BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

Dakota Wesleyan University

Mitchell, South Dakota·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Plains·dwu.edu
6-yr Graduation
48%
-1.0pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
892
peer median 958
Avg net price
$19,735
-$1.5k vs Baccalaureate
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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
1,247
1,247 candidates competed
Admitted
915
73.4% acceptance rate
Enrolled
192
21.0% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
48%-1.0pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
43%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
48%
Full-time retention
75%

Pell equity

2.5pp gap
Pell recipients
47%27 of 58
Non-Pell (all)
49%45 of 91
Subsidized loan, no Pell
47%25 of 53
No Federal Aid
53%20 of 38

Non-Pell students graduate at a 2.5-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 49 Title IV programs, 2 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 47 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
49
Passing
2
4.1% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

49programs
  • Passing2 · 4.1%
  • No Data47 · 95.9%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
2
No data
47

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.

2
Business Management Marketing and Related Support Services Other
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+86.5%
$93,024 vs $49,892
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+112.1%
$76,515 vs $36,067

Debt vs earnings

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

2
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
33%
$25,000 debt · $76,515 earn
Business Management Marketing and Related Support Services Other
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
22%
$20,500 debt · $93,024 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1916Next review Aug 2027
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1913

Programmatic accreditations · 2

Action history · 4

  1. Oct 2018Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
  2. Feb 2018Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
  3. Jan 2017Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  4. Jan 2017Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission

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$15,251
$30–48k$15,750
$48–75k$15,927
$75–110k$19,048
$110k+$22,416

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

Avg net price (private)
$19,735
-$1,468vs Baccalaureate median $21,203
Federal loans
72.8%
In-state tuition
$33,790
Out-of-state
$33,790

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 216 students received $1.2M in Pell grants, alongside $4.6M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
216
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$1.2M
$1,188,329 total
Direct Loans
$4.6M
826 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
303 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$2.0M
443 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$497K
28 loan awards
Parent PLUS$769K
52 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 269 borrowers who entered repayment, 1 (0.3%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.3%
-2.0pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
269
Defaulted
1
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
5.9%
2017
6.0%
2018
5.0%
2019
0.3%
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 Dakota Wesleyan

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs60
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

188 total completions
01Business
7539.9%
02Health Professions
3820.2%
03Education
3619.1%
04Security/Protective
115.9%
05Biological Sciences
73.7%
06Parks/Recreation
63.2%
07Visual/Performing Arts
52.7%
08Psychology
42.1%
09Natural Resources
42.1%
10Multi/Interdisciplinary
21.1%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
892
12-mo unduplicated
993
Undergraduate
832
Graduate
161

Gender split

Men
45%450
Women
55%543

Race / ethnicity composition

White
80.2%
Hispanic
7.0%
Two or more
5.2%
Non-resident
3.4%
Black
2.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native
1.3%
Asian
0.4%
Unknown
0.3%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
261
159 M · 102 W
Women athletes
39.1%
Athletic aid
$1.9M
Total student aid
Budget
$5.8M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$1.1M
$726K
Recruiting expense
$22K
$14K
Head-coach salaries
$47K
$49K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 9

Soccer
30 M · 27 W
$415K
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
35 M · 21 W
$375K
Football
55 M ·
$1.2M
Basketball
14 M · 16 W
$1.1M
Wrestling
14 M · 7 W
$393K
Baseball
21 M ·
$702K

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 · 886 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
    Liquor037

    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
    12.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    45

    Dakota Wesleyan vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Dakota Wesleyan 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
    SubjectDakota Wesleyan University
    48%892$19,735Baccalaureate
    21%659$10,566Baccalaureate
    68%38.4%959$17,562Baccalaureate
    49%71.6%956$24,452Baccalaureate
    49%71.9%1,021$22,671Baccalaureate
    51%56.9%1,041$22,766Baccalaureate
    Peer group median49%64.3%958$21,203

    Institutions like Dakota Wesleyan

    Explore the federal data for institutions in Dakota Wesleyan's comparison group.

    Dakota Wesleyan Institutional Research office

    The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

    Office
    Office of Institutional Research
    Phone
    605-995-2600
    Address
    1200 W. University Ave. Mitchell, SD 57301

    The page from Dakota Wesleyan University's Office of Institutional Research or equivalent is not focused on providing details about institutional research. It primarily provides general information about Dakota Wesleyan University's offerings, such as undergraduate and graduate programs, and campus facilities. Contact information, including the physical address and phone number, is also provided.

    Visit IR office page

    Frequently asked questions about Dakota Wesleyan University

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Dakota Wesleyan.

    What is the graduation rate at Dakota Wesleyan University?

    Dakota Wesleyan University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 48% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend Dakota Wesleyan University?

    Dakota Wesleyan University reports a total enrollment of 892 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at Dakota Wesleyan University?

    The average net price at Dakota Wesleyan University is $19,735 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    What is the yield rate at Dakota Wesleyan University?

    Dakota Wesleyan University's yield rate is 21.0%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

    Where is Dakota Wesleyan University located?

    Dakota Wesleyan University is located in Mitchell, South Dakota 57301-4398.

    Who runs Institutional Research at Dakota Wesleyan University?

    Dakota Wesleyan University's IR work is done by the Office of Institutional Research.

    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.

    IPEDS2025 provisional data (Fall 2025–26 release, July 28, 2026)
    Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
    College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
    Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
    FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
    Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
    DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
    Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
    Federal Pell Grant volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
    Pell Grant recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursements by institution and award year.
    Federal student loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
    Federal Direct Loan recipient counts and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
    Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
    Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
    Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
    Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
    Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
    Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.

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