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Northern State University

Aberdeen, SD · official site ↗

PublicMaster's, Small ProgramsSmall
59
Fin. Resilience
Resilience score

vs. 36 peers in its group

Northern State University is a public institution in Aberdeen, SD, classified by Carnegie as “Master's, Small Programs.”

It enrolls about 1,273 undergraduates and is benchmarked here against 36 peer institutions (Master's, Small Programs · Public).

On Ibex's Financial Resilience score it rates 59 out of 100 within that peer group, a transparent composite of endowment per undergraduate, net tuition revenue per student, and instructional spend per student.

Its strongest standing relative to peers is full-time faculty share (94.5%, 94th percentile).

Its weakest is operating margin (-12%).

Ibex's cross-metric scan flags: Undergrad enrollment down 17% since 2016.

Peer group

Master's, Small Programs · Public

36 institutions

Undergrad enrollment down 17% since 2016
Policy & demographic exposure

How exposed Northern State University is to the structural shifts reshaping higher ed: a composite structural-risk index plus the 2025 federal budget law’s endowment excise tax and Grad PLUS elimination and the demographic enrollment cliff. Only signals that apply to this institution are shown.

Structural risk indexAn indicative 0–100 structural-risk index (higher = more pressure) blending operating margin, months of cash cushion, tuition dependency and the home-state enrollment cliff. Screens for the financial and demographic strain that precedes closures and mergers — directional, not a prediction.
48
Elevated
Enrollment cliff (home state)Projected change in the institution's home-state high-school graduates from 2025 to 2041 (WICHE). The U.S. total falls about 13%; a directional feeder-market signal, not an enrollment forecast.
0.1%
Stable or growing

Indicative signals, not forecasts — see each metric’s definition and the methodology. Endowment-tax and Grad PLUS figures appear only where the institution is actually exposed; “nationally” compares against all schools that report each signal.

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Revenue composition
Where the money comes from $45.8M total revenue · IPEDS FY2022-23

Government appropriations is the largest single source at 41% of revenue.

Government appropriations41.2%
Tuition & fees19.7%
Private gifts & grants12.0%
Government grants & contracts9.6%
Auxiliary enterprises8.6%
Other revenue8.5%
Investment return0.4%

Where each dollar of revenue comes from, as a share of total positive revenue. Sources are standardized across public (GASB) and private (FASB) reporting; a net investment loss in a down market is shown as 0% and excluded from the mix.

Net price by income
Average net price by family income After grant & scholarship aid · Scorecard 2024-25
$0–30K$10,762
$30–48K$12,087
$48–75K$15,293
$75–110K$18,372
$110K+$17,933

Average annual net price (total cost minus grant and scholarship aid) paid by federal-aid recipients in each family-income band. Lower-income bands often pay less where need-based aid is strong.

