Notes

These are items that bear looking into more closely.

• This institution’s six year bachelors graduation rate is 57.9%, so approximately 2/5 of undergrads who enroll do not earn a bachelors degree from here.

• This institution’s full-time undergraduate enrollment has tended to decrease over time.

Overview of institution

This, and the rest of the page, use info from the most recent year available, generally 2023.

• Institution kind: Master’s Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs

• Undergrad program: Professions plus arts & sciences, some graduate coexistence

• Graduate program: Postbaccalaureate: Education-dominant, with other professional programs

• Enrollment profile: Very high undergraduate (see more details below)

• Average net price for undergrads on financial aid: $19,204 . This is 100% the average cost of Harvard.

• Actual price for your family: Go here to see what your family may be asked to pay. It can be MUCH lower than the average price but also higher for some.

• Size and setting: Four-year, small, highly residential

• In state percentage: 58% of first year students come from Iowa

• In US percentage: 99% of first year students come from the US

• This institution has a religious affiliation of Presbyterian Church (USA)

• Graduation rate (within 6 years) for students seeking a Bachelors: 57.9% (this is what is usually reported as “graduation rate”)

• Graduation rate (within 4 years) for students seeking a Bachelors: 48.1%

• Student to tenure-stream faculty ratio: 31.6 (undergrads to tenure-stream faculty) [Tenure explained]

• Student to faculty ratio: 21.9 (undergrads to all faculty)

• Degrees offered: Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree

• Schedule: Four-one-four plan

• Institution provides on campus housing: Yes

• Dorm capacity: There are enough dorm beds for 836 students

• Freshmen required to live on campus: No

• Advanced placement (AP) credits used: Yes

• Disabilities: 5.16 percent of undergrads are registered as having disabilities.

Map

Comparisons

The sections below show this institution compared with others. The ones listed are ones it has identified as peers, who consider themselves peers, and/or who the federal government considers peers. If a comparison school has the same value as the focal school, its cell is grayed out. Arrows show where there is a signficant trend over time for a school. You can swipe across the table to see more of it; the focal school column is always visible.

• Buena Vista University lists these schools as ones to compare itself within federal IPEDS data, and they do the same back: Northwestern College, Coe College, William Penn University, Morningside University, Loras College, Briar Cliff University, Graceland University-Lamoni, Grand View University
• Buena Vista University compares itself to these institutions, but not vice versa: Grinnell College, Augustana University, Drake University, Luther College, Saint Ambrose University, Central College, Midland University, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Simpson College, Cornell College, Hastings College, Wartburg College, Clarke University, Dordt University, University of Dubuque
• These institutions compare themselves to Buena Vista University, but not vice versa: Carroll College, Whitworth University, Mount Marty University, Doane University, Bridgewater College, Texas Lutheran University, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Concordia University-Wisconsin, Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Wisconsin Lutheran College, Whitworth University-Adult Degree Programs

Diversity

The US Census Bureau has a diversity index that goes from 0 to 1. In their words, “A 0-value indicates that everyone in the population has the same racial and ethnic characteristics. A value close to 1 indicates that everyone in the population has different racial and ethnic characteristics.” This uses their formula, but with the resolution available for the federal IPEDS data (which does not separate for a given demographic group whether members identify as Hispanic or not). This metric is about heterogeneity within the population, not the proportion of the population that comes from historically excluded groups.

Following the practice of the census, the index is multiplied by 100 to give the percentage probability a random pair of individuals will have a different background. Most institutions argue that diversity is a benefit, so by default a higher number is listed as better, but there may be cases where this measure does not reflect the mission of a college (for example, 70% of the students at a tribal college or university may be American Indian: that could be low-scoring by this metric but should not be read as “bad” given the institution’s mission).

These numbers are based on the most recent year available, generally 2023, which predates effects of the US Supreme Court’s striking down of affirmative action. This has often changed, sometimes dramatically, the incoming student demographics at some institutions.

Test scores

Majors

This presents information on the number of majors and the median earnings one and five years after graduation for people who got a degree from this institution in that field. The earnings are for those who are working and not enrolled in further education. The earnings data (from the federal college scorecard) also has information on earnings for those categorized as ‘MALE’ and ‘NOMALE’ – for readability, these are recategorized here as “Men” and “Women”, respectively, which adopts the gender binary used in other federal data. “W/M earnings ratio” is the median earnings of women divided by men, as a percentage.