What an inspection checks
Every report runs the same nine checks. A flag is raised when a college's own reported numbers cross a defined threshold — most on a three-of-five-years rule, so a single unusual year never triggers one. Flags are signals worth asking about, not verdicts.
Student Outcomes
- Retention Below 80%
- Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50%
- Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points
Financial Health
- Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0
- Enrollment Declined 5% or More
- Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Value for Money
- High Cost, Low Completion
- Spending on Students Below the National Median
- Rising Price, Falling Outcomes
2,267 of 2,297 colleges report enough data to evaluate at least one check. Where a college does not report the underlying figures, the check is marked not evaluated rather than passed — which is why each report reads “N of M flags” rather than “N of 9.”
Browse the reports
Reports are organised by state. Each state page lists every four-year college there with enrollment, average net price, and how many checks it triggered.
Where the numbers come from
Everything on these pages traces back to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System — the filings colleges are federally required to submit. We compute the checks from the 2020–2024 filings and show the underlying five-year figures on every report, so you can see the number behind each flag rather than taking a score on trust.