Financial Health
Net tuition revenue / FTETuition revenue per full-time-equivalent student after institutional aid/discounts — what tuition actually nets.
Average
$4,809
33rd percentile in peer grouppeer median $5,486
Instructional spend / FTESpending on instruction per FTE student — how much of the budget reaches the classroom.
Average
$9,584
53rd percentile in peer grouppeer median $9,400
Endowment (end of year)Total endowment value at year end — long-term invested wealth that funds operations and cushions shocks.
Strong
$56.1M
89th percentile in peer grouppeer median $23.8M
In-state tuition & feesPublished in-state tuition and fees before aid (sticker price).
$8,845
61st percentile in peer grouppeer median $8,736
Out-of-state tuition & feesPublished out-of-state tuition and fees before aid (sticker price).
$11,947
22nd percentile in peer grouppeer median $18,176
Avg annual cost of attendanceAverage total annual cost — tuition, fees and living costs — before aid.
$22,077
58th percentile in peer grouppeer median $21,568
Avg monthly faculty salaryAverage monthly salary of full-time faculty (IPEDS) — a proxy for faculty investment.
Strong
$8,949
75th percentile in peer grouppeer median $8,148
Average monthly salary of full-time faculty, as reported to IPEDS.
Average net priceAverage yearly price families actually pay after grants and scholarships.
Below peers
$15,812
72nd percentile in peer grouppeer median $11,572
Endowment per undergradEndowment divided by undergraduate headcount — endowment wealth behind each undergrad.
Strong
$44,107
92nd percentile in peer grouppeer median $10,634
Operating marginNet surplus as a share of total revenue — whether the institution runs in the black.
Deficit
-12%
3rd percentile in peer grouppeer median 4.4%
Net surplus as a share of total revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23): (total revenues − total expenses) ÷ total revenues. A surplus above 4% is strong; a thin surplus near 0% leaves little margin for shocks.
Tuition dependencyTuition's share of total revenue — how exposed the budget is to enrollment swings.
19.7%
58th percentile in peer grouppeer median 18.1%
Tuition & fees as a share of total revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23). Higher = more exposed to enrollment swings.
State appropriations shareState appropriations' share of total revenue — material for public institutions, near zero for private.
40.2%
78th percentile in peer grouppeer median 31.5%
State appropriations as a share of total revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23). Material for public institutions; ~0 for private.
Endowment per FTE studentEndowment per full-time-equivalent student — the FTE-correct measure of endowment wealth per student.
Strong
$31,124
89th percentile in peer grouppeer median $9,232
End-of-year endowment ÷ 12-month FTE enrollment — endowment wealth per full-time-equivalent student. The FTE-correct companion to endowment-per-undergraduate; FTE counts graduate and part-time load, so research universities look less wealthy on this basis than on a headcount basis.
Structural risk indexAn indicative 0–100 structural-risk index (higher = more pressure) blending operating margin, months of cash cushion, tuition dependency and the home-state enrollment cliff. Screens for the financial and demographic strain that precedes closures and mergers — directional, not a prediction.
Elevated
48
— percentile in peer group
An indicative 0–100 structural-risk index (higher = more pressure), an equal-weight blend of the stress signals we measure: thin or negative operating margin, low months of operating cushion, high tuition dependency, and a shrinking home-state high-school-graduate pipeline (enrollment cliff). Averaged over whichever signals are available (at least two required). It screens for the financial and demographic pressures that precede closures and mergers — a directional indicator, NOT a prediction that any institution will close, and not a credit rating.
Graduation & completion
Graduation rate · first-time, full-time
48.9%

48.9% graduate within 6 years (150% of normal time)
34.5% on-time, within 4 years (100%)
Counts only students who entered full-time as first-time freshmen and earned a bachelor's here — the conventional headline rate. Excludes part-time entrants and transfer-ins.

Completion rate · all students
52.1%

52.1% earned a degree or certificate within 8 years (IPEDS Outcome Measures)
The broader cohort — also counts part-time entrants and transfer-ins, and any credential. More inclusive, so it can run higher than the graduation rate.

Why two numbers? They measure different students over different windows, so they are not directly comparable. The graduation rate is the standard federal headline but tracks only first-time, full-time students through a bachelor's; the all-students completion rate adds the part-time and transfer students it leaves out, over a longer window. Read each for what it covers. Source: U.S. Department of Education — IPEDS Graduation Rates & Outcome Measures, via College Scorecard.

