-16%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Valparaiso University fell 16% between 2021 and 2024 (2.5k → 2.1k).
Indiana · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso, Indiana. 2,229 undergraduate students. 130 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Valparaiso University
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Valparaiso University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.2% → 0.0%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Indiana
Each tile compares this institution to the Indiana median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$63,191+14% · 6→10y
Indiana median $46,945$55,216
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry67.0%+3% · '97→'24
Indiana median 60.7%$22,133+145% · '97→'20
At program completion2,229-24% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS78.8%-12% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time92.2%+12% · '01→'24
latest cohort$46,588+175% · '00→'24
out-of-state $46,588SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
4.7%Median federal debt $22,133 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $63,191 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
-12%
Valparaiso University · retention fell
86.0% → 75.4%
-24%
Valparaiso University · undergrad enrollment fell
2,751 → 2,083
+175%
Valparaiso University · in-state tuition rose
$17,636 → $48,450
+175%
Valparaiso University · out-of-state tuition rose
$17,636 → $48,450
+145%
Valparaiso University · median debt rose
$11,000 → $26,942
-100%
Valparaiso University · cohort default rate fell
3.6% → 0.0%
+39%
Valparaiso University · pell share rose
19.7% → 27.3%
+25%
Valparaiso University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$50,400 → $63,191
+30%
Valparaiso University · earnings_median_8yr rose
$46,000 → $59,972
+33%
Valparaiso University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$41,400 → $55,216
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$135,121Business Administration, Management and Operations.$92,958Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering.$87,180Finance and Financial Management Services.$84,445Mechanical Engineering.$83,142Civil Engineering.$80,194Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$79,968Law.$77,795Chemistry.$71,188Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology.$67,942Marketing.$67,494Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$66,242Business Administration, Management and Operations.$66,051Political Science and Government.$65,176Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology.$64,575Criminology.$61,772Economics.$60,164Health and Medical Administrative Services.$59,596Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$58,510Biology, General.$56,922Communication and Media Studies.$56,864Radio, Television, and Digital Communication.$53,413Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics.$51,226English Language and Literature, General.$49,723
Showing top 24 of 28 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
28 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
EDUCATION · CIP 13
ENGINEERING · CIP 14
FOREIGN LANGUAGES · CIP 16
LEGAL PROFESSIONS · CIP 22
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Valparaiso University
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$728,080
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 7
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $20,556
- HS-only baseline · IN
- $36,400
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 51
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in Indiana
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Valparaiso University graduates earn $X” — not “Valparaiso University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Valparaiso University caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.