You are going to see graduation figures that hurt. You are going to see a published cost that is frightening if your child would come from out of state. You are also going to see a library with real staff and a real budget, an open-admission policy, and a small community where probably no one gets lost in the crowd. All of that is true at the same time. Let’s take it one piece at a time.
Who this school is and where it is located
Ohio State University-Mansfield Campus is a public four-year institution located in Mansfield, Ohio, in Richland County. The area around the campus is classified as rural, near a city, without being part of a large urban area. If your family does not live nearby, this truly matters: the data locate the school’s address, not where your child would live or how long the daily commute would take. You need to figure that out yourself, with a map and a gas calculator, before falling in love with the program.
The Carnegie system, which classifies US colleges and universities using the same rules for all of them, places it in the category where more than half of the degrees awarded are associate degrees and describes it as a very small, primarily nonresidential institution. That last part means one of two things—either fewer than one in four students live on campus, or fewer than half study full time—and the data do not clarify which of the two applies here. Nor does it mean there are no residence halls: in fact, if you keep reading, you will see that there are.
In its admissions profile, Carnegie places it in the “inclusive” category, which groups schools that did not report admission test scores with schools whose scores showed broad access opportunities. The label does not distinguish which of the two branches describes Ohio State Mansfield. Carnegie is useful for understanding what kinds of schools this one resembles. It does not accredit, recommend, or grade. It is a starting point, not a verdict.
One fact that is also worth making clear from the beginning: this institution is not listed as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges and universities in this directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations. The fact that Ohio State Mansfield is not on that list says nothing about which students it serves or how your child would feel there. Ask directly: what cultural centers exist, which student organizations are active today, and—if you can—talk with someone who already studies there.
And here is something practical from the outset: it is a public school, so the price depends greatly on whether your child qualifies as an Ohio resident. Before comparing any figure with another college or university, always ask which of the two prices they are quoting you.
A small community where almost everyone is from Ohio
Let’s look at the actual size of this place. Ohio State Mansfield had 849 students enrolled in the most recent official fall count, within the band of fewer than 1,000. Of that total, 843 were undergraduates and only 6 were graduate students: above all, it is an undergraduate school.
Compare it with its 194 peers—open-admission, public four-year schools included in this same census—and you will see that it is among the smallest. At least nine out of ten of those schools have more students.
What does this mean for your child in human terms? Being small does not make it better or worse. It means that probably no one gets lost in a classroom of 300 people, but it also means you need to ask something very specific: are the courses for your child’s major offered every semester, or only once a year? The answer determines how long it will actually take to graduate, not just what the catalog says.
As for who will share the classroom with your child: out of every 100 first-time, degree-seeking students, 99 reported a permanent address in Ohio when they applied for admission. It is, almost entirely, a community from within the state. Among undergraduates, there are more women than men—57 out of every 100 are women—and students ages 25 to 64 are a minority, only 8 out of every 100: this is not a school designed primarily for adults returning to college.
And here is a figure worth facing directly, without dramatizing or softening it: 6 out of every 100 undergraduate students are Hispanic or Latino. Compared with its 194 peers, it falls below the group’s midpoint, though not in the bottom quarter. It is a small minority on campus. That does not remove the school from consideration or force it onto the list. If your child will be one of the few, the task is concrete: ask which student group, which cultural center, and which person in the office speaks Spanish, and—if possible—talk with a Latino student who is already there before deciding. The number describes the school as a whole; your child’s experience in a specific major may look different.
How the academic year works and what the school accepts
The calendar here is based on semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. The institution reported that it accepts credit for AP exams, but it did not check the box for credit for life experience. It also reports that it enrolls high school students in college courses for credit through a formal dual-enrollment program and that it accepts credit for military training.
Here is a hard truth without embellishment: saying that they accept AP does not mean they award credit for every exam at every score. The report does not say what scores they require, how many credits they award, or whether those credits count toward your child’s specific major. If you are counting on those savings in your budget, request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for it until you have it in hand.
As for the degrees completed here: in the most recent year reported, the school awarded 73 bachelor’s degrees across 7 program families. By far, the family with the most degrees was education and teaching: 23 of the 73, or 32 out of every 100. That is a clear concentration. With numbers this small, a single year’s count can change greatly from one period to another—ask for the last three years of data for the exact program your child is interested in rather than relying on a snapshot of one year.
The ratio of students to each full-time-equivalent faculty member is 17 to 1. Compared with its 194 peers, it falls in the middle: neither among the lowest nor among the highest. It is a number that decides nothing by itself, and it also does not tell you the actual size of a first-year class—that information is not included in this measure.
Beyond the classroom: the academic pathways it reports
The institution reports offering study abroad, undergraduate research outside the classroom, a full program that can be completed only in the evenings or on weekends, developmental education for credit, teacher-certification preparation below the bachelor’s level, the ability to complete preparation here in certain areas of teacher specialization, and state approval of its initial teacher-certification program. These are reported opportunities, not a guarantee that each one will fit the exact major your child has in mind. They are worth asking the program about directly.
