Masters Colleges & Universities: Small ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

Union Commonwealth University

Barbourville, Kentucky·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Southeast·unionky.edu
6-yr Graduation
32%
-10.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Total enrollment
1,324
peer median 1,664
Avg net price
$23,906
+$3.3k vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
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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
996
996 candidates competed
Admitted
629
63.2% acceptance rate
Enrolled
244
38.8% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
32%-10.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
4-year graduation
22%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
32%
Full-time retention
64%

Pell equity

21.0pp gap
Pell recipients
29%
Non-Pell
50%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 21.0-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 62 Title IV programs, 6 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 56 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
62
Passing
6
9.7% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

62programs
  • Passing6 · 9.7%
  • No Data56 · 90.3%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
1
Safe
5
No data
56

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.

6
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
+21.8%
$41,475 vs $34,058
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Master's Degree · Education
+26.4%
$52,127 vs $41,236
Educational Administration and Supervision
Master's Degree · Education
+34.0%
$55,247 vs $41,236
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+50.0%
$51,079 vs $34,058
Education General
Master's Degree · Education
+54.7%
$63,794 vs $41,236
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+156.1%
$87,221 vs $34,058

Debt vs earnings

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

5
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
67%
$27,750 debt · $41,475 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
53%
$27,000 debt · $51,079 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Master's Degree · Education
34%
$17,440 debt · $52,127 earn
Education General
Master's Degree · Education
26%
$16,725 debt · $63,794 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
14%
$12,000 debt · $87,221 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Accredited since 1932Next review Jun 2031

Programmatic accreditations · 2

Action history · 11

  1. Dec 2025Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Dec 2025Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. Jul 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  4. Nov 2024Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Oct 2024Grant Substantive Change: Program
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

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$12,372
$30–48k$15,306
$48–75k$25,500
$75–110k$44,375
$110k+$44,375

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

Avg net price (private)
$23,906
+$3,342vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs median $20,565
Federal loans
64.8%
In-state tuition
$30,946
Out-of-state
$30,946

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 456 students received $2.7M in Pell grants, alongside $4.6M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
456
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$2.7M
$2,744,379 total
Direct Loans
$4.6M
966 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

1k
20
0k
21
0k
22
0k
23
0k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.4M
394 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.4M
389 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$1.2M
122 loan awards
Parent PLUS$583K
61 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 407 borrowers who entered repayment, 27 (6.6%) defaulted within three years above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
6.6%
+4.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
407
Defaulted
27
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
15.2%
2017
15.7%
2018
14.6%
2019
6.6%
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 Union Commonwealth

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs57
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

354 total completions
01Business
8824.9%
02Health Professions
6418.1%
03Computer Sciences
5916.7%
04Parks/Recreation
4613.0%
05Education
3810.7%
06Liberal Arts
215.9%
07Psychology
195.4%
08Security/Protective
82.3%
09Biological Sciences
72.0%
10Communication
41.1%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
1,324
12-mo unduplicated
1,394
Undergraduate
830
Graduate
564

Gender split

Men
59%824
Women
41%570

Race / ethnicity composition

White
59.0%
Non-resident
14.5%
Black
14.1%
Two or more
5.0%
Hispanic
3.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
1.2%
Unknown
1.2%
Asian
0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.7%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
485
365 M · 120 W
Women athletes
24.7%
Athletic aid
$9.3M
Total student aid
Budget
$11.8M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$6.5M
$2.8M
Recruiting expense
$16K
$6K
Head-coach salaries
$29K
$21K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 13

Football
149 M ·
$2.7M
Baseball
71 M ·
$1.4M
Soccer
47 M · 16 W
$1.8M
Basketball
23 M · 18 W
$1.2M
Tennis
24 M · 15 W
$710K
Softball
· 26 W
$700K

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
0.00
0 offenses · 970 students

3-year trend

0.852 yrs ago0.981 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
2
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
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
    Drugs01
    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.

    Student-to-faculty
    14.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    49

    Union Commonwealth vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Union Commonwealth 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
    SubjectUnion Commonwealth University
    32%1,324$23,906Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
    Asbury University
    65%63.4%2,100$20,428Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
    Midway University
    44%95.1%2,003$23,863Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
    Thomas More University
    40%90.3%2,350$20,701Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
    Southern Wesleyan University
    57%99.5%980$19,968Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
    Coker University
    40%94.0%1,325$18,045Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
    Peer group median42%94.0%1,664$20,565

    Frequently asked questions about Union Commonwealth University

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Union Commonwealth.

    What is the graduation rate at Union Commonwealth University?

    Union Commonwealth University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 32% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend Union Commonwealth University?

    Union Commonwealth University reports a total enrollment of 1,324 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at Union Commonwealth University?

    The average net price at Union Commonwealth University is $23,906 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    What is the yield rate at Union Commonwealth University?

    Union Commonwealth University's yield rate is 38.8%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

    Where is Union Commonwealth University located?

    Union Commonwealth University is located in Barbourville, Kentucky 40906-1499.

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