That is what we are going to do here with Kent State University at Tuscarawas, a public campus in New Philadelphia, Ohio. I am not going to tell you whether it is "good" or "bad"—that word is not useful to your family. I am going to explain, calmly and without jargon, what kind of school it is, how it works, what it really costs, and what happens to the people who enroll there. In the end, that information is one piece of a larger puzzle that only you and your child can put together.
Who this school is and where it is located
Kent State University at Tuscarawas is a public institution offering programs of four years or more. Its highest reported level is the bachelor's degree, although the federal system that classifies it—Carnegie—places it in a group where associate degrees predominate. That is not a contradiction; it is simply how the classification works: the institution may offer bachelor's degrees as its highest level, while its overall profile more closely resembles an expanded two-year school. It is worth keeping this in mind when you speak with admissions about your child's specific major, because the institution's highest level does not confirm that the exact major is offered there or that it leads to a bachelor's degree. That must be verified, not assumed.
The campus is in New Philadelphia, in Tuscarawas County, in a town setting far from large cities. If your family does not live nearby, this has an immediate practical consequence: you will need to calculate separately where your child would live and how your child would get there every day. The location information tells you where the school is, not where you will live or how long that commute will take. You must work that out yourselves, with a map and a calculator, not with this profile.
In its 2019-20 classification, Carnegie describes it as a very small, primarily nonresidential institution. That means one of two things—either fewer than one in four students lived in school-controlled housing, or fewer than half attended full time—but the data do not tell you which of the two applied here. What is consistent with that label, as you will see later with its own direct supporting evidence, is that this school does not offer dormitories.
A practical note before continuing: if you come across an old guide or ranking at some point, be careful. Its current Carnegie category is not the same one it had in 2015. Labels change; trust the date of the data, not just the name.
And one final piece of identity is worth clarifying at the outset because it sometimes causes confusion: Kent State University at Tuscarawas is not listed as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 institutions in this federal directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations; this is not one of them. That says nothing about which students it serves or how your child would feel there. It simply is not on those three lists. If it matters to you to know what community and cultural resources currently exist on campus, ask that question directly by speaking with someone who already studies there.
A small campus, with a community that is also small in one specific sense
Kent State University at Tuscarawas had 1,885 students enrolled in the most recent official fall count. It is medium-sized within the universe of similar schools—public four-year institutions with open admissions—but compared with the 194 schools of that type included in this census, it is on the smaller side: seven out of ten of them, or more, have more students. All 1,885 are undergraduates; there is no graduate enrollment in this count.
Here is a fact that changes how you should read everything else: many people at this school attend part time. IPEDS estimates that the workload represented by those 1,885 enrollees is equivalent to 1,005 full-time students. That means enrollment does not tell you how many people are on campus at the same time or how full the classrooms are at a particular hour. With so many people attending part time, the right question is not "How many students are there?" but "At what times are courses in my child's intended major offered?" Ask before assuming that the schedule will be convenient.
As for who makes up that community: there are more women than men, with 60 out of every 100 undergraduate students being women. Out of every 100, 23 are between 25 and 64 years old—meaning this is not exclusively a campus of recent high school graduates; there is a mix of ages. And 96 out of every 100 first-time students reported a permanent address in Ohio when applying. Above all, it is a local community.
And here is a number I want to give you directly, without dressing it up: 4 out of every 100 undergraduate students identified as Hispanic or Latino. That is a small number. Compared with the 194 public four-year open-admission schools that reported this information, it falls in the bottom quarter—three out of four of those schools have a higher proportion.
Having few Latino students does not make the school bad, just as having many would not automatically make it good. It is simply information about who is enrolled. But if your child will be part of that small group, this information does matter for everyday life. During the visit, ask what specifically exists for Latino students: a student group, a cultural center, someone in the office who speaks Spanish. Speak with a current student before deciding. The number I just gave you is for the entire school; your child's experience, within a particular major and social circle, may look different.
How academic life is organized
The calendar uses semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. You already know this if you studied in the United States or have other children who have gone through the process; if this is your first time, it means the year is divided into two large blocks rather than short quarters.
As for credit your child might bring before enrolling: the school reports that it accepts credit from AP examinations and also accepts credit for military training. It did not indicate, however, that it awards credit for life experience. And here is a hard truth that can save you disappointment later: saying that it accepts AP does not mean it will award credit for every examination or every score. These data do not tell us what score is required, how many credits are awarded, or whether those credits apply specifically to the major your child wants. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrollment. Do not plan on saving time or money until you have that document in hand.
It also enrolls high school students in college courses for credit through a formal dual-enrollment program. If your child is still in high school, this is something worth exploring early.
As for the credentials awarded there: in the most recently reported year, the school awarded 66 bachelor's degrees across 12 academic program families. But half of those degrees, 31 out of 66—47 out of every 100—are concentrated in a single family: engineering technologies. Compared with 178 similar schools, this institution is in the quarter with the most program families represented in its bachelor's-degree detail, although that does not mean all those families currently have active offerings; the detail may include rows with no degrees awarded that year.
