BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

Lees - McRae College

Banner Elk, North Carolina·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Southeast·lmc.edu
6-yr Graduation
42%
-3.0pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
910
peer median 1,147
Avg net price
$28,340
+$6.7k vs Baccalaureate
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AboutAdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersIR OfficeDocuments

About

Lees–McRae College is a private college in Banner Elk, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Lees–McRae College sits in the Appalachian Mountains at 3,720 feet (1,130 m) above sea level, the highest elevation of any American college or university east of the Mississippi River. It is one of the few colleges to be named after two women, Suzanna Lees and Elizabeth McRae.

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

IPEDS
Applied
2,084
2,084 candidates competed
Admitted
1,600
76.8% acceptance rate
Enrolled
223
13.9% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

IPEDS
Overall completion
42%-3.0pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
37%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
42%
Full-time retention
69%

Pell equity

6.4pp gap
Pell recipients
38%33 of 86
Non-Pell (all)
44%60 of 135
Subsidized loan, no Pell
36%21 of 58
No Federal Aid
51%39 of 77

Non-Pell students graduate at a 6.4-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.

FVT/GE

Of 33 Title IV programs, 7 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 26 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
33
Passing
7
21.2% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

33programs
  • Passing7 · 21.2%
  • No Data26 · 78.8%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
1
Safe
6
No data
26

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.

7
Zoology/Animal Biology
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
+20.2%
$38,699 vs $32,203
Human Services General
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+34.4%
$43,273 vs $32,203
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+37.1%
$44,161 vs $32,203
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+42.4%
$45,862 vs $32,203
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Bachelor Degree · Security And Protective Services
+55.5%
$50,085 vs $32,203
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+86.7%
$60,108 vs $32,203
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+171.8%
$87,523 vs $32,203

Debt vs earnings

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

7
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
62%
$27,500 debt · $44,161 earn
Zoology/Animal Biology
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
58%
$22,233 debt · $38,699 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
39%
$23,250 debt · $60,108 earn
Human Services General
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
35%
$15,250 debt · $43,273 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
33%
$15,000 debt · $45,862 earn
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Bachelor Degree · Security And Protective Services
31%
$15,750 debt · $50,085 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
23%
$19,750 debt · $87,523 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Accredited since 1953Next review Jun 2031

Programmatic accreditations · 4

Action history · 8

  1. Dec 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Jan 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. May 2024Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  4. Nov 2022Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Dec 2021Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    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.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$23,030
$30–48k$22,733
$48–75k$25,905
$75–110k$28,854
$110k+$33,664

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

Avg net price (private)
$28,340
+$6,688vs Baccalaureate median $21,653
Federal loans
59.4%
In-state tuition
$33,250
Out-of-state
$33,250

Federal aid volume & trends

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

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 405 students received $2.4M in Pell grants, alongside $7.6M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
405
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$2.4M
$2,358,138 total
Direct Loans
$7.6M
1,130 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$1.8M
477 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.5M
454 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$202K
16 loan awards
Parent PLUS$4.0M
183 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.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 349 borrowers who entered repayment, 5 (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
349
Defaulted
5
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
7.1%
2017
6.6%
2018
6.9%
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 Lees-McRae College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs27
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

288 total completions
01Biological Sciences
6924.0%
02Education
3712.8%
03Public Admin
3612.5%
04Security/Protective
3612.5%
05Business
3411.8%
06Parks/Recreation
3311.5%
07Agriculture
165.6%
08Psychology
165.6%
09Health Professions
62.1%
10Visual/Performing Arts
51.7%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

IPEDS
Fall total
910
12-mo unduplicated
966
Undergraduate
918
Graduate
48

Gender split

Men
33%314
Women
67%652

Race / ethnicity composition

White
56.5%
Unknown
23.4%
Black
6.9%
Non-resident
4.9%
Hispanic
4.7%
Asian
1.5%
Two or more
1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

EADA
Athletes
384
195 M · 189 W
Women athletes
49.2%
Athletic aid
$3.0M
Total student aid
Budget
$5.6M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$1.9M
$1.2M
Recruiting expense
$14K
$18K
Head-coach salaries
$39K
$36K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 9

