Bethune-Cookman University is a private, nonprofit institution in Florida, enrolling 2,436 students as of 2024. It graduates 18% of students in four years, returns 62% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $12,476 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 5 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, Enrollment, Endowment, and Tuition Allocation. This report benchmarks Bethune-Cookman 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.
Bethune-Cookman University Inspection Flags
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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Student Outcomes
How students at Bethune-Cookman University complete their degrees, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
College Financial Health
How financially stable Bethune-Cookman University is, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
Value for Your Money
How Bethune-Cookman University spends its budget and what families pay, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
How Much Will This Cost for Your Income Level?
Net price is the average annual out-of-pocket cost for first-time, full-time undergraduate students — tuition + fees + room & board, minus the grants and scholarships the institution reports providing to students in each income bracket. Select your household income below to see the reported figure for that group.
Bethune-Cookman University — All Reported Indicators
Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Bethune-Cookman 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
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four-Year Graduation Rate | 18.0% | +28.6% | 17th |
| Six-Year Graduation Rate | 35.0% | +2.9% | 19th |
| Full-Time Retention Rate | 62.0% | -15.1% | 15th |
| Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate | 27.2% | -14.5% | 15th |
| Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap | 17.7pp | +157.8% | 83rd |
| Pell Share of Cohort | 81.2% | -0.7% | 93rd |
Financial Health
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue-to-Expense Ratio | 1.00× | +4.8% | 28th |
| Total FTE Enrollment | 2,436 | -13.2% | 62nd |
| Endowment Value | $41.1M | +45.8% | 44th |
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $127.7M | +63.6% | 57th |
Value for Money
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructional Spending % | 31.7% | -1.7% | 42nd |
| Student Support Spending % | 12.0% | +34.9% | 48th |
| Administrative Spending % | 19.6% | -20.8% | 56th |
| Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio | 2.23× | +34.1% | 35th |
| Average Net Price | $12,476 | -26.7% | 22nd |
| Net Price: $0-30K Income | $10,896 | -33.4% | 34th |
| Net Price: $30K-48K Income | $11,487 | -31.4% | 34th |
| Net Price: $48-75K Income | $14,346 | -27.7% | 38th |
| Net Price: $75K-110K Income | $17,882 | -23.8% | 36th |
| Net Price: $110K+ Income | $18,654 | -23.5% | 22nd |
Inspection Flags
| Flag | Section | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Retention Below 80% Bethune-Cookman University's retention rate fell below 80% in 5 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. | Student Outcomes | Triggered |
| Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50% Bethune-Cookman University's 4-year graduation rate fell below 50% in 5 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. | Student Outcomes | Triggered |
| Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points Bethune-Cookman University's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10pp in 2 of 5 eligible years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold. | Student Outcomes | Cleared |
| Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0 Bethune-Cookman University's ratio fell below 1.0 in 1 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold. | Financial Health | Cleared |
| Enrollment Declined 5% or More Bethune-Cookman University's total enrollment fell from 2,807 to 2,436 students between 2020 and 2024 (-13.2%) — a decline of 5% or more. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15% Bethune-Cookman University's endowment is $41.1M, under the $50 million threshold. A smaller endowment leaves less cushion for scholarships and for tough budget years, even though it grew +45.8% over the period. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| High Cost, Low Completion Bethune-Cookman University costs less than the national median AND graduates students at below-median rates — only one of two conditions is met. | Value for Money | Cleared |
| Spending on Students Below the National Median Bethune-Cookman University spends $2.23 on instruction and student support per $1 of admin (2024) — below the national median of $2.75 in 5 of 5 reported years. | Value for Money | Triggered |
| 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 Money | Cleared |