Enrollment & Pipeline
Undergraduate enrollmentNumber of degree-seeking undergraduates (IPEDS fall headcount). A size measure, not a quality signal.
1,273
8th percentile in peer grouppeer median 2,348
Admission rateShare of applicants offered admission. Lower means more selective; open-admission schools report none.
93%
70th percentile in peer grouppeer median 84.5%
First-year retentionShare of first-time, full-time freshmen who return for a second year — an early signal of student fit and support.
Strong
77%
81st percentile in peer grouppeer median 71.4%
Graduation rate (6-yr · first-time, full-time)Of first-time, full-time freshmen, the share who earn a bachelor's at this institution within six years (150% of normal time) — the conventional headline graduation rate. It counts only first-time, full-time students and excludes part-time entrants and transfer-ins, who are captured instead by the all-students completion rate.
Strong
48.9%
69th percentile in peer grouppeer median 42.8%
Graduation rate (4-yr on-time · first-time, full-time)Of first-time, full-time freshmen, the share who earn a bachelor's within four years (100% of normal time) — the 'on-time' rate. It runs well below the six-year rate because many students take a fifth or sixth year; same first-time, full-time cohort as the six-year rate.
Strong
34.5%
75th percentile in peer grouppeer median 30%
Pell recipient shareShare of undergraduates on a federal Pell Grant — a proxy for the share from lower-income families.
12.4%
3rd percentile in peer grouppeer median 35.1%
Program concentration (HHI)How concentrated a school's annual completions are across academic fields, as a Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (10,000 = one field, lower = many). Higher means more reliance on a few fields; lower means a diversified program portfolio.
Moderately concentrated
1,674
— percentile in peer group
How concentrated the institution's degree and certificate output is across academic fields (CIP 2-digit families), as a Herfindahl-Hirschman Index on the latest year's completions: 10,000 means every completion is in one field; lower means output is spread across many. A higher value means the school leans on fewer fields and is more exposed to demand shifts in them; a lower value reflects a broad program portfolio. Shown for institutions reporting at least 100 annual completions. A structural-diversification signal, not a measure of quality.
12-month FTE enrollmentFull-time-equivalent enrollment over the full year — the denominator for per-student finance measures.
1,804
28th percentile in peer grouppeer median 2,596
Full-time-equivalent enrollment over the full 12-month year (IPEDS 12-month enrollment, 2022-23). Counts part-time students at their fractional load, so it runs above fall full-time headcount and is the denominator used for per-student finance measures.
Student-faculty ratioStudents per instructional faculty member — lower usually means smaller classes and more contact.
17:1
89th percentile in peer grouppeer median 14:1
Students per instructional faculty member (IPEDS, fall 2023). Lower generally means smaller classes and more faculty contact, though the measure mixes undergraduate and graduate teaching and is institution-reported.
Enrollment cliff (home state)Projected change in the institution's home-state high-school graduates from 2025 to 2041 (WICHE). The U.S. total falls about 13%; a directional feeder-market signal, not an enrollment forecast.
Stable or growing
0.1%
— percentile in peer group
Projected change in the number of high-school graduates in the institution's HOME STATE from the class of 2025 (the national peak) to 2041, per WICHE's Knocking at the College Door, 11th Edition (Dec 2024). The 'enrollment cliff' is the post-2008 birth decline reaching college age; the U.S. total is projected to fall about 13% over this window. A college recruits from many states, so its home-state projection is an indicative directional signal of feeder-market pressure, not a forecast of that institution's own enrollment.
Completion rate (all students · 8-yr)Of ALL entering degree-seeking undergraduates — full- and part-time, first-time and transfer-in — the share who earned a degree or certificate at this institution within eight years (IPEDS Outcome Measures). Broader than the graduation rate, which counts only first-time, full-time students, so the two are measured on different students and are not directly comparable.
Average
52.1%
61st percentile in peer grouppeer median 46.6%
Share of ALL entering degree-seeking undergraduates — full- and part-time, first-time and transfer-in — who earned a degree or certificate at this institution within eight years (IPEDS Outcome Measures, via College Scorecard). Broader and more inclusive than the graduation-rate figures, which count only first-time, full-time students entering a bachelor's program — so the two are measured on different groups of students and are not directly comparable.
Average SAT score
1,089
62nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 1,065
Average SAT score of enrolled students who submitted scores (College Scorecard, FY2024-25). A selectivity and incoming-class signal — not a measure of institutional quality — and reported by fewer than half of institutions in the test-optional era. Schools that are test-optional or open-admission show none.
Admission yield
Strong
31.8%
77th percentile in peer grouppeer median 23.5%
Share of admitted students who enrolled (IPEDS Admissions, Fall 2023): students who enrolled ÷ students admitted. A demand signal — how many accepted offers the institution converts to enrollment. Higher yield generally reflects stronger demand, though binding early-decision programs and price positioning can inflate it. Open-admission institutions do not report admissions and show none.
Student body
Undergraduate race & ethnicity IPEDS 2024-25
White78.7%
Hispanic/Latino5.5%
Two or more races4.6%
Black3.5%
American Indian/Alaska Native2.5%
International2.3%
Asian2.0%
Unknown0.5%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander0.4%

