College Viability Inspection Report

Carroll College

Montana · Private, not-for-profit

Carroll College is a private, nonprofit institution in Montana, enrolling 1,150 students as of 2024. It graduates 55% of students in four years, returns 82% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $25,575 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 1 is flagged: Tuition Allocation. This report benchmarks Carroll 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.

Carroll 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.

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College Viability
Data Summary

Carroll College — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Carroll 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 Rate55.0%+10.0%72nd
Six-Year Graduation Rate70.0%+1.4%77th
Full-Time Retention Rate82.0%-2.4%66th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate64.5%+15.0%78th
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap6.3pp-56.4%39th
Pell Share of Cohort24.4%+5.4%22nd

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.28×+21.6%85th
Total FTE Enrollment1,150-2.5%40th
Endowment Value$81.0M+48.3%61st
Net Assets (End of Year)$123.5M+21.3%56th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %26.6%-4.3%25th
Student Support Spending %20.7%-6.8%79th
Administrative Spending %16.9%-22.3%44th
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio2.80×+21.7%52nd
Average Net Price$25,575+6.4%75th
Net Price: $0-30K Income$17,072+6.7%65th
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$16,329-15.7%60th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$19,139-10.9%63rd
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$23,919+5.3%68th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$28,005+5.2%64th

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Carroll College's retention rate fell below 80% in 1 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50%
Carroll College's 4-year graduation rate fell below 50% in 2 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points
Carroll College's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10pp in 2 of 5 eligible years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0
Carroll College's ratio fell below 1.0 in 1 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
Enrollment Declined 5% or More
Carroll College's total enrollment fell from 1,180 to 1,150 students between 2020 and 2024 (-2.5%) — less than the 5% decline that triggers this flag.
Financial HealthCleared
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Carroll College's endowment is $81.0M and grew +48.3% between 2020 and 2024 — clearing both the $50 million size threshold and the 15% growth threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
High Cost, Low Completion
Carroll College costs more than the national median but also graduates students at above-median rates — only one of two conditions is met.
Value for MoneyCleared
Spending on Students Below the National Median
Carroll College spends $2.80 on instruction and student support per $1 of admin (2024) — below the national median of $2.75 in 4 of 5 reported years.
Value for MoneyTriggered
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