Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

Excelsior University

Albany, New York·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Mid East·excelsior.edu
Total enrollment
12,941
peer median 47,761
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About

Excelsior University is a private online university in Albany, New York. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and comprises two schools: the College of Nursing and Health Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It serves mostly non-traditional, adult working students through distance education programs.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 82 Title IV programs, 26 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 56 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
82
Passing
26
31.7% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

82programs
  • Passing26 · 31.7%
  • No Data56 · 68.3%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
2
Safe
24
No data
56

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.

26
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences Other
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+10.7%
$66,555 vs $60,112
Human Resources Management and Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+24.5%
$74,812 vs $60,112
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+32.6%
$46,149 vs $34,808
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+55.1%
$93,206 vs $60,112
Health Professions Education Ethics and Humanities
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+59.6%
$95,916 vs $60,112
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences General
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+65.9%
$57,737 vs $34,808
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences Other
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+66.5%
$57,947 vs $34,808
Business Administration Management and Operations
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+71.8%
$59,793 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

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

20
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences Other
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
41%
$27,332 debt · $66,555 earn
Human Resources Management and Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
38%
$28,624 debt · $74,812 earn
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences Other
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
30%
$17,242 debt · $57,947 earn
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences General
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
29%
$16,449 debt · $57,737 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
27%
$25,360 debt · $93,206 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
27%
$12,501 debt · $46,149 earn
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
24%
$15,464 debt · $63,977 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
23%
$27,333 debt · $118,099 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Accredited since 1977Next review Jan 2030

Programmatic accreditations · 5

Action history · 11

  1. Oct 2025Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  2. May 2025Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (NUR) - Baccalaureate program
  3. Oct 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (MNUR) - Master's program
  4. Oct 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (NUR) - Baccalaureate program
  5. Jun 2022Renewal of Accreditation
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 3,922 students received $14.9M in Pell grants, alongside $34.3M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
3,922
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$14.9M
$14,894,958 total
Direct Loans
$34.3M
7,187 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

3k
20
3k
21
3k
22
3k
23
4k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$10.8M
3,372 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$17.9M
3,476 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$5.3M
318 loan awards
Parent PLUS$129K
4 loan awards
Grad PLUS$268K
17 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 2,026 borrowers who entered repayment, 20 (0.9%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.9%
-1.4pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
2,026
Defaulted
20
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
4.3%
2017
5.1%
2018
3.7%
2019
0.9%
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 Excelsior

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs58
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

3,748 total completions
01Liberal Arts
1,20232.1%
02Health Professions
1,10029.3%
03Business
71819.2%
04Engineering Tech
2436.5%
05Psychology
1965.2%
06Security/Protective
1554.1%
07Military Tech
491.3%
08Computer Sciences
401.1%
09Social Sciences
230.6%
10Public Admin
220.6%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
12,941
12-mo unduplicated
17,145
Undergraduate
15,388
Graduate
1,757

Gender split

Men
48%8,160
Women
52%8,985

Race / ethnicity composition

White
61.5%
Black
16.7%
Hispanic
12.1%
Two or more
3.7%
Asian
2.9%
Non-resident
1.1%
Unknown
0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.5%

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.07
1 offenses · 14,477 students

3-year trend

0.122 yrs ago0.381 yr ago0.07Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
9
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

Rape
1

By location

1total
  • Non-campus1

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
21.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
20

Excelsior vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Excelsior 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
SubjectExcelsior University
12,941Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
47%50,715$9,597Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
0%66.7%72,994$13,971R2 Research
10%28,004$31,266Doctoral/Professional
20%47,761$17,956Doctoral/Professional
42%82.6%32,944$31,837
26%17,763$14,580Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
36%81.1%10,469$11,676Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
43%78.9%113,257$22,472Doctoral/Professional
67%99.0%104,327$29,357Doctoral/Professional
50%54.5%22,115$22,878Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
33%45,588$7,770Doctoral/Professional
44%99.5%189,531$36,708Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
8%12,098$17,833
7,544Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
20%63,012$22,063Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
16%111,248$13,520Doctoral/Professional
0%49,441$33,817Doctoral/Professional
46%210,208$12,548Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Peer group median33%81.1%47,761$17,956

Institutions like Excelsior

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

Reports & documents (2)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Frequently asked questions about Excelsior University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Excelsior.

How many students attend Excelsior University?

Excelsior University reports a total enrollment of 12,941 students per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Excelsior University located?

Excelsior University is located in Albany, New York 12203-5159.

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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