College Viability Inspection Report

Graceland University-Lamoni

Iowa · Private, not-for-profit

Graceland University-Lamoni is a private, nonprofit institution in Iowa, enrolling 892 students as of 2024. It graduates 36% of students in four years, returns 55% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $19,574 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 7 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, Equity Gap, Revenue to Expenses, Endowment, Cost vs. Completion, and Price vs. Outcomes. This report benchmarks Graceland University-Lamoni'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.

Graceland University-Lamoni 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

Graceland University-Lamoni — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Graceland University-Lamoni. 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 Rate36.0%-12.2%43rd
Six-Year Graduation Rate45.0%-10.0%31st
Full-Time Retention Rate55.0%-29.5%8th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate32.1%-4.9%21st
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap20.2pp+24.3%89th
Pell Share of Cohort51.3%-8.8%73rd

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio0.79×-3.4%3rd
Total FTE Enrollment892-3.6%33rd
Endowment Value$49.3M+16.3%49th
Net Assets (End of Year)$98.0M+39.3%51st

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %32.6%-4.0%47th
Student Support Spending %26.2%+16.1%91st
Administrative Spending %16.9%-11.3%45th
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio3.48×+17.4%67th
Average Net Price$19,574+6.2%51st
Net Price: $0-30K Income$15,875-2.9%59th
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$16,390-0.1%60th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$20,883+11.0%72nd
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$18,345-7.6%39th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$21,560+8.6%34th

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Graceland University-Lamoni's retention rate fell below 80% in 5 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold.
Student OutcomesTriggered
Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50%
Graceland University-Lamoni's 4-year graduation rate fell below 50% in 5 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold.
Student OutcomesTriggered
Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points
Graceland University-Lamoni'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
Graceland University-Lamoni's revenue-to-expense ratio fell below 1.0 in 4 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. 2024: 0.79×.
Financial HealthTriggered
Enrollment Declined 5% or More
Graceland University-Lamoni's total enrollment fell from 925 to 892 students between 2020 and 2024 (-3.6%) — less than the 5% decline that triggers this flag.
Financial HealthCleared
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Graceland University-Lamoni's endowment is $49.3M, under the $50 million threshold. A smaller endowment leaves less cushion for scholarships and for tough budget years, even though it grew +16.3% over the period.
Financial HealthTriggered
High Cost, Low Completion
Graceland University-Lamoni costs more than the national median AND graduates students at below-median rates — both conditions for this flag are met.
Value for MoneyTriggered
Spending on Students Below the National Median
Graceland University-Lamoni'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
Both conditions were met: Graceland University-Lamoni's net price rose while the 6-year graduation rate declined between 2020 and 2024 — a prompt to ask whether tuition increases are translating into stronger student outcomes.
Value for MoneyTriggered