-19%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Bluffton University fell 19% between 2021 and 2024 (718 → 582).
Ohio · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Bluffton University
Bluffton, Ohio. 595 undergraduate students. 55 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Bluffton 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.
+10%
150%-time completion
150%-time completion at Bluffton University rose 10% between 2006 and 2009 (57.7% → 63.6%).
-14%
First-year retention
First-year retention at Bluffton University fell 14% between 2021 and 2024 (69.2% → 59.6%).
-8pp
150%-time completion
150%-time completion fell 8 pp at Bluffton University vs the 2003–2007 baseline (49.5% vs 57.3%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Ohio
Each tile compares this institution to the Ohio median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$49,547+18% · 6→10y
Ohio median $41,039$41,940
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry49.5%+16% · '97→'09
Ohio median 62.5%$19,500+115% · '97→'20
At program completion595-45% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS67.3%-26% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time61.2%-11% · '01→'24
latest cohort$36,298+165% · '00→'24
out-of-state $36,298SECTION 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
5.2%Median federal debt $19,500 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $49,547 (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.
-26%
Bluffton University · retention fell
81.0% → 59.6%
-45%
Bluffton University · undergrad enrollment fell
1,063 → 582
+165%
Bluffton University · in-state tuition rose
$14,076 → $37,362
+165%
Bluffton University · out-of-state tuition rose
$14,076 → $37,362
+115%
Bluffton University · median debt rose
$12,552 → $27,000
-100%
Bluffton University · cohort default rate fell
5.7% → 0.0%
+56%
Bluffton University · pell share rose
28.6% → 44.7%
+25%
Bluffton University · earnings_median_10yr rose
$39,700 → $49,547
+27%
Bluffton University · earnings_median_8yr rose
$36,100 → $45,970
+26%
Bluffton University · earnings_median_6yr rose
$33,300 → $41,940
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.
Business Administration, Management and Operations.$85,046Accounting and Related Services.$71,136Business Administration, Management and Operations.$63,018Health and Physical Education/Fitness.$49,168Social Work.$46,835Special Education and Teaching.$46,385Human Resources Management and Services.$45,549Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods.$40,239
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
8 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
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Bluffton 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
$717,134
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 10
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $18,013
- HS-only baseline · OH
- $36,400
- Years to complete
- 6
- CIP family
- 52
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 Ohio
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Bluffton University graduates earn $X” — not “Bluffton University makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Bluffton 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.