The following year classes moved to Decorah, Iowa, with NELC Pastor Ulrik Vilhelm Koren successfully arranging the college's relocation and permanent settlement.

In 1866, a group of students signed a "bill of rights" criticizing the rigid schedule, the rules about going downtown, the lack of windows in some of the sleeping rooms, and the woodcutting and shoe-shining chores, concluding that "there was not enough freedom.

In 1932, Luther College dropped its mandatory study of the classics and embraced the modern concept of the liberal arts education.

Due to financial constraints associated with the Great Depression, the college decided to admit women as students in 1936.

Nordic Fest, started in 1967, grew from Luther College Women's Club's annual celebration of Norwegian Constitution Day.

Luther lies at the edge of Decorah, a small town situated in the hilly driftless region of the Upper Midwest.

The college owns an adjoining 800 acres (320 ha) devoted to environmental research, biological studies, and recreation.

[18] Its most popular majors, by 2021 graduates, were:[19] Luther has a number of music organizations that tour and sell recordings internationally.

[20] About 40 percent of the students participate in at least one of the college's five choirs, two concert bands, two string orchestras, and two jazz ensembles.

Following three years of U.S. Army enlistment in World War II, Noble returned to his alma mater to conduct the Concert Band and the Nordic Choir, direct Christmastime performances of George Frederic Handel's Messiah, and teach in the Music Department.

The Nordic Choir was featured in the film The Joy of Bach, and in four weekly international broadcasts of The Hour of Power from the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California.

[27] Three hundred thirty-eight All-American honors have been earned by Luther student-athletes, and twenty-nine athletes have been crowned national champions.

Sixty-eight student-athletes have been awarded the CoSIDA Academic All-American honor, and forty-two have received the distinguished NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

[27] To earn academic all-conference honors, a student-athlete must have a grade point average of 3.50 or greater on a 4.0 scale, have attended the school for a full year, and have competed in a varsity sport.

A large majority of the study body participates in intramural activities which vary by semester and is offered by the Recreational Services program.

Carlson Stadium: 5,000 seats; blue turf football field; eight-lane, 400-meter polyurethane track with two-directional approaches for pole vault and all jumping events; two shot put circles; discus/hammer cage; and multi-directional javelin-throwing areas.

Other outdoor facilities include 12 tennis courts, baseball and softball diamonds with enclosed dugouts, lighted soccer field, cross-country running course, intramural rugby, soccer, and ultimate frisbee pitches, fitness trail, ropes course, and room for cross country skiing.

[citation needed] The Regents Center Main Gymnasium: three full-sized basketball courts and seating capacity for 2,600.

[citation needed] The Aquatic Center features a 25-yard, eight-lane pool with separate one-meter and three-meter diving well and a shallow area for swimming lessons, adaptive physical education classes, and water aerobics.