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 22.4-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 204 Title IV programs, 65 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 139 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing65 · 31.9%
- No Data139 · 68.1%
- 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.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Programmatic accreditations · 19
Action history · 28
- Dec 2025Renewal of AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Jul 2025Renewal of AccreditationAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Didactic Program in Dietetics
- Jul 2025Renewal of AccreditationAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Dietetics (DIETI) - Dietetic Internship
- Aug 2024Renewal of AccreditationCouncil on Education for Public Health · Public Health Programs (PHPBG) - Baccalaureate and Graduate level programs offered outside a school of public health
- Apr 2024Renewal of AccreditationAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Dietetics (DIETI) - Dietetic Internship
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, 5,567 students received $31.0M in Pell grants, alongside $59.0M 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 4,153 borrowers who entered repayment, 90 (2.1%) 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 Kentucky
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 · 9
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 campus36
- Non-campus2
Includes 13 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
- McLean Hall1 fireOpen flamesDamage $0-$99
- Pearce Ford Tower1 fireCookingDamage $1,000-$9,999
- Kentucky St Apt1 fireOpen flamesDamage $0-$99
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.
Western Kentucky vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Western Kentucky 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 Kentucky University | 56% | — | 16,291 | $10,990 | Doctoral/Professional |
| 54% | 67.6% | 15,347 | $8,191 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 55% | 77.6% | 15,673 | $11,040 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 57% | 63.4% | 16,612 | $12,568 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 43% | 51.6% | 14,337 | $12,786 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 60% | 81.8% | 11,686 | $13,315 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| Peer group median | 56% | 67.6% | 15,510 | $11,804 |
Institutions like Western Kentucky
Explore the federal data for institutions in Western Kentucky's comparison group.
- Doctoral/ProfessionalKentucky
Northern Kentucky University
Grad rate54%Admit rate67.6%Enrollment15,347Net price$8,191View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalKentucky
Eastern Kentucky University
Grad rate55%Admit rate77.6%Enrollment15,673Net price$11,040View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalFlorida
Florida Gulf Coast University
Grad rate57%Admit rate63.4%Enrollment16,612Net price$12,568View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalGeorgia
University of West Georgia
Grad rate43%Admit rate51.6%Enrollment14,337Net price$12,786View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalNorth Carolina
Western Carolina University
Grad rate60%Admit rate81.8%Enrollment11,686Net price$13,315View data
Western Kentucky Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The Office of Institutional Research is focused on the collection, organization, maintenance and analysis of institutional and other data for executive-level decision support, institutional management, operations and planning functions. Included in this mission is systematic information processing of institutional data leading to broadly based institutional perspectives and understanding. Also included are studies related to projected organizational needs, program objectives and efficient use of institutional resources.
Visit IR office page- Leslie DavisSpecialist, Evaluation Administrator
- Stefanie EstesResearch Analyst
- Dr. Matt ForakerResearch Coordinator
- Shelley HamletSupport Services Coordinator
- Dr. Tuesdi HelbigDirector
- Irfan MansurDatabase Analyst
- Jessica SpearsApplications Programmer Analyst
Common Data Set
Western Kentucky's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Outcomes & Equity
Graduation & retention
B6-year graduation rate 59%; first-year retention 79%.
Equity: Pell graduation gap
B4Pell-grant recipients graduate 12 pts below the overall rate (47% vs 59%).
Student Body & Diversity
Undergraduate race/ethnicity
B2Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.
International students
B20% of undergraduates are international (nonresident).
Undergrad vs graduate
B113,732 undergraduates and 2,185 graduate students.
Transfer Path
Transfer admissions
D11,359 transfer applicants → 1,308 admitted (96.2%) → 842 enrolled
Source publications
Frequently asked questions about Western Kentucky University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Western Kentucky.
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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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