Doctoral/ProfessionalPrivate nonprofit

Northcentral University

San Diego, California·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West·nu.edu
Total enrollment
9,489
peer median 9,119
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AboutProgram outcomesAccreditationFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsCampus safetyFacultyPeersIR OfficeDocumentsAlumni

About

Northcentral University was a private online university with its headquarters in San Diego, California. It was established in 1996 and is classified among "D/PU: Doctoral/Professional Universities"; it offers bachelor's, master's, specialist, and doctoral degrees. NCU was acquired by the National University System in 2019.

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 69 Title IV programs, 8 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 60 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
69
Passing
8
11.6% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
1.4% of portfolio
Fail rate
1.4%
+0.8pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

69programs
  • Passing8 · 11.6%
  • No Data60 · 87.0%
  • Failing1 · 1.4%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
1
Recoverable
0
At Risk
1
Watch
2
Safe
5
No data
60

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.

9
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
-5.2%
$57,016 vs $60,112
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Master's Degree · Psychology
+7.0%
$52,083 vs $48,653
Psychology General
Master's Degree · Psychology
+21.3%
$59,004 vs $48,653
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+22.1%
$73,426 vs $60,112
Education General
Master's Degree · Education
+28.5%
$59,632 vs $46,391
Education General
Graduate Certificate · Education
+31.8%
$61,131 vs $46,391
Education General
Doctoral Degree · Education
+73.5%
$80,493 vs $46,391
Business Administration Management and Operations
Doctoral Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+75.9%
$105,744 vs $60,112

Debt vs earnings

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

9
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
96%
$54,661 debt · $57,016 earn
Psychology General
Doctoral Degree · Psychology
91%
$77,675 debt · $85,657 earn
Education General
Doctoral Degree · Education
89%
$71,940 debt · $80,493 earn
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Master's Degree · Psychology
79%
$41,000 debt · $52,083 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Doctoral Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
72%
$76,087 debt · $105,744 earn
Psychology General
Master's Degree · Psychology
70%
$41,000 debt · $59,004 earn
Education General
Master's Degree · Education
58%
$34,273 debt · $59,632 earn
Education General
Graduate Certificate · Education
56%
$33,967 debt · $61,131 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

WASC Senior College and University Commission

Accredited since 2015Next review Feb 2029
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 2003

Programmatic accreditations · 3

Action history · 4

  1. Feb 2021Renewal of Accreditation
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  2. Nov 2018Grant Substantive Change: Ownership
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  3. Feb 2018Grant Substantive Change: Program
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  4. Oct 2015Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Voluntary Withdrawal
    Higher Learning Commission

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.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 24 students received $91K in Pell grants, alongside $65.4M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
24
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$91K
$91,397 total
Direct Loans
$65.4M
6,010 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$57K
24 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$77K
23 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$45.0M
4,750 loan awards
Grad PLUS$20.2M
1,213 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 4,281 borrowers who entered repayment, 40 (0.9%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.9%
-1.4pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
4,281
Defaulted
40
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
5.4%
2017
5.6%
2018
4.1%
2019
0.9%
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 Northcentral

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs33
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

1,820 total completions
01Education
57731.7%
02Health Professions
35819.7%
03Business
34919.2%
04Psychology
34819.1%
05Computer Sciences
1065.8%
06Public Admin
472.6%
07Legal Professions
251.4%
08Security/Protective
100.5%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

IPEDS
Fall total
9,489
12-mo unduplicated
12,994
Undergraduate
112
Graduate
12,882

Gender split

Men
25%3,308
Women
75%9,686

Race / ethnicity composition

White
48.0%
Black
24.5%
Unknown
9.2%
Hispanic
8.2%
Two or more
7.1%
Asian
1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native
1.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
1.0%

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
N/A
0 offenses · students
Offenses · 3-yr
0
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
—
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.

    IPEDS
    Student-to-faculty
    1.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    101

    Northcentral vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Northcentral 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
    SubjectNorthcentral University
    		——9,489—Doctoral/Professional
    Adelphi University
    		67%65.9%7,603$28,348Doctoral/Professional
    Aurora University
    		60%80.9%5,923$18,992Doctoral/Professional
    Barry University
    		37%77.2%6,825$22,978Doctoral/Professional
    Belmont University
    		70%95.3%8,803$32,096Doctoral/Professional
    Elon University
    		84%66.3%7,239$41,048Doctoral/Professional
    Gonzaga University
    		86%81.7%7,470$36,371Doctoral/Professional
    Hofstra University
    		69%68.1%10,685$35,129Doctoral/Professional
    Indiana Wesleyan University-National & Global
    		——14,331$16,767Doctoral/Professional
    Liberty University
    		67%99.0%104,327$29,552Doctoral/Professional
    Maryville University of Saint Louis
    		66%95.1%9,261$26,047Doctoral/Professional
    National Louis University
    		30%95.1%8,915$16,157Doctoral/Professional
    Northeastern University Professional Programs
    		——7,411—Doctoral/Professional
    Pace University
    		60%75.9%13,634$31,046Doctoral/Professional
    Pepperdine University
    		83%62.9%8,976$45,409Doctoral/Professional
    Quinnipiac University
    		76%72.2%9,424$39,207Doctoral/Professional
    Regent University
    		58%38.1%10,657$18,749Doctoral/Professional
    Sacred Heart University
    		73%65.4%11,022$45,459Doctoral/Professional
    Saint Leo University
    		44%78.4%9,692$18,467Doctoral/Professional
    Santa Clara University
    		88%48.0%9,728$50,959Doctoral/Professional
    Seattle University
    		76%76.9%7,189$34,802Doctoral/Professional
    Southeastern University
    		44%53.0%11,510$30,209Doctoral/Professional
    St. John's University-New York
    		66%83.4%19,389$26,985Doctoral/Professional
    Suffolk University
    		61%82.3%6,356$30,031Doctoral/Professional
    Touro University
    		76%60.8%11,937$26,556Doctoral/Professional
    University of La Verne
    		63%71.2%5,021$26,925Doctoral/Professional
    University of San Francisco
    		70%61.7%8,913$39,495Doctoral/Professional
    University of St Thomas
    		77%85.4%9,410$30,525Doctoral/Professional
    University of the Cumberlands
    		50%98.8%22,120$11,286Doctoral/Professional
    University of the Incarnate Word
    		50%98.1%7,047$20,498Doctoral/Professional
    University of the Pacific
    		68%71.3%6,944$25,926Doctoral/Professional
    Wilmington University
    		22%—13,746$15,355Doctoral/Professional
    Xavier University
    		68%86.4%5,501$32,342Doctoral/Professional
    Yeshiva University
    		85%55.6%6,965$47,560Doctoral/Professional
    Peer group median67%76.4%9,119$29,792

    Institutions like Northcentral

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

    IPEDS

    Northcentral Institutional Research office

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

    Team
    1 member
    • Amanda T. Roberts
      Director of Assessment and Accreditation, School of Health Professions

    Reports & documents (2)

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

    Notable alumni of Northcentral (5)

    A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

    • Naydeen González-De Jesús
    • Kim Cliett Long
    • Kathy Love
      Academic Administration
    • Bobby Olszewski
    • Clovis Watson Jr.

    Frequently asked questions about Northcentral University

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Northcentral.

    How many students attend Northcentral University?

    Northcentral University reports a total enrollment of 9,489 students per the latest IPEDS.

    Where is Northcentral University located?

    Northcentral University is located in San Diego, California 92123.

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