Assessment, and Policy
Common Data Set
Dakota State's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Affordability & Value
Where grant aid comes from
H125% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.
Graduate debt
H4/H558% of graduates borrowed; those who did owed $28,436 on average.
Outcomes & Equity
Graduation & retention
B6-year graduation rate 49%; first-year retention 68%.
Equity: Pell graduation gap
B4Pell-grant recipients graduate 8 pts below the overall rate (41% vs 49%).
Academic Experience
Class-size distribution
I354% of classes have under 20 students; 0% have 50+.
Faculty profile
IKey faculty indicators.
Degrees by discipline
JSTEM-dominant: ~65% of bachelor's degrees are in computing, engineering, math & sciences.
Student Body & Diversity
Undergraduate race/ethnicity
B2Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.
International students
B26% of undergraduates are international (nonresident).
Undergrad vs graduate
B13,085 undergraduates and 757 graduate students.
Transfer Path
Transfer admissions
D1400 transfer applicants → 369 admitted (92.2%) → 217 enrolled
Source publications
Frequently asked questions about Dakota State University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Dakota 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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