Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

Franklin University

Columbus, Ohio·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Great Lakes·franklin.edu
6-yr Graduation
11%
-20.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Total enrollment
9,457
peer median 2,106
Avg net price
$25,243
+$7.2k vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
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About

Franklin University is a private university with its main campus in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1902 to serve the needs of students beyond traditional undergraduate age. On-site courses are offered at the university's campus in Columbus' Discovery District. However, most students take courses online. The university has over 25 location centers in the Midwestern United States and a majority online population, and reports an average student age of 34 years.

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
11%-20.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
4-year graduation
3%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
3%
Full-time retention
36%

Pell equity

13.2pp gap
Pell recipients
4%2 of 53
Non-Pell (all)
17%11 of 64
Subsidized loan, no Pell
0%0 of 28
No Federal Aid
31%11 of 36

Non-Pell students graduate at a 13.2-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 85 Title IV programs, 24 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 61 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
85
Passing
24
28.2% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

85programs
  • Passing24 · 28.2%
  • No Data61 · 71.8%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
1
Safe
23
No data
61

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.

24
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
+22.4%
$42,597 vs $34,808
Accounting and Related Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+28.3%
$72,744 vs $56,700
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+32.1%
$74,875 vs $56,700
Marketing
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+34.5%
$76,257 vs $56,700
Human Resources Management and Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+34.9%
$76,478 vs $56,700
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+39.5%
$48,543 vs $34,808
Public Administration
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+54.2%
$71,172 vs $46,158
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+60.5%
$90,981 vs $56,700

Debt vs earnings

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

22
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
61%
$26,000 debt · $42,597 earn
Public Administration
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
56%
$39,957 debt · $71,172 earn
Human Resources Management and Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
54%
$41,000 debt · $76,478 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
49%
$29,500 debt · $60,440 earn
Accounting and Related Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
49%
$35,451 debt · $72,744 earn
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
49%
$23,595 debt · $48,543 earn
Marketing
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
48%
$36,867 debt · $76,257 earn
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Bachelor Degree · Security And Protective Services
48%
$28,225 debt · $58,747 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1976Next review Aug 2028

Programmatic accreditations · 3

Action history · 2

  1. Jul 2018Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  2. Sep 2017Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels

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$24,968
$30–48k$25,876
$48–75k$24,690
$75–110k$25,389
$110k+$29,964

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

Avg net price (private)
$25,243
+$7,168vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs median $18,075
Federal loans
40.6%
In-state tuition
$9,577
Out-of-state
$9,577

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 3,980 students received $17.7M in Pell grants, alongside $70.7M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
3,980
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$17.7M
$17,737,553 total
Direct Loans
$70.7M
7,838 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

2k
20
2k
21
3k
22
3k
23
4k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$13.1M
2,953 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$18.8M
2,873 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$33.6M
1,767 loan awards
Parent PLUS$327K
20 loan awards
Grad PLUS$4.9M
225 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 2,013 borrowers who entered repayment, 30 (1.4%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.4%
-0.9pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
2,013
Defaulted
30
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
8.2%
2017
7.4%
2018
5.0%
2019
1.4%
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 Franklin

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs52
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

2,494 total completions
01Business
1,25450.3%
02Health Professions
36114.5%
03Computer Sciences
30112.1%
04Psychology
1234.9%
05Education
1154.6%
06Security/Protective
1114.5%
07Multi/Interdisciplinary
863.4%
08Public Admin
572.3%
09Social Sciences
461.8%
10Parks/Recreation
401.6%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
9,457
12-mo unduplicated
14,678
Undergraduate
10,126
Graduate
4,552

Gender split

Men
35%5,113
Women
65%9,565

Race / ethnicity composition

White
53.2%
Black
20.2%
Unknown
12.2%
Hispanic
7.8%
Two or more
3.5%
Asian
2.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%
Non-resident
0.1%

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 · 8,697 students

3-year trend

0.442 yrs ago0.121 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
4
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
    17.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    73

    Franklin vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Franklin 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
    SubjectFranklin University
    11%9,457$25,243Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    50%770$18,036Baccalaureate
    47%50,715$9,597Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    30%81.9%3,955$13,157Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    33%14,667$17,550Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    23%33.8%658$22,451Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
    0%2,007$35,049Doctoral/Professional
    55%97.8%4,815$17,707Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    52%937$14,598Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
    66%88.9%2,204$22,866Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
    0%198$18,114Baccalaureate
    0%903$31,062Doctoral/Professional
    50%54.5%22,115$22,878Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    16%1,716$5,993Community College
    0%188$26,625Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
    44%4,202$10,648Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
    Peer group median32%81.9%2,106$18,075

    Institutions like Franklin

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

    Franklin Institutional Research office

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

    Office

    The page contains information on Dorothy Lynn Schramm's doctoral dissertation titled 'Factors that Contribute to a Successful Implementation of a Comprehensive Institutional Effectiveness Plan in a Higher Education Institution'. The document, awarded in Fall 2023 at Franklin University, explores a predictive model assessing communication, culture, leadership, assessment, and innovation to implement effective IE plans. It includes abstract, committee details, and citation information, with links to various Franklin University resources.

    Visit IR office page

    Reports & documents (1)

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

    Frequently asked questions about Franklin University

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Franklin.

    What is the graduation rate at Franklin University?

    Franklin University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 11% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend Franklin University?

    Franklin University reports a total enrollment of 9,457 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at Franklin University?

    The average net price at Franklin University is $25,243 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    Where is Franklin University located?

    Franklin University is located in Columbus, Ohio 43215-5399.

    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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