Here is another hard truth: with so few bachelor's degrees awarded in total, the count can change substantially from one year to the next. Do not treat a single year's figure as a fixed picture of the current offerings. Ask for the last three years of data for the exact program that interests your child.
And here is a number that should be understood correctly: the ratio of students to instructional staff, with both measured in full-time equivalents, is 20 to 1. It is a high ratio compared with similar schools—half of a group of 194 similar schools reported the same ratio or a lower one, without placing this school in the highest quarter. But be careful: this is not classroom size. It is an institution-wide aggregate ratio. IPEDS does not report the average size of a first-year class here; if that matters to you, ask directly.
Academic pathways the school reports offering
Beyond the conventional bachelor's degree, the institution reports having these pathways in place: study-abroad programs, preparation for teacher certification below the postsecondary level, and the ability to complete preparation in certain areas of teacher specialization at the institution itself. If your child's interests point toward teaching or an international experience during college, these are specific questions you now know you can ask admissions.
How admission works
Here is something that greatly simplifies the application process: Kent State University at Tuscarawas reports an open-admission policy for all or most of its first-time undergraduate students. The published application fee is $50.
But "open admission" is not the same as "guaranteed space in a program." That classification describes the general entry policy, not the outcome of every individual application, and a specific program within the school may have its own requirements. Verify the current conditions and the requirements of the specific program that interests your child.
Precisely because admission is open, several items that normally appear in the report for a selective university simply do not apply here, and it is important to understand this so that you do not misinterpret a blank space as a lack of transparency. There is no acceptance rate to calculate because the federal system does not require this school to report applicant and admitted-student counts. There is no post-admission enrollment rate—it is not missing information; it is inapplicable under this policy. And there is also no reported policy on the use of the SAT or ACT in the admission process. None of these blank fields is a sign that the school is hiding something: this is simply how reporting works when the entry policy is open.
As for transferring out: among the first-time, full-time, bachelor's-degree-seeking students who entered in 2017, only 5 transferred to another school without completing here within the expected period. That is 3 out of every 100. Almost no one leaves. That does not tell you how many of those who stayed ultimately graduated—that is a separate count that you will see below. In the other direction, 83 students entered this school for the first time after previously studying at another institution. If your plan involves having your child begin somewhere else and transfer here, or the reverse, remember: this number does not say how many courses were accepted for those 83. That is negotiated case by case, in writing, with the course list in hand, before moving your child from one school to another.
What it costs and what is actually paid
At Kent State University at Tuscarawas, among 36 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid, paid the in-state or in-district rate, and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $8,621. Among 24 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $11,515; among 25 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $15,380. For dependent students, the band combines their parents' income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (36 students) and that of the highest-income band (25 students) is $6,759. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $11,448.
The advertised price is not the same as the amount paid. Here, for students with low income, the average net price was $8,621 in academic year 2022-23.
The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at this public institution, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average for students with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships; it also uses that rate. If your family lives outside the state or district, the calculation is different. Ask about it before applying.
Where the money may come from, and how much is paid with debt
Out of every 100 degree- or certificate-seeking students, 65 received some form of aid that does not have to be repaid—a grant or scholarship from the federal government, the state, or the school. That is more than half, but not everyone. Among those who received it, the average was $4,893 for the year. Remember: the percentage and the average are not multiplied by each other; they are two separate calculations with different denominators.
And 40 out of every 100 received a Pell Grant, the federal aid intended for undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need.
Now for the part that must be repaid, with interest: 38 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan in the most recently reported school year. That is more than two out of ten, but less than half. Compared with 194 similar schools, this proportion is on the high side: seven out of ten of those schools, or more, had the same or a lower proportion of students with loans.
Among those who did borrow, the average amount per borrower that year was $6,975. That number covers only federal loans in the student's name for one year; it does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes take out, debt from banks or credit cards, or the total debt someone has upon graduation. Calculating that would require adding every year of the program, and that total is not in this report.
I want to tell you something very clearly here because it is easy for a percentage to feel like destiny: this 38 percent describes other families, not yours. Whether your child falls into the group that borrowed or the group that did not is not determined by this national figure. It is determined by the financial-aid letter your child receives, in writing, with figures specific to your situation. Wait for that letter before rejecting the school and before committing to it.
To manage whatever your family does have to pay out of pocket, the school reports two mechanisms: a guaranteed tuition plan and an installment payment plan. It is worth asking about both when the time comes.
What daily life is like on campus
You already know that this school does not offer dormitories or meal plans. In practical terms, that means that if your child studies here, your family will arrange housing and food independently, whether your child lives at home, rents nearby, or makes some other arrangement.
