College Viability Inspection Report

Belhaven University

Mississippi · Private, not-for-profit

Belhaven University is a private, nonprofit institution in Mississippi, enrolling 1,579 students as of 2024. It graduates 33% of students in four years, returns 68% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $16,299 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 4 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, Enrollment, and Endowment. This report benchmarks Belhaven University'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.

Belhaven University 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.

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College Viability
Data Summary

Belhaven University — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Belhaven University. 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 Rate33.0%-2.9%37th
Six-Year Graduation Rate46.0%-2.1%32nd
Full-Time Retention Rate68.0%0.0%26th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate59.3%+31.0%71st
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap-22.5pp-897.2%4th
Pell Share of Cohort52.4%-17.1%75th

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio0.93×-19.8%12th
Total FTE Enrollment1,579-16.7%49th
Endowment Value$8.0M+38.1%18th
Net Assets (End of Year)$64.0M+91.1%41st

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %26.9%-11.6%26th
Student Support Spending %29.3%-5.7%95th
Administrative Spending %18.3%+17.0%51st
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio3.08×-21.9%59th
Average Net Price$16,299-11.1%39th
Net Price: $0-30K Income$10,551-19.2%32nd
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$12,820-14.4%42nd
Net Price: $48-75K Income$16,967-5.3%53rd
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$19,476-2.8%45th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$20,928+1.2%31st

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Belhaven University's retention rate fell below 80% in 5 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold.
Student OutcomesTriggered
Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50%
Belhaven University'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
Belhaven University's Pell graduation gap stayed at or below 10 percentage points in all 5 eligible years.
Student OutcomesCleared
Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0
Belhaven University's ratio fell below 1.0 in 2 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
Enrollment Declined 5% or More
Belhaven University's total enrollment fell from 1,896 to 1,579 students between 2020 and 2024 (-16.7%) — a decline of 5% or more.
Financial HealthTriggered
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Belhaven University's endowment is $8.0M, under the $50 million threshold. A smaller endowment leaves less cushion for scholarships and for tough budget years, even though it grew +38.1% over the period.
Financial HealthTriggered
High Cost, Low Completion
Belhaven University costs less than the national median AND graduates students at below-median rates — only one of two conditions is met.
Value for MoneyCleared
Spending on Students Below the National Median
Belhaven University's ratio fell below the national median of $2.75 in 1 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