Open admission: what it means and what it does not guarantee
Ohio State Mansfield reported an open-admission policy for all or most of its first-time undergraduate students. The published application fee is $60.
It is important to be precise here because “open admission” sounds simpler than it is. It means there is a general policy of broad access. It does not mean that every applicant is automatically admitted or that every program within the school has equally open doors. The applicant still has to meet the applicable eligibility conditions, and a specific program may have its own requirements.
Precisely because it has open admission, several data points you would normally see at other colleges and universities—acceptance rate, enrollment rate after admission, and the policy on using the SAT or ACT—do not apply here. IPEDS does not request them from open-admission schools. That is not a lack of transparency by the institution; the question is simply not asked under that policy. Do not mistake that silence for a gap.
Transferring: something that happens often here
This is one of the figures most worth understanding clearly. Out of every 100 first-time, full-time students who entered in 2017 seeking a bachelor’s degree, 65 transferred to another school without completing their degree here, within 150% of the program’s normal time. In absolute numbers, that was 284 people.
Put plainly: it is common here to leave to study somewhere else before finishing. The data say how many moved, not why—and the reason differs from family to family. Separately, in the most recent fall, 59 undergraduates enrolled at this school for the first time after having studied at another institution. These are two different counts that should not be added together or compared with each other.
There is something almost no family knows until it is already in the process, and it matters a great deal here: a student who transfers to another school does not count as an Ohio State Mansfield graduate, even if the student completes a degree elsewhere and does perfectly well. Keep this idea in mind because you will need it when we reach the graduation figures later. The fact that many students transfer does not mean they did poorly—the report counts the movement, not each person’s eventual outcome.
The published price: the figure you need to face directly
Here is the number that weighs most heavily at the kitchen table. For the 2023–24 school year, the reported total cost of attendance for a first-time, full-time student living on campus was $25,278 at the Ohio resident rate and $50,784 at the out-of-state rate.
The difference between the two rates is $25,506 per year. That is not a minor detail: it is half the total cost. If your child would come from outside Ohio, this is the first question to ask the institution: what requirements do they use to determine residency, and when do those requirements take effect? It is not the same everywhere.
Broken down, the total includes $9,212 in tuition and fees at the resident rate ($34,718 at the out-of-state rate), $12,106 for on-campus housing and food, and $1,030 for books and supplies, plus an estimate of other expenses—transportation, laundry, furnishings—calculated by the financial aid office itself. It is important to remember that this is the budget used to calculate aid, not the literal bill that arrives at your home.
Compared with 80 similar schools in this census, the cost at the resident rate is among the highest in the group. It is a harsh figure, and it should be described that way: harsh, without softening it.
Net price: what families actually pay, according to their income
At Ohio State University-Mansfield Campus, among 53 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 $13,255. Among 32 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $14,887; among 46 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $21,298. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (53 students) and the highest-income band (46 students) is $8,043. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship, the average was $15,920.
Among the 194 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this measure with the same time coverage, this one falls in the most expensive quarter for the lowest-income families. That does not mean you should rule it out. It means you should request the financial aid letter before deciding.
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 receiving grants or scholarships, 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.
Aid and loans: who receives what
Out of every 100 degree- or certificate-seeking students, 65 received aid that does not have to be repaid—grants or scholarships—and the average amount of that aid among those who received it was $7,122 per year. Separately, 36 out of every 100 received a Pell Grant, the federal aid for students with demonstrated financial need.
Notice something important here: the percentage and the average should not be multiplied by each other. One says how many received aid; the other says how much was received, on average, only by those who did receive it. They are two different calculations with different denominators.
As for loans: 38 out of every 100 students across the entire undergraduate population received a federal student loan in the reported school year. Among those who borrowed, the average was $6,090 that year. Compared with its 194 peers, this share is on the high side—seven out of ten similar schools reported an equal or lower share of students with loans.
This average covers only one year and counts only federal loans in the student’s name. It does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes take out, bank debt, or credit card debt. Nor is it the total debt someone leaves with after graduating—that would require adding together all years, and that number is not in this report.
Here is the truth that matters most in this section: this percentage describes other families, not yours. The amount your child would need to borrow comes from your child’s own financial aid letter, not this average. Wait for that letter before ruling out the school and before committing to it.
The institution also reports two ways to manage payment: a guaranteed tuition plan and an installment payment plan.
Campus life: housing, food, and what is available nearby
Ohio State Mansfield does have institution-controlled housing, with a reported capacity of 197 students, either on or off campus. No first-time, full-time student is required to live there—but that does not mean no particular program or situation has such a requirement. It also offers meal plans, although the number of meals per week varies depending on the plan selected.
