Doctoral/ProfessionalPrivate nonprofit

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Plains·sau.edu
6-yr Graduation
61%
+4.0pp vs Doctoral/Professional
Total enrollment
2,498
peer median 2,032
Avg net price
$24,691
-$305 vs Doctoral/Professional
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AdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersIR OfficeCommon Data Set

Admissions & acceptance rate

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

IPEDS
Applied
2,964
2,964 candidates competed
Admitted
2,292
77.3% acceptance rate
Enrolled
383
16.7% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

IPEDS
Overall completion
61%+4.0pp vs Doctoral/Professional
4-year graduation
55%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
61%
Full-time retention
76%

Pell equity

26.5pp gap
Pell recipients
42%61 of 144
Non-Pell (all)
69%246 of 359
Subsidized loan, no Pell
70%163 of 232
No Federal Aid
65%83 of 127

Non-Pell students graduate at a 26.5-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 64 Title IV programs, 17 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 47 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
64
Passing
17
26.6% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

64programs
  • Passing17 · 26.6%
  • No Data47 · 73.4%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
1
Watch
1
Safe
15
No data
47

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.

17
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+4.4%
$62,738 vs $60,112
Social Work
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+17.5%
$54,215 vs $46,158
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Master's Degree · Security And Protective Services
+25.0%
$67,022 vs $53,607
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
Doctoral Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+26.1%
$75,814 vs $60,112
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+36.8%
$47,634 vs $34,808
Accounting and Related Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+60.1%
$96,239 vs $60,112
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+63.2%
$56,803 vs $34,808
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+71.4%
$103,021 vs $60,112

Near the line (±5%)

Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.

1
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+4.4%
+$2,626

Debt vs earnings

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

15
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
93%
$58,083 debt · $62,738 earn
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
Doctoral Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
92%
$69,706 debt · $75,814 earn
Social Work
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
92%
$49,792 debt · $54,215 earn
Allied Health Diagnostic Intervention and Treatment Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
90%
$121,750 debt · $135,821 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
57%
$27,000 debt · $47,634 earn
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Bachelor Degree · Security And Protective Services
41%
$25,500 debt · $61,988 earn
Marketing
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
38%
$25,279 debt · $66,714 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
38%
$38,800 debt · $103,021 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1927Next review Aug 2028

Programmatic accreditations · 13

Action history · 9

  1. Aug 2025Voluntary Withdrawal Received
    Council on Education for Public Health · Public Health Programs (PHPG) - Graduate level program offered outside a school of public health
  2. Aug 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTD) - Programs leading to a Doctoral Degree
  3. Dec 2023Grant Substantive Change: Other
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTD) - Programs leading to a Doctoral Degree
  4. Nov 2020Renewal of Accreditation
    American Physical Therapy Association, Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education · Physical Therapy (PT) - Professional programs for the physical therapist
  5. Jul 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology · Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) - Graduate degree programs

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$22,037
$30–48k$21,729
$48–75k$22,408
$75–110k$24,776
$110k+$27,807

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

Avg net price (private)
$24,691
-$305vs Doctoral/Professional median $24,996
Federal loans
64.4%
In-state tuition
$36,658
Out-of-state
$36,658

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, 766 students received $4.1M in Pell grants, alongside $23.2M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
766
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$4.1M
$4,087,766 total
Direct Loans
$23.2M
2,807 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$3.5M
865 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$4.9M
1,168 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$8.3M
413 loan awards
Parent PLUS$2.7M
187 loan awards
Grad PLUS$3.7M
174 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 862 borrowers who entered repayment, 12 (1.3%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.3%
-1.0pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
862
Defaulted
12
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
5.9%
2017
5.3%
2018
3.3%
2019
1.3%
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 Saint Ambrose

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs111
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

727 total completions
01Health Professions
19827.2%
02Business
18725.7%
03Parks/Recreation
658.9%
04Public Admin
588.0%
05Psychology
588.0%
06Education
517.0%
07Biological Sciences
385.2%
08Computer Sciences
263.6%
09Engineering
243.3%
10Security/Protective
223.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

IPEDS
Fall total
2,498
12-mo unduplicated
2,676
Undergraduate
2,070
Graduate
606

Gender split

Men
43%1,146
Women
57%1,530

Race / ethnicity composition

White
65.9%
Hispanic
10.9%
Black
8.3%
Two or more
5.0%
Unknown
4.3%
Non-resident
3.2%
Asian
1.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

EADA
Athletes
949
603 M · 346 W
Women athletes
36.5%
Athletic aid
$4.8M
Total student aid
Budget
$10.4M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$3.0M
$1.4M
Recruiting expense
$80K
$57K
Head-coach salaries
$38K
$32K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 16

Football
144 M · —
$1.6M
Track and Field (Indoor)
59 M · 35 W
$341K
Soccer
48 M · 45 W
$795K
Track and Field (Outdoor)
55 M · 33 W
$337K
Swimming and Diving (combined)
45 M · 28 W
$625K
Basketball
43 M · 19 W
$876K

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
5.55
15 offenses · 2,703 students

3-year trend

7.552 yrs ago10.921 yr ago5.55Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
67
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
7
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
1
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
7

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
6
Rape
4
Fondling
2
Motor vehicle theft
2
Robbery
1

