Cumberland University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Cumberland University

Cumberland University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Lebanon, Tennessee (town: fringe), with a total reported enrollment of 2,104 students of which 2,953 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Cumberland University is categorized as “19” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 67.3%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $18,759, with published in-state tuition of $27,840 and a Pell grant recipient share of 30.3%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $17,952, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 46.3%, and the first-year retention rate is 59.5%. Graduates earn a median of $57,687 ten years after enrolling, compared with $52,246 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 77600.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 68.4% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.