Western Colorado 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 8.8-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 48 Title IV programs, 13 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 35 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing13 · 27.1%
- No Data35 · 72.9%
- 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.
Near the line (±5%)
Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.
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 · 1
Action history · 2
- Jul 2023Renewal of AccreditationHigher Learning Commission
- Aug 2014Change in Agency recognitionNational Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Accreditation · Music (MUS) - Institutions and units within institutions offering degree-granting and/or non-degree-granting programs
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, 509 students received $2.8M in Pell grants, alongside $8.6M 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 606 borrowers who entered repayment, 9 (1.4%) 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 Western Colorado
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 · 7
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 campus4
Includes 2 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
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Western Colorado vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Western Colorado 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectWestern Colorado University | 50% | — | 3,568 | $16,425 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
| 40% | 94.9% | 6,851 | $10,051 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| 34% | — | 4,129 | $16,524 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| 45% | 83.6% | 4,709 | $11,282 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| 39% | 84.5% | 3,736 | $7,888 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| 39% | 88.6% | 5,605 | $15,840 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs | |
| Peer group median | 40% | 86.5% | 4,419 | $13,561 |
Institutions like Western Colorado
Explore the federal data for institutions in Western Colorado's comparison group.
- Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsColorado
Colorado State University Pueblo
Grad rate40%Admit rate94.9%Enrollment6,851Net price$10,051View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsMontana
Montana State University Billings
Grad rate34%Admit rate—Enrollment4,129Net price$16,524View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsNew York
SUNY Old Westbury
Grad rate45%Admit rate83.6%Enrollment4,709Net price$11,282View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsIndiana
Indiana University-Southeast
Grad rate39%Admit rate84.5%Enrollment3,736Net price$7,888View data - Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsVirginia
Virginia State University
Grad rate39%Admit rate88.6%Enrollment5,605Net price$15,840View data
Common Data Set
Western Colorado'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 $13,448 (2021-2022).
Sticker vs. net price
G+HSticker $13,448 → about $1,693 net for aided students after the average need-based grant ($11,755); 68% of demonstrated need is met.
Where grant aid comes from
H10% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.
Graduate debt
H4/H563% of graduates borrowed; those who did owed $27,139 on average.
Outcomes & Equity
Graduation & retention
B6-year graduation rate 48%; first-year retention 74%.
Equity: Pell graduation gap
B4Pell-grant recipients graduate 5 pts below the overall rate (43% vs 48%).
Academic Experience
Class-size distribution
I366% of classes have under 20 students; 0% have 50+.
Faculty profile
IKey faculty indicators.
Degrees by discipline
JSTEM-dominant: ~20% of bachelor's degrees are in computing, engineering, math & sciences.
Student Body & Diversity
Undergraduate race/ethnicity
B2Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.
International students
B20% of undergraduates are international (nonresident).
Undergrad vs graduate
B13,242 undergraduates and 450 graduate students.
Transfer Path
Transfer admissions
D1210 transfer applicants → 205 admitted (97.6%) → 94 enrolled
Frequently asked questions about Western Colorado University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Western Colorado.
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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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