Caribbean University-Ponce is a private, nonprofit institution in Puerto Rico, enrolling 427 students as of 2024. It graduates 25% of students in four years, returns 76% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $4,964 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 8 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 3 are flagged: Graduation, Endowment, and Tuition Allocation. This report benchmarks Caribbean University-Ponce'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.
Caribbean University-Ponce 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 Caribbean University-Ponce complete their degrees, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
College Financial Health
How financially stable Caribbean University-Ponce is, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
Value for Your Money
How Caribbean University-Ponce 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.
Caribbean University-Ponce — All Reported Indicators
Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Caribbean University-Ponce. 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 | 25.0% | +525.0% | 25th |
| Six-Year Graduation Rate | 36.0% | +16.1% | 20th |
| Full-Time Retention Rate | 76.0% | -8.4% | 47th |
| Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate | 33.3% | -63.3% | 22nd |
| Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Pell Share of Cohort | 100.0% | 0.0% | 98th |
Financial Health
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue-to-Expense Ratio | 1.00× | +0.5% | 27th |
| Total FTE Enrollment | 427 | +8.1% | 19th |
| Endowment Value | $36,356 | +779.9% | 1st |
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $2.7M | +44.2% | 9th |
Value for Money
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructional Spending % | 40.6% | -10.1% | 77th |
| Student Support Spending % | 10.5% | -2.5% | 40th |
| Administrative Spending % | 43.5% | +22.1% | 96th |
| Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio | 1.18× | -25.2% | 11th |
| Average Net Price | $4,964 | +63.7% | 2nd |
| Net Price: $0-30K Income | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Net Price: $30K-48K Income | $4,964 | not reported | 8th |
| Net Price: $48-75K Income | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Net Price: $75K-110K Income | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Net Price: $110K+ Income | not reported | not reported | not reported |
Inspection Flags
| Flag | Section | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Retention Below 80% Caribbean University-Ponce's retention rate fell below 80% in 2 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold. | Student Outcomes | Cleared |
| Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50% Caribbean University-Ponce'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 Not enough reported data for this flag — only 1 of 5 years had a Pell cohort of 50+ students. | Student Outcomes | Not Evaluated |
| Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0 Caribbean University-Ponce's ratio fell below 1.0 in 2 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold. | Financial Health | Cleared |
| Enrollment Declined 5% or More Caribbean University-Ponce's total enrollment grew from 395 to 427 students between 2020 and 2024 (+8.1%). | Financial Health | Cleared |
| Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15% Caribbean University-Ponce's endowment is $36,356, under the $50 million threshold. A smaller endowment leaves less cushion for scholarships and for tough budget years, even though it grew +779.9% over the period. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| High Cost, Low Completion Caribbean University-Ponce 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 Caribbean University-Ponce spends $1.18 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 |