College Viability Inspection Report

Centre College

Kentucky · Private, not-for-profit

Centre College is a private, nonprofit institution in Kentucky, enrolling 1,290 students as of 2024. It graduates 85% of students in four years, returns 88% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $23,860 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 1 is flagged: Revenue to Expenses. This report benchmarks Centre 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.

Centre 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

Centre College — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Centre 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 Rate85.0%+6.3%97th
Six-Year Graduation Rate87.0%+7.4%93rd
Full-Time Retention Rate88.0%-1.1%82nd
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate80.3%+13.9%91st
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap0.5pp-96.5%20th
Pell Share of Cohort21.3%+34.7%18th

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.09×+19.9%53rd
Total FTE Enrollment1,290-4.4%43rd
Endowment Value$402.7M+23.1%86th
Net Assets (End of Year)$468.4M+23.8%82nd

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %36.4%-7.7%63rd
Student Support Spending %20.8%+7.6%79th
Administrative Spending %16.4%-8.1%42nd
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio3.48×+6.0%67th
Average Net Price$23,860+4.9%70th
Net Price: $0-30K Income$11,364-7.6%37th
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$10,388-24.6%29th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$15,847-12.8%47th
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$18,920-14.8%42nd
Net Price: $110K+ Income$30,571+6.2%73rd

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Centre College's retention rate stayed at or above 88% in all 5 reported years — above the 80% threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50%
Centre College's 4-year graduation rate stayed at or above 80% in all 5 reported years — above the 50% threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points
Centre 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
Centre College's revenue-to-expense ratio fell below 1.0 in 3 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. 2024: 1.09×.
Financial HealthTriggered
Enrollment Declined 5% or More
Centre College's total enrollment fell from 1,350 to 1,290 students between 2020 and 2024 (-4.4%) — less than the 5% decline that triggers this flag.
Financial HealthCleared
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Centre College's endowment is $402.7M and grew +23.1% between 2020 and 2024 — clearing both the $50 million size threshold and the 15% growth threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
High Cost, Low Completion
Centre 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
Centre College'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