Undergraduate enrollment by race and ethnicity, as reported to IPEDS (College Scorecard). “International” denotes nonresident students; “Unknown” means race/ethnicity was not reported.

Student Outcomes & Risk
Median earnings (10 yr)Median earnings of former students ten years after first enrolling (working, federally-aided students).
Average
$47,618
58th percentile in peer grouppeer median $46,766
Median debt at graduationMedian federal loan debt graduates carry at the point they complete.
Average
$22,320
53rd percentile in peer grouppeer median $22,015
3-yr cohort default rateShare of borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment. Lower is better.
Strong
6.2%
25th percentile in peer grouppeer median 9.2%
Share of borrowers who defaulted within three years of entering repayment (U.S. Dept. of Education official cohort default rate). Shown for the FY2017 borrower cohort — the most recent cohort whose full three-year default window closed before the 2020-23 federal student-loan payment pause. More recent cohorts are reported by the College Scorecard at essentially 0%, but that reflects the payment pause (no payments were due, so almost no one could default), not borrower health, so the pre-pause cohort is the last meaningful reading. Lower is better.
Share taking federal loansShare of students taking out federal loans — a borrowing-reliance signal.
22.1%
11th percentile in peer grouppeer median 37.9%
Full-time faculty shareShare of faculty employed full-time — higher generally means more availability and continuity.
Strong
94.5%
94th percentile in peer grouppeer median 60.8%
Debt-to-earnings ratioMedian graduate debt divided by median earnings — how heavy the debt load is versus what graduates earn. Lower is better.
Average
0.47×
64th percentile in peer grouppeer median 0.44×
Return on credentialMedian 10-year earnings divided by the four-year cost of attendance (annual cost × 4) — a rough payback ratio for the degree.
Average
0.54×
47th percentile in peer grouppeer median 0.54×
Median 10-year earnings divided by the four-year cost of attendance (average annual cost × 4). A rough payback ratio: 1.0× means a graduate's annual 10-year earnings roughly equal the full four-year sticker cost. Earnings reflect federally-aided students; cost of attendance is the published sticker price before aid, so this is conservative relative to what families net of aid pay.
Field-demand outlook (10-yr)Employment-weighted 10-year BLS job-growth projection for the occupations this school's program mix feeds (U.S. all-occupations benchmark +3.1%). An indicative broad-field demand signal, not a program-specific or placement guarantee.
Outpaces job-market average
+3.9%
28th percentile in peer group
Projected 10-year (2024-34) change in U.S. employment for the occupations this institution's degrees and certificates feed, blended across its program mix. Built by mapping each CIP 2-digit field to its occupations via the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk, taking the employment-weighted average of each occupation's BLS-projected percent change, then weighting fields by the institution's latest-year completions. The U.S. all-occupations benchmark is 3.1%, so a higher value means the school's graduates concentrate in faster-growing labor markets. An INDICATIVE field-level signal at broad-field granularity — not a program-specific or graduate-specific projection, and not a placement or earnings guarantee. Structurally diffuse CIP families whose crosswalk maps to 'any job' are excluded from the signal: 05 Area/Ethnic/Gender Studies, 24 Liberal Arts & Humanities, and 30 Multi/Interdisciplinary. Shown where at least 50% of completions fall in fields with a coherent occupational mapping and the school reports 100+ annual completions.
Loan repayment rate (3-yr)
64.7%
72nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 49.4%
Share of student-loan borrowers who had repaid at least $1 of their loan principal within three years of entering repayment (College Scorecard, FY2024-25). Read it as context, not a simple good/bad score: a low rate can mean borrowers are struggling, but it can also mean many graduates have postponed payments while enrolled in graduate or professional school, which is common at selective schools and pushes their rate down. Unlike the cohort default rate, it is not distorted by the 2020-23 federal payment pause. Reported only where enough borrowers exist.
Top fields of study (bachelor's)