As for college military training (ROTC): in its most recent report, the school did not indicate any ROTC opportunity, either in the general field or for any of its three branches. Of the four-year institutions in this guide, 926 out of 1,786 indicated at least one ROTC opportunity; this school is not among them. That does not prove that no nearby ROTC-related pathway exists—it only means none was reported in this field. If that pathway matters to your family, ask admissions directly before assuming it is unavailable.
There is something curious about athletics that I prefer to tell you exactly as it appears because you should confirm it yourself: in one component of the federal report, the school is listed as affiliated with a national athletic association—the USCAA, not the NCAA or the NAIA. But in a different component from the same year, it reported that it does not participate in intercollegiate athletics. These are two different questions in two different parts of the same federal report, and the answers do not align; this record does not explain why. If athletics are part of your child's plan, do not assume anything based on this contradiction: request the current season's schedule and the coach's name, and confirm it in writing.
As for course delivery, this fact may be surprising: 52 out of every 100 undergraduate students took all their classes at a distance in the most recent count. Compared with 194 similar schools, it is in the quarter with the most undergraduates studying this way. In other words, taking classes online is the norm here, not the exception. That does not tell you whether those classes are live or recorded, or whether students must go to campus for examinations or laboratories. Turn it into a direct question before assuming what your child's daily life would be like.
The library does have employed staff and annual spending of $100,000 or more. It has physical and digital materials and participates in interlibrary lending—meaning it can obtain materials from other institutions. What this information does not tell you is the exact schedule or whether someone actively guides first-year students in their research. Ask about that, because the first year is when a new student is most likely to get stuck.
Finally, the school reports several support services: combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services for those completing their programs, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and their families, a recognized student veterans organization, and an officially published services page for people with disabilities. The fact that these services are reported confirms that they exist as declared offerings; it does not measure how good they are or how many people use them. Ask about that during the visit as well.
What happens to the people who enroll: the part to read slowly
We have reached the section that matters most, and I ask you to read it carefully because the numbers here are difficult, and I would rather give them to you in full than soften them.
Let us start with retention: of a cohort of 104 first-time, full-time, bachelor's-degree-seeking students who entered in the fall of 2022, 62 were still enrolled or had completed a bachelor's degree one year later. That is 60 out of every 100. The other 42 were outside that official outcome, and the data do not say what happened to them: we do not know whether they transferred, paused their studies, started working, or did something else. Not appearing as retained does not mean that someone gave up.
Now, graduation. Of the 165 first-time, full-time students who began a bachelor's degree here in 2017, only 9 had earned a degree from this school six years later. That is 5 out of every 100. At four years, the figure is only 1 out of every 100. I want you to pause on this number because it is the hardest figure in this entire article: out of every 100 who entered through this door, 95 did not have a bachelor's degree from this school six years later.
That 95 does not necessarily mean 95 failures. It may include people who earned a credential requiring less than four years at this institution or who completed their bachelor's degree at another university after transferring. The data do not distinguish between those cases; they count only bachelor's degrees earned specifically at this institution within that period. But even with that caveat, this is a number that warrants asking directly what happened to that specific cohort, what concrete support exists today to prevent it from happening again, and ensuring that your child's list of universities includes more than one option, not just this one.
There is a third, broader indicator that follows a different cohort: 511 undergraduate students, including first-time students and students from other origins, who entered between July 2015 and June 2016. By the August 2023 measurement point—that is, eight years later—38 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school, and 62 had not. Among Pell Grant recipients specifically, the figure was 36 out of every 100, five points below the group without Pell Grants. Compared with 194 similar schools, this eight-year proportion is above the median: half of the group, or more, reported the same figure or a lower one.
It is important to keep these three numbers separate because they measure different cohorts, with different entry years and different time windows. Do not add or average them. And all three are school-wide figures: IPEDS does not report graduation by individual program. If your child has a specific major in mind, only the relevant department can provide that particular information.
What you decide with this information
You now know, in considerable detail, one of the three pieces you need to make this decision: what Kent State University at Tuscarawas is, how it charges, how likely admission is, and what happens to students after they enroll. That piece is real, and it is yours to use.
But it is only one piece. You still need to bring together what your child wants to study and where that effort is headed, as well as what your family can and is willing to pay for and organize. Your child's role is to explore, work hard, choose a major, and take responsibility for that part of the journey. Your role is to understand the money, review the documents, ask the questions these data do not answer, and provide support through the major decisions without taking those decisions away.
With these numbers in hand, you no longer enter the conversation with the school—or with your own child—blindly. You know what to ask about AP credits, residency for tuition purposes, the real housing budget, the contradiction in athletics, and what happened to the cohort that entered in 2017. Those questions, asked at the right time, are what turn a cold number into a family plan.
Source note: The information in this article comes from data reported by the institution to the U.S. Department of Education's IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System), covering different years and components as indicated in the text (primarily the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, with graduation and persistence cohorts going back as far as 2015). Best College Aid does not represent Kent State University at Tuscarawas or any government agency; this article is independent informational material intended to help families understand public data.