Nelson University
About
Nelson University, formerly Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU), is a private Christian university in Waxahachie, Texas, United States. Nelson is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and endorsed by the Assemblies of God USA. The university offers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in liberal arts programs as well as programs in Bible and church ministries.
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Pell recipients graduate at a higher rate than non-Pell students here — unusual and worth investigating.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 67 Title IV programs, 15 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 52 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing15 · 22.4%
- No Data52 · 77.6%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
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.
Near the line (±5%)
Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Association for Biblical Higher Education, Commission on Accreditation
Action history · 4
- Dec 2022Renewal of AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Nov 2021Grant Substantive Change: ProgramSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Dec 2018Removal of Monitoring StatusSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Jun 2018Heightened Monitoring or Focused ReviewSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 915 students received $5.2M in Pell grants, alongside $11.4M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
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.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 767 borrowers who entered repayment, 35 (4.5%) defaulted within three years — above the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* 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.
Academic programs at Nelson
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 7
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Nelson vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Nelson selected for federal comparison reporting.
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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectNelson University | 42% | — | 1,794 | $19,655 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs |
Dallas Baptist University | 58% | 88.8% | 4,124 | $30,092 | Doctoral/Professional |
East Texas Baptist University | 47% | 57.8% | 1,813 | $23,790 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs |
Evangel University | 65% | 71.6% | 2,289 | $18,705 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Hardin-Simmons University | 46% | 90.0% | 1,665 | $21,031 | Doctoral/Professional |
Howard Payne University | 28% | 67.4% | 809 | $25,255 | Baccalaureate |
John Brown University | 72% | 76.1% | 2,350 | $21,144 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Lee University | 63% | 70.5% | 3,714 | $20,399 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
LeTourneau University | 59% | 38.0% | 3,330 | $25,314 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Liberty University | 67% | 99.0% | 104,327 | $29,552 | Doctoral/Professional |
Lubbock Christian University | 51% | 73.1% | 1,595 | $25,910 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
McMurry University | 44% | 57.0% | 3,175 | $19,988 | Baccalaureate |
Mid-America Christian University | 39% | 91.8% | 2,397 | $17,123 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
North Central University | 65% | 99.0% | 852 | $23,574 | Baccalaureate |
Oklahoma Baptist University | 52% | 49.4% | 1,569 | $23,880 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs |
Southeastern University | 44% | 53.0% | 11,510 | $30,209 | Doctoral/Professional |
Southern Nazarene University | 49% | — | 2,198 | $17,838 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Texas Lutheran University | 54% | 95.7% | 1,423 | $22,587 | Baccalaureate |
University of Valley Forge | 49% | 61.2% | 589 | $27,499 | Baccalaureate |
Wayland Baptist University | 19% | 56.0% | 2,809 | $20,540 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
| Peer group median | 50% | 71.1% | 2,244 | $23,081 |
Nelson Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness at Nelson University focuses on assessment processes for various academic and administrative units. The page provides links to resources for academic program assessment, support services assessment, and information for deans and VPs.
Visit IR office page- Dr. Jerry RobertsDirector of Institutional Research
Reports & documents (1)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
Notable alumni of Nelson (6)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- Scott Bottoms
- John R. Broxson
- Gary ChapmanMusic
- Gary ElkinsPolitics
- W. V. Grant
- John Hagee
Frequently asked questions about Nelson University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Nelson.
What is the graduation rate at Nelson University?
How many students attend Nelson University?
What is the average net price at Nelson University?
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Where is Nelson University located?
Who runs Institutional Research at Nelson University?
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