Masters Colleges & Universities: Small ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

North Central College

Naperville, Illinois·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Great Lakes·northcentralcollege.edu
6-yr Graduation
64%
+6.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Total enrollment
3,003
peer median 1,496
Avg net price
$23,033
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Admissions & acceptance rate

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

Applied
4,596
4,596 candidates competed
Admitted
3,554
77.3% acceptance rate
Enrolled
482
13.6% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
64%+6.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
4-year graduation
55%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
64%
Full-time retention
77%

Pell equity

7.0pp gap
Pell recipients
58%
Non-Pell
65%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 7.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Program outcomes

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

Of 73 Title IV programs, 24 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 49 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
73
Passing
24
32.9% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

73programs
  • Passing24 · 32.9%
  • No Data49 · 67.1%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
24
No data
49

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
Radio Television and Digital Communication
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+31.7%
$45,838 vs $34,808
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+33.9%
$46,605 vs $34,808
Music
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+34.3%
$46,744 vs $34,808
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+41.4%
$49,224 vs $34,808
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Master's Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+41.9%
$65,846 vs $46,411
Romance Languages Literatures and Linguistics
Bachelor Degree · Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
+46.6%
$51,018 vs $34,808
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
+47.2%
$51,247 vs $34,808
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+49.6%
$52,062 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

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

17
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
55%
$27,000 debt · $49,224 earn
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
53%
$24,679 debt · $46,605 earn
Romance Languages Literatures and Linguistics
Bachelor Degree · Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
53%
$27,000 debt · $51,018 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
53%
$27,000 debt · $51,247 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
47%
$24,500 debt · $52,062 earn
East Asian Languages Literatures and Linguistics
Bachelor Degree · Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
46%
$26,649 debt · $57,424 earn
Design and Applied Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
45%
$25,750 debt · $57,192 earn
Sociology
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
44%
$24,711 debt · $56,281 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1914Next review Aug 2030

Programmatic accreditations · 7

Action history · 5

  1. Apr 2025Initial Accreditation
    American Physical Therapy Association, Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education · Physical Therapy (PT) - Professional programs for the physical therapist
  2. Aug 2022Grant Substantive Change: Other
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTM) - Programs leading to a Master's Degree
  3. Mar 2020Initial Accreditation
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTM) - Programs leading to a Master's Degree
  4. Jan 2020Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  5. Jun 2010Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission

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$13,752
$30–48k$16,536
$48–75k$18,725
$75–110k$23,967
$110k+$27,279

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

Avg net price (private)
$23,033
vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs median $23,050
Federal loans
79.8%
In-state tuition
$44,394
Out-of-state
$44,394

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 843 students received $4.8M in Pell grants, alongside $21.1M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
843
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$4.8M
$4,801,187 total
Direct Loans
$21.1M
2,686 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

1k
20
1k
21
1k
22
1k
23
1k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$3.6M
852 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$4.6M
1,122 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$5.1M
291 loan awards
Parent PLUS$4.6M
257 loan awards
Grad PLUS$3.1M
164 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 813 borrowers who entered repayment, 13 (1.5%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.5%
-0.8pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
813
Defaulted
13
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
3.2%
2017
3.9%
2018
3.6%
2019
1.5%
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 North Central College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs97
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

693 total completions
01Business
18626.8%
02Health Professions
10515.2%
03Education
8312.0%
04Psychology
7110.2%
05Visual/Performing Arts
517.4%
06Parks/Recreation
507.2%
07Social Sciences
476.8%
08Biological Sciences
446.3%
09Engineering
284.0%
10Communication
284.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
3,003
12-mo unduplicated
3,164
Undergraduate
2,525
Graduate
639

Gender split

Men
45%1,419
Women
55%1,745

Race / ethnicity composition

White
61.9%
Hispanic
17.3%
Black
5.7%
Asian
4.2%
Non-resident
4.2%
Two or more
3.7%
Unknown
2.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.0%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
795
515 M · 280 W
Women athletes
35.2%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$5.5M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$52K
$52K
Head-coach salaries
$57K
$48K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 16

Track and Field (Indoor)
106 M · 59 W
$286K
Track and Field (Outdoor)
103 M · 61 W
$286K
Football
157 M ·
$847K
Wrestling
56 M · 49 W
$384K
Soccer
50 M · 33 W
$341K
Cross Country
53 M · 15 W
$158K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
4.82
13 offenses · 2,695 students

3-year trend

3.182 yrs ago3.301 yr ago4.82Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
31
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
16
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
1
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
1

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
8
Rape
5

By location

13total
  • On campus13

Includes 9 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

  • Race1

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons03
Drugs438
Liquor385

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
12.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
190

North Central College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions North Central College 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
SubjectNorth Central College
64%3,003$23,033Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Rockford University
47%92.9%1,241$23,066Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Greenville University
40%97.5%1,104$21,270Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Judson University
60%47.6%960$25,027Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Carthage College
64%87.1%2,844$24,813Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Muskingum University
56%81.8%1,751$20,204Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Peer group median58%87.1%1,496$23,050

Frequently asked questions about North Central College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about North Central College.

What is the graduation rate at North Central College?

North Central College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 64% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend North Central College?

North Central College reports a total enrollment of 3,003 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at North Central College?

The average net price at North Central College is $23,033 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at North Central College?

North Central College's yield rate is 13.6%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is North Central College located?

North Central College is located in Naperville, Illinois 60540.

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