College Viability Inspection Report

Franklin and Marshall College

Pennsylvania · Private, not-for-profit

Franklin and Marshall College is a private, nonprofit institution in Pennsylvania, enrolling 2,052 students as of 2024. It graduates 81% of students in four years, returns 90% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $43,987 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 2 are flagged: Enrollment and Tuition Allocation. This report benchmarks Franklin and Marshall 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.

Franklin and Marshall 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.

Look Beyond the Brochure. Then Ask Your College.

Changing the Balance of Power from Colleges to Students and Families.

Every campus tour is a sales pitch. Colleges will show you the beautiful quad and the smiling Dean — not what doesn't flatter them. The right questions can reveal information that significantly impacts your experience.
College Viability
Data Summary

Franklin and Marshall College — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Franklin and Marshall 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 Rate81.0%+3.9%95th
Six-Year Graduation Rate86.0%+3.6%93rd
Full-Time Retention Rate90.0%+7.1%85th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate84.8%+0.8%93rd
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap-1.2pp-183.5%14th
Pell Share of Cohort17.2%-19.4%12th

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.31×+30.6%87th
Total FTE Enrollment2,052-20.1%57th
Endowment Value$467.6M+23.1%87th
Net Assets (End of Year)$624.6M+13.8%86th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %32.2%-14.1%45th
Student Support Spending %20.4%+10.6%78th
Administrative Spending %19.5%+8.5%56th
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio2.70×-13.3%49th
Average Net Price$43,987+56.9%97th
Net Price: $0-30K Income$12,321-12.1%42nd
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$16,942+29.2%63rd
Net Price: $48-75K Income$16,245-13.7%49th
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$25,104-6.5%74th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$49,996+2.7%96th

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Franklin and Marshall College's retention rate stayed at or above 84% in all 5 reported years — above the 80% threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50%
Franklin and Marshall College's 4-year graduation rate stayed at or above 78% in all 5 reported years — above the 50% threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points
Franklin and Marshall College's Pell graduation gap stayed at or below 10 percentage points in all 5 eligible years.
Student OutcomesCleared
Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0
Franklin and Marshall 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
Franklin and Marshall College's total enrollment fell from 2,569 to 2,052 students between 2020 and 2024 (-20.1%) — a decline of 5% or more.
Financial HealthTriggered
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Franklin and Marshall College's endowment is $467.6M 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
Franklin and Marshall 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
Franklin and Marshall College spends $2.70 on instruction and student support per $1 of admin (2024) — below the national median of $2.75 in 3 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