Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, KY · official site ↗
vs. 29 peers in its group
Western Kentucky University is a public institution in Bowling Green, KY, classified by Carnegie as “Doctoral/Professional University.”
It enrolls about 12,155 undergraduates and is benchmarked here against 29 peer institutions (Doctoral/Professional University · Public).
On Ibex's Financial Resilience score it rates 29 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 admission yield (37.7%, 100th percentile).
Its weakest is debt-to-earnings ratio (0.50×).
Ibex's cross-metric scan flags: Undergrad enrollment down 19% since 2016.
Doctoral/Professional University · Public
29 institutions
How exposed Western Kentucky 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.
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.
Seeing exposure is step one. Ibex builds AI agents that monitor and act on exactly these pressures — explore an interactive demo. Live demos run real workflows; the rest are working mockups we build to your institution’s data.
Composite of four ratios on a strength-factor scale (−4 weak → 10 strong): below 3 falls short of the threshold for financial health, below 1 signals acute stress, and above 6 is strong. Computed from IPEDS FY2022-23, the most recent finance release (it lags the current year by 2–3 years). Branch campuses that report finances at a parent/system level can show distorted ratios. For informational benchmarking, not a credit rating or financial advice.
Tuition & fees is the largest single source at 29% of revenue.
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.
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.
55.6% graduate within 6 years (150% of normal time)
44.2% 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.
53.1% 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.
Undergraduate enrollment by race and ethnicity, as reported to IPEDS (College Scorecard). “International” denotes nonresident students; “Unknown” means race/ethnicity was not reported.
Western Kentucky 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.
| Field | Completions / yr | Median earnings, 4 yrs out | Median debt | Earnings premium | Risk score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business, Management & Marketing | 608 | $62,463 28th pct · 29 peers | — | Above benchmark +80% | Low · 12 |
| Health Professions & Clinical Sciences | 368 | $64,937 15th pct · 27 peers | — | Above benchmark +87% | Low · 19 |
| Social Sciences | 257 | $51,354 52th pct · 27 peers | — | Above benchmark +48% | Low · 21 |
| Education | 203 | $39,412 12th pct · 24 peers | — | Above benchmark +14% | Moderate · 47 |
| Communication & Journalism | 195 | $50,707 62th pct · 26 peers | — | Above benchmark +46% | Low · 27 |
| Psychology | 156 | $44,848 38th pct · 29 peers | — | Above benchmark +29% | Low · 12 |
| Visual & Performing Arts | 149 | $41,653 33th pct · 24 peers | — | Above benchmark +20% | Low · 11 |
| Liberal Arts & Humanities | 138 | $46,583 35th pct · 17 peers | — | Above benchmark +34% | Moderate · 49 |
| Parks, Recreation & Fitness | 130 | $53,126 65th pct · 23 peers | — | Above benchmark +53% | Moderate · 35 |
| Biological & Biomedical Sciences | 115 | $52,487 50th pct · 28 peers | — | Above benchmark +51% | Low · 28 |
All 10 top fields shown clear the KY state earnings-premium benchmark (indicative).
Earnings-premium status is an indicative estimate: median graduate earnings four years out vs the KY 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.
How financially healthy is Western Kentucky University?
How selective is Western Kentucky University?
What is Western Kentucky University's student-faculty ratio?
How much does Western Kentucky University cost?
How much do Western Kentucky University graduates earn?
Are Western Kentucky University's programs at risk under the federal earnings-premium test?
Explore Western Kentucky University interactively
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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.