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
57 M · 57 W
$355K
Other Sports
58 M · 49 W
$958K
Soccer
32 M · 34 W
$975K
Basketball
38 M · 15 W
$1.0M
Lacrosse
23 M · 12 W
$586K
Volleyball
15 M · 19 W
$473K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
5.96
5 offenses · 839 students

3-year trend

9.162 yrs ago4.681 yr ago5.96Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
17
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
11
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
3
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Fondling
5

By location

5total
  • On campus5

Includes 2 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
1
Dating violence
3
Stalking
4 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons03
Drugs133
Liquor054

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.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
11.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
61

Lees-McRae College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Lees-McRae College selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
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
SubjectLees-McRae College
42%—910$28,340Baccalaureate
Averett University
48%56.6%1,476$22,925Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Barton College
46%94.2%1,235$23,626Baccalaureate
Belmont Abbey College
47%74.7%1,388$24,639Baccalaureate
Bennett College
25%50.7%180$28,299Baccalaureate
Bluefield University
18%59.3%959$25,573Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Brevard College
49%42.2%875$23,509Baccalaureate
Coker University
40%94.0%1,325$20,286Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Davis & Elkins College
39%94.3%661$18,273Baccalaureate
Erskine College
45%62.7%912$16,525Doctoral/Professional
Ferrum College
32%89.0%763$20,082Baccalaureate
Flagler College
56%80.8%2,425$30,525Baccalaureate
Greensboro College
46%70.1%967$17,882Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
King University
49%99.7%1,157$22,347Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Limestone University
34%97.3%1,807$19,588Baccalaureate
Livingstone College
28%59.2%936$13,479Baccalaureate
Mars Hill University
45%67.9%1,110$19,910Baccalaureate
Maryville College
50%60.9%1,136$19,360Baccalaureate
Methodist University
43%75.1%1,822$24,704Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Newberry College
45%89.8%1,536$21,656Baccalaureate
North Carolina Wesleyan University
42%80.2%1,419$17,432Baccalaureate
Reinhardt University
44%61.5%1,233$24,425Baccalaureate
Saint Augustine's University
25%33.8%175$24,313Baccalaureate
Tennessee Wesleyan University
48%68.8%1,198$14,836Baccalaureate
University of Mount Olive
48%75.8%2,109$18,853Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
William Peace University
45%94.3%722$21,649Baccalaureate
Peer group median45%74.7%1,147$21,653

Institutions like Lees-McRae College

Explore the federal data for institutions in Lees-McRae College's comparison group.

IPEDS

Lees-McRae College Institutional Research office

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

Office
Office of Strategic Planning and Effectiveness
Email
research [at] lmc.edu
Phone
828.898.5241
Address
191 Main Street, Banner Elk, NC 28604

The homepage for Strategic Planning and Effectiveness at Lees-McRae College includes a directory of staff involved in the office. Contact information includes a phone number and a physical address. The head of the office is Blaine J. Hansen, serving as the Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer.

Visit IR office page
Team
10 members
  • Taylor Stork
    Director of Institutional Research
  • Blaine J. Hansen
    Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer (COO)
  • Andrew Albert
    Project Manager
  • Denise Dyer
    Campus Operations Assistant
  • Julia T. Lands
    Assistant to the Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer
  • Tom Masterson
    Campus Operations Specialist—Shuttle Bus Driver
  • HD Stewart
    Assistant Vice President of Operations and Risk Management
  • Bo Trammel
    Part-Time Bus Driver
  • Rusty Trammel
    Director of the Motor Pool
  • Robert Vojvoda
    Bus Driver

Reports & documents (3)

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

Frequently asked questions about Lees-McRae College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Lees-McRae College.

What is the graduation rate at Lees-McRae College?

Lees-McRae College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 42% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Lees-McRae College?

Lees-McRae College reports a total enrollment of 910 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Lees-McRae College?

The average net price at Lees-McRae College is $28,340 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Lees-McRae College?

Lees-McRae College's yield rate is 13.9%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Lees-McRae College located?

Lees-McRae College is located in Banner Elk, North Carolina 28604.

Who runs Institutional Research at Lees-McRae College?

Lees-McRae College's IR work is done by the Office of Strategic Planning and Effectiveness.

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.
National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
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.
U.S. Department of Education
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.
U.S. Department of Education
DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
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.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
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.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Last reviewed July 2026All data sources & release dates →

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