By location

15total
  • On campus14
  • Public property1

Includes 10 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

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

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons20
Drugs1740
Liquor135

Residence-hall fires

  • Tiedemann Hall1 fire
    CookingDamage $0-$99
  • Cosgrove hall3 fires
    Heating equipmentDamage $0-$99
  • Cosgrove hall3 fires
    CookingDamage $0-$99
  • Cosgrove hall3 fires
    ElectricalDamage $100-$999

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)
175

Saint Ambrose vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Saint Ambrose 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
SubjectSaint Ambrose University
61%—2,498$24,691Doctoral/Professional
Drake University
73%63.9%4,345$29,127Doctoral/Professional
Briar Cliff University
48%61.7%947$23,907Doctoral/Professional
Clarke University
56%71.8%962$24,479Doctoral/Professional
Baker University
58%94.2%2,017$25,301Doctoral/Professional
William Woods University
46%71.0%2,046$26,569Doctoral/Professional
Peer group median57%71.0%2,032$24,996

Institutions like Saint Ambrose

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

IPEDS

Saint Ambrose Institutional Research office

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

Office
Assessment and Institutional Research
Email
Assessment [at] sau.edu
Phone
563-333-6049
Address
518 W. Locust St., Davenport, IA 52803

The mission of St. Ambrose, focused on student development, demands that we investigate the extent to which learning occurs and the degree to which our institutional activities contribute to that learning. The purpose of assessment at St. Ambrose is to provide useful feedback to students, faculty, and external stakeholders for benchmarking and improving institutional effectiveness.

Visit IR office page

Common Data Set

Saint Ambrose's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.

Acceptance rate
80.1%
Accessible
Yield
15.3%
of admitted students enroll
Total enrollment
2,416
1,884 UG · 532 grad
6-yr graduation rate
69%
First-year retention
77%
Student–faculty ratio
11 to 1
01

Selectivity & Admissions

Admissions funnel

C1
Applied
3,430
Admitted
2,746
Enrolled
421

3,430 applied → 2,746 admitted (80.1%) → 421 enrolled.

Selectivity

C1
Acceptance rate
80.1%

Accessible — 80.1% acceptance rate.

Admit rate by gender

C1
male84.9%
female87.0%
unknown55.1%

Admit rate varies by gender.

SAT range (middle 50%)

C9
25th
900
Median
1020
75th
1170

Middle 50% SAT 900–1170 (median 1020).

ACT range (middle 50%)

C9
25th
19
Median
21
75th
24

Middle 50% ACT 19–24 (median 21).

High-school class rank

C10

Share of enrolled first-years by HS class-rank band.

What matters in admission

C7
Very Important2
class rankacademic gpa
Considered10
standardized test scoresapplication essayrecommendationinterviewextracurricular activitiestalent/abilitycharacter/personal qualitiesfirst generationalumni/ae relationvolunteer work
Not Considered5
geographical residencestate residencyreligious affiliation/commitmentwork experiencelevel of applicant’s interest

Relative importance of each admission factor.

02

Affordability & Value

Where grant aid comes from

H1
Institutional79.2%
Federal10.9%
State8.5%
External1.4%

79% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.

03

Outcomes & Equity

Graduation & retention

B
6-yr grad rate
69%
Retention
77%

6-year graduation rate 69%; first-year retention 77%.

Equity: Pell graduation gap

B4
All students69%
Pell recipients59%

Pell-grant recipients graduate 10 pts below the overall rate (59% vs 69%).

04

Academic Experience

Class-size distribution

I3
2-9 students92
10-19 students177
20-29 students163
30-39 students24
40-49 students5
50-99 students0
100+ students0

58% of classes have under 20 students; 0% have 50+.

Faculty profile

I
Student–faculty ratio
11 to 1
Faculty with terminal degree
64%
Women faculty
60%

Key faculty indicators.

Degrees by discipline

J
Business/marketing24.7%
Health professions and related programs13.6%
Parks and recreation11.3%
Psychology10.1%
Education8.9%
Biological/life sciences4.9%
Engineering4%
Computer and information sciences3.8%

STEM-dominant: ~14% of bachelor's degrees are in computing, engineering, math & sciences.

05

Student Body & Diversity

Undergraduate race/ethnicity

B2
White66.0%
Hispanic/Latino11.4%
Black or African American8.7%
Two or more races4.0%
Race/ethnicity unknown4.0%
Nonresidents3.8%
Asian1.6%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander0.3%
American Indian or Alaska Native0.1%

Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.

International students

B2
International UG
71
Share
4%

4% of undergraduates are international (nonresident).

Undergrad vs graduate

B1
Undergraduate
1,88478%
Graduate
53222%

1,884 undergraduates and 532 graduate students.

06

Transfer Path

Transfer admissions

D1
Applied
655
Admitted
443
Enrolled
178

655 transfer applicants → 443 admitted (67.6%) → 178 enrolled — more selective than first-year admission.

Source publications

Frequently asked questions about Saint Ambrose University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Saint Ambrose.

What is the graduation rate at Saint Ambrose University?

Saint Ambrose University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 61% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Saint Ambrose University?

Saint Ambrose University reports a total enrollment of 2,498 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Saint Ambrose University?

The average net price at Saint Ambrose University is $24,691 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Saint Ambrose University?

Saint Ambrose University's yield rate is 16.7%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Saint Ambrose University located?

Saint Ambrose University is located in Davenport, Iowa 52803-2898.

Who runs Institutional Research at Saint Ambrose University?

Saint Ambrose University's IR work is done by the Assessment and Institutional Research.

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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