College Viability Inspection Report

Hardin-Simmons University

Texas · Private, not-for-profit

Hardin-Simmons University is a private, nonprofit institution in Texas, enrolling 1,232 students as of 2024. It graduates 47% of students in four years, returns 65% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $19,811 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 4 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, Equity Gap, and Enrollment. This report benchmarks Hardin-Simmons 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.

Hardin-Simmons 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

Hardin-Simmons University — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Hardin-Simmons 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 Rate47.0%+30.6%60th
Six-Year Graduation Rate58.0%+20.8%55th
Full-Time Retention Rate65.0%0.0%19th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate37.9%-9.3%30th
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap14.3pp-31.0%73rd
Pell Share of Cohort42.9%+26.5%59th

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.21×+17.1%77th
Total FTE Enrollment1,232-24.4%42nd
Endowment Value$222.0M+18.2%79th
Net Assets (End of Year)$334.2M+35.2%78th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %33.9%-6.1%52nd
Student Support Spending %24.9%+9.8%89th
Administrative Spending %22.3%+5.6%66th
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio2.63×-5.3%47th
Average Net Price$19,811-8.1%53rd
Net Price: $0-30K Income$13,822-13.4%51st
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$15,190-15.5%55th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$17,248-10.9%54th
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$18,182-15.7%38th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$25,639-3.5%53rd

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Hardin-Simmons University'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%
Hardin-Simmons University'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
Hardin-Simmons 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
Hardin-Simmons University'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
Hardin-Simmons University's total enrollment fell from 1,630 to 1,232 students between 2020 and 2024 (-24.4%) — a decline of 5% or more.
Financial HealthTriggered
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Hardin-Simmons University's endowment is $222.0M and grew +18.2% between 2020 and 2024 — clearing both the $50 million size threshold and the 15% growth threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
High Cost, Low Completion
Hardin-Simmons 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
Hardin-Simmons University's ratio fell below the national median of $2.75 in 2 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