The existence of housing does not guarantee that a bed will be available for your child. Ask in writing for this year’s rate, the deadline to apply for a room, and whether a space is guaranteed or your child would go on a waiting list.
Regarding ROTC: the institution did not mark any ROTC opportunity in its most recent report—neither the general box nor any of the three branches. Of the 1,786 four-year institutions in this guide, 926 did mark it; this one was not among them. The fact that it was not marked does not prove that no nearby pathway exists—it only means one was not reported in that field. If that scholarship matters to your family, ask admissions directly before assuming it is unavailable.
As for sports: the school reports that it does not participate in intercollegiate athletics and does not belong to any national athletic association—neither NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, USCAA, nor NCCAA. If sports are part of your child’s plan, this information matters. Ask whether intramural leagues or sports clubs exist—a club is not the same as an official college team.
Regarding instructional mode: the school does offer distance education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In the most recent count, 7 out of every 100 undergraduate students took all their classes at a distance; the other 93 took at least one class in person. The institution reported, however, that it does not offer any complete program that can be finished entirely at a distance. If instructional mode matters to your family, confirm it directly with the specific program your child is interested in.
The library has employed staff and annual expenditures of $100,000 or more. It has physical and digital materials and participates in interlibrary lending—which means it can obtain materials from other institutions. What these data do not tell you is what hours it is open or whether anyone is available to guide your child during the first year, when a new student is most likely to get stuck. Ask about that directly.
Finally, the institution reports a broad list of services: combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students and placement services for graduates, on-campus child care, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program for veterans, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and military families, a veterans student organization, and a published webpage for disability services. The fact that these services are reported does not guarantee their quality or effectiveness for your child’s particular situation—that is something to confirm during a visit or by phone.
Retention, graduation, and eight years later: the part you need to read slowly
We have reached the section where it is time to be more honest than optimistic.
Of the cohort that entered in 2017 as full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking students, 434 people started. At six years, 31 had earned a degree from this school. That is 7 out of every 100. At four years, the figure was 5 out of every 100—only 2 points lower than at six years.
This is a number to read slowly, and you already know why: not everyone missing from that count “failed.” Remember what we saw in the transfer section—65 out of every 100 students from another cohort left for another school before finishing. Some of them probably completed their degrees elsewhere, and this figure cannot see that. The data measure only degrees awarded by this specific institution, not each student’s eventual outcome. That does not make the figure less real: 93 out of every 100 students in that cohort did not have a bachelor’s degree from this school six years later. This covers the entire school, not a particular major—if your child is pursuing a specific program, request that number directly from the department.
As for retention: of a cohort of 294 first-time, full-time students, 92—31 out of every 100—were still enrolled here or had already completed their bachelor’s degree at the time of the official reporting cutoff. That leaves 202 people outside that count, and the data do not reveal what happened to them: we do not know how many transferred, how many paused their studies, or how many had financial or work-related reasons. The report provides the outcome, not the reason.
A third, longer measure: among 832 students who entered this school between July 2015 and June 2016—combining full-time and part-time students, first-time students, and those who already had previous college experience—by the August 2023 reporting cutoff, eight years later, 16 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school. Among those who received a Pell Grant, the figure was 15 out of every 100—practically the same. Compared with its 194 peers, this eight-year share is at the very bottom of the table: nine out of ten similar schools reported a higher share.
IPEDS also reports that 72 out of every 100 students in that cohort had not received a degree from this institution and describes them as possibly enrolled elsewhere—but the definition contains an inconsistency in the dates that makes it impossible to state precisely how many were still studying somewhere at the exact reporting cutoff. Do not use it to draw a more optimistic conclusion than the data support.
There is no way to soften this number without lying to you: most of that cohort did not leave this school with a degree within eight years. What you can do with this information is calmly and seriously ask what happened with that cohort, what specific support exists for the first year—when the most people are lost—and make sure your child’s list includes more than one option, not just this one.
What comes next is yours
You now know, in considerable detail, one piece of the map: what kind of school Ohio State University-Mansfield Campus is, what it costs, who makes up its community, how likely students are to graduate there within the expected time, and which questions you still need to ask the institution directly.
That piece is not the complete map. It is missing what your child wants to study and what your child has already built to get this far. When you put the three pieces together—the college, what your child brings, and what your family can sustain—a real plan begins to emerge.
It is your child’s responsibility to decide what to study, work hard, and take responsibility for their part of the journey. It is your responsibility to understand the money, review the documents carefully, and provide support without carrying alone the weight of decisions that are not yours alone. No figure in this article decides for you. It only tells you, as clearly as possible, where you stand today.
Note on sources: The information in this article comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and the US Department of Education, with data corresponding primarily to the years 2022-23 and 2023-24, as indicated throughout the text. Best College Aid does not represent Ohio State University-Mansfield Campus or any government agency; this piece is an independent public-information effort to help families understand public data.