Northern State University’s largest fields by completions, with graduate earnings (4 years out) and debt benchmarked against the same field at its peer group. Sparklines show the 8-year completions trend.

FieldCompletions / yrMedian earnings, 4 yrs outMedian debtEarnings premiumRisk score
Education78$44,147
46th pct · 26 peers
—Above benchmark +20%Low · 30
Business, Management & Marketing74$57,679
44th pct · 34 peers
—Above benchmark +57%Moderate · 36
Biological & Biomedical Sciences29$70,545
100th pct · 17 peers
—Above benchmark +91%Low · 24
Parks, Recreation & Fitness20$53,484
72th pct · 18 peers
—Above benchmark +45%Low · 19
Psychology17$45,921
46th pct · 28 peers
—Above benchmark +25%Low · 27
Visual & Performing Arts16———Low · 29
Social Sciences12$50,765
47th pct · 15 peers
—Above benchmark +38%Moderate · 41
Liberal Arts & Humanities10———High · 97
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting9———Low · 0
English Language & Literature8———Moderate · 66

All 6 top fields shown clear the SD state earnings-premium benchmark (indicative).

Earnings-premium status is an indicative estimate: median graduate earnings four years out vs the SD state median earnings of a high-school graduate (undergraduate credentials) or a bachelor’s-degree holder (graduate credentials) from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2022 ACS 5-year). The official U.S. Department of Education determination uses its own cohort definition and may differ.

The risk score (0–100) is an indicative blend of earnings-premium margin and the five-year completions trend—higher means a field pays closer to (or below) the benchmark and is shrinking. A directional screen, not an official determination.

See the interactive dashboard for all fields and credential levels (associate through doctoral). Source: College Scorecard Field of Study.

Frequently asked
How selective is Northern State University?
Northern State University admits about 93% of applicants, and roughly 77% of first-year students return for a second year.
What is Northern State University's student-faculty ratio?
Northern State University reports a student-faculty ratio of 17:1 (IPEDS, fall 2023) — that is, about 17 students for every instructional faculty member.
How much does Northern State University cost?
The average published cost of attendance is $22,077 and the average net price after aid is $15,812 (College Scorecard).
How much do Northern State University graduates earn?
Median earnings ten years after entry are $47,618 (College Scorecard), measured across students who received federal aid.
Are Northern State University's programs at risk under the federal earnings-premium test?
Indicatively, at Northern State University, all 6 of the largest fields with available earnings data clear the SD state earnings-premium benchmark used by the 2025 federal test (effective July 1, 2026) — median graduate earnings (four years out) exceed those of a typical worker without the credential. This is an estimate using College Scorecard earnings vs ACS medians; the official Department of Education determination may differ.
Which schools are Northern State University's peers?
Northern State University is benchmarked against 36 institutions in the Master's, Small Programs · Public peer group; all percentiles and medians on this page are computed within that group.
Compare with peers
SUNY Maritime CollegeWest Virginia State UniversityUniversity of New Hampshire College of Professional Studies OnlineMassachusetts Maritime AcademyMississippi Valley State UniversityMontana Technological University

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Source: U.S. Department of Education — College Scorecard & IPEDS (most recent releases), with the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Employment Projections, field-demand outlook) and WICHE (enrollment-cliff projections). Figures lag the current academic year by roughly two to three years. Percentiles and medians are computed within the institution's peer group. Financial Resilience is a transparent composite — see each component above. Compiled by Ibex Insights.