Valparaiso University
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
Non-Pell students graduate at a 16.6-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.
Of 104 Title IV programs, 30 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 74 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing30 · 28.8%
- No Data74 · 71.2%
- 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.
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.
Higher Learning Commission
Programmatic accreditations · 8
Action history · 10
- Oct 2020Institution ClosedAmerican Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar · Law (LAW) - Professional schools
- Aug 2020Institution ClosedAmerican Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar · Law (LAW) - Professional schools
- Apr 2020Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNDNP) - Nursing education programs at the doctorate degree levels
- Apr 2020Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
- Apr 2020Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the graduate degree levels
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, 757 students received $4.6M in Pell grants, alongside $17.4M 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 989 borrowers who entered repayment, 12 (1.2%) defaulted within three years — below 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 Valparaiso
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 · 11
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
- On campus7
Includes 3 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Data quality: 3 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Valparaiso vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Valparaiso 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectValparaiso University | 70% | — | 2,579 | $18,578 | Doctoral/Professional |
| 67% | 95.5% | 3,486 | $24,018 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 56% | 66.5% | 5,000 | $21,602 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 65% | 82.5% | 640 | $15,210 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| — | — | 14,331 | $16,898 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 60% | 75.7% | 2,459 | $26,113 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| Peer group median | 65% | 79.1% | 3,033 | $20,090 |
Institutions like Valparaiso
Explore the federal data for institutions in Valparaiso's comparison group.
- Doctoral/ProfessionalIndiana
Marian University
Grad rate67%Admit rate95.5%Enrollment3,486Net price$24,018View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalIndiana
University of Indianapolis
Grad rate56%Admit rate66.5%Enrollment5,000Net price$21,602View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalIndiana
Oakland City University
Grad rate65%Admit rate82.5%Enrollment640Net price$15,210View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalIndiana
Indiana Wesleyan University-National & Global
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment14,331Net price$16,898View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalWisconsin
Edgewood College
Grad rate60%Admit rate75.7%Enrollment2,459Net price$26,113View data
Valparaiso Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The mission of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness is to contribute to the success of Valparaiso University by providing pertinent information to decision-makers in administrative offices and academic departments.
Visit IR office page- Melizza ZygmuntExecutive Director
- Carolyn SimpsonData Analyst
Common Data Set
Valparaiso's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Affordability & Value
Cost of attendance
GTotal sticker cost of attendance is $50,520 (2024-2025).
Sticker vs. net price
G+HSticker $50,520 → about $15,385 net for aided students after the average need-based grant ($35,135); 92% of demonstrated need is met.
Where grant aid comes from
H10% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.
Graduate debt
H4/H569% of graduates borrowed; those who did owed $35,531 on average.
Outcomes & Equity
Graduation & retention
B6-year graduation rate 67%; first-year retention 79%.
Equity: Pell graduation gap
B4Pell-grant recipients graduate 7 pts below the overall rate (60% vs 67%).
Academic Experience
Class-size distribution
I354% of classes have under 20 students; 5% have 50+.
Faculty profile
IKey faculty indicators.
Degrees by discipline
JSTEM-dominant: ~28% of bachelor's degrees are in computing, engineering, math & sciences.
Student Body & Diversity
Undergraduate race/ethnicity
B2Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.
International students
B24% of undergraduates are international (nonresident).
Undergrad vs graduate
B12,258 undergraduates and 591 graduate students.
Transfer Path
Transfer admissions
D1343 transfer applicants → 298 admitted (86.9%) → 104 enrolled
Source publications
Frequently asked questions about Valparaiso University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Valparaiso.
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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.
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