The University of Iowa Office of Student Financial Aid (UI OSFA) is required by the U.S. Department of Education to provide institutional performance metrics (Graduation Rate, Loan Default Rate, and Median Borrowing) to help first-year undergraduate students make informed decisions about where to attend school. Although the information is primarily for first-year undergraduate students, the information is helpful for all undergraduate students. (The U.S. Department of Education does not require institutions to provide the same metrics for graduate/professional students.)

 

Graduation Rate

(The percentage of full-time undergraduate students who graduate from The University of Iowa within six years)

This information can be compared with other similar (four-year) institutions. The percentage is from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) that is part of the National Center for Education Statistics. The U.S. Department of Education requires institutions to supply information to IPEDS. The UI Registrar’s Office has a breakdown of information about graduate retention statistics for UI students.

 

Loan Default Rate

(The percentage of undergraduate borrowers entering repayment who have defaulted on their loans)

The most recent cohort default rate for the University of Iowa is compared to the national rates of similar (four-year) institutions. This information is from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) which is the U.S. Department of Education’s central database for student aid. The University of Iowa has a low loan default rate compared to the national default rate.

 

Median Borrowing

(The median debt for undergraduate borrowers entering repayment)

At the University of Iowa, 49% of the undergraduate students graduating in May 2015 did not have any student loans.

The median borrowing information is from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) which is the U.S. Department of Education’s central database for student aid. This is the median amount of debt. The loan amounts for all undergraduate students who borrowed while attending the University of Iowa and are now entering repayment are placed in order from lowest to highest amount of debt. The loan amount in the middle (50th percentile) is the median amount. This is not the average amount of loan debt for an undergraduate student.

The median borrowing is based on students who took six years to graduate. We are using six years because we are required to provide the graduation rate percentage based on six years. At the University of Iowa, 52% of students graduate in four years and 72% in six years. Graduating sooner helps minimize student debt.