College Viability Inspection Report

Aquinas College

Michigan · Private, not-for-profit

Aquinas College is a private, nonprofit institution in Michigan, enrolling 1,066 students as of 2024. It graduates 45% of students in four years, returns 78% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $18,018 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 6 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, Equity Gap, Revenue to Expenses, Enrollment, and Endowment. This report benchmarks Aquinas College's most recent reported year (2024) against 2,000+ U.S. colleges across three dimensions: student outcomes, financial health, and value for money. All figures are drawn from federal IPEDS filings and are reported without editorial judgment.

Aquinas College Inspection Flags

Student Outcomes
Financial Health
Value for Your Money

Inspection flags are nine independent checks across student outcomes, financial health, and cost-to-value that surface areas of a college's reported numbers worth a closer look. A triggered flag means the college's data met a specific threshold that students and families may want to ask about — for example, graduation rates slipping below a level, or tuition rising while outcomes decline. A clear flag means the threshold was not met. Flags are signals for further conversation, not verdicts.

Look Beyond the Brochure. Then Ask Your College.

Changing the Balance of Power from Colleges to Students and Families.

Every campus tour is a sales pitch. Colleges will show you the beautiful quad and the smiling Dean — not what doesn't flatter them. The right questions can reveal information that significantly impacts your experience.
College Viability
Data Summary

Aquinas College — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Aquinas College. Values reflect IPEDS-reported figures; percent changes reflect endpoint-to-endpoint 2020 → 2024 comparison; percentiles reflect 2024 national rank against four-year public and private nonprofit institutions. Cells marked "not reported" indicate the indicator was not present in IPEDS for this institution.

Student Outcomes

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Four-Year Graduation Rate45.0%+25.0%57th
Six-Year Graduation Rate61.0%+1.7%61st
Full-Time Retention Rate78.0%+8.3%54th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate60.6%+6.3%73rd
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap5.7pp-47.0%37th
Pell Share of Cohort28.3%-26.0%28th

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio0.98×+6.7%22nd
Total FTE Enrollment1,066-14.7%38th
Endowment Value$46.7M+21.5%47th
Net Assets (End of Year)$87.0M-8.0%48th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %27.5%-8.2%28th
Student Support Spending %26.8%-0.3%92nd
Administrative Spending %18.4%-26.4%51st
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio2.96×+29.8%56th
Average Net Price$18,018-4.2%46th
Net Price: $0-30K Income$10,725-16.4%33rd
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$11,222-32.9%33rd
Net Price: $48-75K Income$13,594-11.2%33rd
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$15,468-17.2%24th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$21,093-6.3%32nd

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Aquinas College's retention rate fell below 80% in 4 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold.
Student OutcomesTriggered
Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50%
Aquinas College's 4-year graduation rate fell below 50% in 5 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold.
Student OutcomesTriggered
Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points
Aquinas College's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10 percentage points in 3 of 5 eligible years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold.
Student OutcomesTriggered
Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0
Aquinas College's revenue-to-expense ratio fell below 1.0 in 4 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. 2024: 0.98×.
Financial HealthTriggered
Enrollment Declined 5% or More
Aquinas College's total enrollment fell from 1,250 to 1,066 students between 2020 and 2024 (-14.7%) — a decline of 5% or more.
Financial HealthTriggered
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Aquinas College's endowment is $46.7M, under the $50 million threshold. A smaller endowment leaves less cushion for scholarships and for tough budget years, even though it grew +21.5% over the period.
Financial HealthTriggered
High Cost, Low Completion
Aquinas College costs less than the national median AND graduates students at above-median rates — neither condition for this flag is met.
Value for MoneyCleared
Spending on Students Below the National Median
Aquinas College's ratio fell below the national median of $2.75 in 2 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold.
Value for MoneyCleared
Rising Price, Falling Outcomes
Either net price did not rise or the graduation rate did not decline between 2020 and 2024 — flag not triggered.
Value for MoneyCleared