Freed-Hardeman University is a private, nonprofit institution in Tennessee, enrolling 1,521 students as of 2024. It graduates 58% of students in four years, returns 86% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $20,178 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 2 are flagged: Equity Gap and Tuition Allocation. This report benchmarks Freed-Hardeman 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.
Freed-Hardeman University 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 Freed-Hardeman University complete their degrees, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
College Financial Health
How financially stable Freed-Hardeman University is, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
Value for Your Money
How Freed-Hardeman University 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.
Freed-Hardeman University — All Reported Indicators
Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Freed-Hardeman 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
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four-Year Graduation Rate | 58.0% | +16.0% | 76th |
| Six-Year Graduation Rate | 70.0% | +16.7% | 77th |
| Full-Time Retention Rate | 86.0% | +4.9% | 77th |
| Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate | 65.2% | +20.9% | 79th |
| Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap | 5.5pp | -66.8% | 36th |
| Pell Share of Cohort | 29.3% | -2.4% | 30th |
Financial Health
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue-to-Expense Ratio | 1.47× | +43.5% | 93rd |
| Total FTE Enrollment | 1,521 | +2.4% | 49th |
| Endowment Value | $85.2M | +39.4% | 62nd |
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $153.6M | +37.2% | 62nd |
Value for Money
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructional Spending % | 37.6% | -4.8% | 68th |
| Student Support Spending % | 17.3% | +10.6% | 68th |
| Administrative Spending % | 20.5% | -8.1% | 60th |
| Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio | 2.68× | +8.3% | 48th |
| Average Net Price | $20,178 | +16.3% | 54th |
| Net Price: $0-30K Income | $20,988 | +63.8% | 80th |
| Net Price: $30K-48K Income | $21,788 | +40.3% | 81st |
| Net Price: $48-75K Income | $19,639 | +16.9% | 66th |
| Net Price: $75K-110K Income | $21,308 | +12.3% | 55th |
| Net Price: $110K+ Income | $23,618 | +14.9% | 43rd |
Inspection Flags
| Flag | Section | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Retention Below 80% Freed-Hardeman University's retention rate stayed at or above 81% in all 5 reported years — above the 80% threshold. | Student Outcomes | Cleared |
| Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50% Freed-Hardeman University's 4-year graduation rate stayed at or above 50% in all 5 reported years — above the 50% threshold. | Student Outcomes | Cleared |
| Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points Freed-Hardeman University's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10 percentage points in 4 of 5 eligible years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. | Student Outcomes | Triggered |
| Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0 Freed-Hardeman University's ratio stayed at or above 1.0 in all 5 reported years — ending at 1.47× in 2024. | Financial Health | Cleared |
| Enrollment Declined 5% or More Freed-Hardeman University's total enrollment grew from 1,486 to 1,521 students between 2020 and 2024 (+2.4%). | Financial Health | Cleared |
| Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15% Freed-Hardeman University's endowment is $85.2M and grew +39.4% between 2020 and 2024 — clearing both the $50 million size threshold and the 15% growth threshold. | Financial Health | Cleared |
| High Cost, Low Completion Freed-Hardeman University costs more than the national median but also graduates students at above-median rates — only one of two conditions is met. | Value for Money | Cleared |
| Spending on Students Below the National Median Freed-Hardeman University spends $2.68 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 |