Private nonprofit

Marshall B Ketchum University

Fullerton, California·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West·ketchum.edu
Total enrollment
653
peer median 1,100
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About

Marshall B. Ketchum University is a private university focused on graduate programs in healthcare and located in Fullerton, California. MBKU expanded from the Southern California College of Optometry which was founded in 1904. The university was officially established as a multidisciplinary university with the addition of School of PA Studies in 2011 and College of Pharmacy in 2013. Along with Hope International University, the campus bookends the north and south sides of the Cal State Fullerton campus respectively.

Program outcomes

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

Of 5 Title IV programs, 2 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 3 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
5
Passing
2
40.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

5programs
  • Passing2 · 40.0%
  • No Data3 · 60.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
2
No data
3

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
Optometry
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+102.0%
$124,937 vs $61,854
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+163.6%
$163,054 vs $61,854

Debt vs earnings

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

2
Optometry
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
131%
$163,441 debt · $124,937 earn
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
90%
$147,360 debt · $163,054 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

WASC Senior College and University Commission

Accredited since 1961Next review Feb 2031

Programmatic accreditations · 5

Action history · 9

  1. Aug 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  2. Oct 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    American Optometric Association, Accreditation Council on Optometric Education · Optometry (OPTR) - Residency programs
  3. Mar 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    American Optometric Association, Accreditation Council on Optometric Education · Optometry (OPT) - Professional degree programs
  4. Feb 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  5. Jun 2022Renewal of Accreditation
    Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education · Pharmacy (PHAR) - Professional degree programs

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, students received in Pell grants, alongside $19.3M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
null total
Direct Loans
$19.3M
699 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
0k
22
0k
23
0k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Unsubsidized · Grad$10.7M
363 loan awards
Grad PLUS$8.6M
336 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 123 borrowers who entered repayment, 0 (0.0%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.0%
-2.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
123
Defaulted
0
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
0.0%
2017
0.0%
2018
0.0%
2019
0.0%
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 Marshall B Ketchum

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs5
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

190 total completions
01Health Professions
18697.9%
02Biological Sciences
42.1%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
653
12-mo unduplicated
696

Gender split

Men
28%193
Women
72%503

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
1.46
1 offenses · 685 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago1.371 yr ago1.46Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
2
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
1
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Robbery
1

By location

1total
  • Public property1

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

Marshall B Ketchum vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Marshall B Ketchum 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
SubjectMarshall B Ketchum University
653
Adler University
1,631
AdventHealth University
37%33.7%1,861$31,885
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
57%52.7%908$26,027
Baptist Health Sciences University
38%82.0%891$13,401
Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing
539
Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science
30%38.7%852$27,789
Clarkson College
36%78.2%1,121$15,928
Cox College
100%100.0%724
Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University
44%98.7%1,191$17,797
Frontier Nursing University
2,664
Herzing University-Kenosha
70%92.0%526$17,613
Herzing University-Minneapolis
36%93.8%748$15,205
Kettering College
63%76.5%757$15,156
Logan University
22%64.3%1,406$18,094
MCPHS University
61%85.2%5,945$35,084
Mercy College of Health Sciences
67%99.7%869$23,417
MGH Institute of Health Professions
1,672
Mount Carmel College of Nursing
54%84.3%670$12,939
Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health
49%73.4%1,067$19,474
Northwestern Health Sciences University
1,101$29,794
Palmer College of Chiropractic
100.0%2,161
Palo Alto University
1,065
Roseman University of Health Sciences
1,367
Salus University
1,106
Samuel Merritt University
1,926
Southern California University of Health Sciences
2,008$45,633
The Chicago School at Chicago
34.5%1,100
The Chicago School at Los Angeles
0%46.3%3,344
The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences
50%58.9%717$19,462
William James College
967
Peer group median49%78.2%1,100$19,462

Marshall B Ketchum Institutional Research office

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

Team
2 members
  • Neil Birt
    Director of Institutional Research and Assessment
  • Ajoy Koomer
    Director, Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Reports & documents (1)

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

Frequently asked questions about Marshall B Ketchum University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Marshall B Ketchum.

How many students attend Marshall B Ketchum University?

Marshall B Ketchum University reports a total enrollment of 653 students per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Marshall B Ketchum University located?

Marshall B Ketchum University is located in Fullerton, California 92831-1699.

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