College Viability Inspection Report

Cedarville University

Ohio · Private, not-for-profit

Cedarville University is a private, nonprofit institution in Ohio, enrolling 4,319 students as of 2024. It graduates 65% of students in four years, returns 90% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $27,150 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 1 is flagged: Equity Gap. This report benchmarks Cedarville 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.

Cedarville 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

Cedarville University — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Cedarville 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 Rate65.0%+6.6%83rd
Six-Year Graduation Rate75.0%+4.2%83rd
Full-Time Retention Rate90.0%+2.3%85th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate62.1%-5.5%75th
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap13.5pp+23.4%70th
Pell Share of Cohort22.3%-14.2%19th

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.17×-1.8%71st
Total FTE Enrollment4,319+12.8%75th
Endowment Value$51.0M+39.6%49th
Net Assets (End of Year)$288.4M+55.4%75th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %39.7%-4.5%74th
Student Support Spending %9.8%-6.6%36th
Administrative Spending %15.9%+4.5%39th
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio3.11×-8.9%60th
Average Net Price$27,150+8.8%80th
Net Price: $0-30K Income$18,987+23.0%72nd
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$17,762-6.3%66th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$19,743+3.6%67th
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$23,426-1.9%66th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$28,127+4.2%65th

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Cedarville University's retention rate stayed at or above 85% in all 5 reported years — above the 80% threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50%
Cedarville University's 4-year graduation rate stayed at or above 61% in all 5 reported years — above the 50% threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points
Cedarville University's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10 percentage points in 5 of 5 eligible years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold.
Student OutcomesTriggered
Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0
Cedarville University's ratio stayed at or above 1.0 in all 5 reported years — ending at 1.17× in 2024.
Financial HealthCleared
Enrollment Declined 5% or More
Cedarville University's total enrollment grew from 3,828 to 4,319 students between 2020 and 2024 (+12.8%).
Financial HealthCleared
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Cedarville University's endowment is $51.0M and grew +39.6% between 2020 and 2024 — clearing both the $50 million size threshold and the 15% growth threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
High Cost, Low Completion
Cedarville University 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
Cedarville University spends $3.11 on instruction and student support per $1 of admin in 2024 — at or above the national median of $2.75 in every reported year.
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