Johnson C Smith University is a private, nonprofit institution in North Carolina, enrolling 1,073 students as of 2024. It graduates 31% of students in four years, returns 71% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $19,705 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 7 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, Equity Gap, Enrollment, Endowment, Cost vs. Completion, and Tuition Allocation. This report benchmarks Johnson C Smith 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.
Johnson C Smith 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 Johnson C Smith University complete their degrees, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
College Financial Health
How financially stable Johnson C Smith University is, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
Value for Your Money
How Johnson C Smith 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.
Johnson C Smith University — All Reported Indicators
Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Johnson C Smith 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 | 31.0% | +24.0% | 34th |
| Six-Year Graduation Rate | 43.0% | +19.4% | 28th |
| Full-Time Retention Rate | 71.0% | +9.2% | 32nd |
| Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate | 31.3% | -24.0% | 20th |
| Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap | 17.9pp | +49.1% | 84th |
| Pell Share of Cohort | 83.0% | +10.0% | 94th |
Financial Health
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue-to-Expense Ratio | 0.84× | -23.3% | 5th |
| Total FTE Enrollment | 1,073 | -25.2% | 38th |
| Endowment Value | $69.2M | +5.1% | 57th |
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $210.2M | +89.4% | 69th |
Value for Money
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructional Spending % | 20.4% | -30.2% | 11th |
| Student Support Spending % | 15.6% | -13.2% | 62nd |
| Administrative Spending % | 36.2% | +56.8% | 91st |
| Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio | 0.99× | -51.3% | 8th |
| Average Net Price | $19,705 | -3.7% | 52nd |
| Net Price: $0-30K Income | $19,940 | -1.2% | 76th |
| Net Price: $30K-48K Income | $21,165 | +1.2% | 79th |
| Net Price: $48-75K Income | $21,005 | +11.1% | 72nd |
| Net Price: $75K-110K Income | $19,722 | -22.0% | 46th |
| Net Price: $110K+ Income | $29,050 | +8.3% | 67th |
Inspection Flags
| Flag | Section | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Retention Below 80% Johnson C Smith University's retention rate fell below 80% in 5 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. | Student Outcomes | Triggered |
| Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50% Johnson C Smith University's 4-year graduation rate fell below 50% in 5 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. | Student Outcomes | Triggered |
| Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points Johnson C Smith 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 Johnson C Smith University's ratio fell below 1.0 in 1 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold. | Financial Health | Cleared |
| Enrollment Declined 5% or More Johnson C Smith University's total enrollment fell from 1,435 to 1,073 students between 2020 and 2024 (-25.2%) — a decline of 5% or more. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15% Johnson C Smith University's endowment grew +5.1% between 2020 and 2024, below the 15% growth threshold — though at $69.2M it clears the $50 million size threshold. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| High Cost, Low Completion Johnson C Smith University costs more than the national median AND graduates students at below-median rates — both conditions for this flag are met. | Value for Money | Triggered |
| Spending on Students Below the National Median Johnson C Smith University spends $0.99 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 |