Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte is a private, nonprofit institution in North Carolina, enrolling 1,108 students as of 2024. It graduates 34% of students in four years, returns 72% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $28,084 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 8 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, Equity Gap, Revenue to Expenses, Enrollment, Endowment, Cost vs. Completion, and Price vs. Outcomes. This report benchmarks Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte'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 & Wales University-Charlotte 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 & Wales University-Charlotte complete their degrees, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
College Financial Health
How financially stable Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte is, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
Value for Your Money
How Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte 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 & Wales University-Charlotte — All Reported Indicators
Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte. 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 | 34.0% | -19.1% | 40th |
| Six-Year Graduation Rate | 41.0% | -14.6% | 25th |
| Full-Time Retention Rate | 72.0% | +10.8% | 36th |
| Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate | 27.7% | -19.0% | 16th |
| Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap | 17.5pp | -49.3% | 83rd |
| Pell Share of Cohort | 65.2% | +10.2% | 87th |
Financial Health
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue-to-Expense Ratio | 0.75× | -15.9% | 2nd |
| Total FTE Enrollment | 1,108 | -28.6% | 39th |
| Endowment Value | $9.1M | +31.7% | 18th |
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $28.7M | +4.2% | 27th |
Value for Money
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructional Spending % | 36.2% | -4.8% | 63rd |
| Student Support Spending % | 26.3% | -0.9% | 91st |
| Administrative Spending % | 16.1% | +15.8% | 40th |
| Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio | 3.89× | -16.4% | 75th |
| Average Net Price | $28,084 | +5.1% | 82nd |
| Net Price: $0-30K Income | $23,414 | -3.6% | 87th |
| Net Price: $30K-48K Income | $24,568 | +1.1% | 89th |
| Net Price: $48-75K Income | $25,109 | -5.5% | 86th |
| Net Price: $75K-110K Income | $30,117 | +8.2% | 88th |
| Net Price: $110K+ Income | $33,680 | +11.2% | 81st |
Inspection Flags
| Flag | Section | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Retention Below 80% Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte'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 & Wales University-Charlotte'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 & Wales University-Charlotte's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10 percentage points in 5 of 5 eligible years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. | Student Outcomes | Triggered |
| Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0 Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte's revenue-to-expense ratio fell below 1.0 in 5 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. 2024: 0.75×. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| Enrollment Declined 5% or More Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte's total enrollment fell from 1,553 to 1,108 students between 2020 and 2024 (-28.7%) — a decline of 5% or more. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15% Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte's endowment is $9.1M, under the $50 million threshold. A smaller endowment leaves less cushion for scholarships and for tough budget years, even though it grew +31.7% over the period. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| High Cost, Low Completion Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte 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 & Wales University-Charlotte spends $3.89 on instruction and student support per $1 of admin in 2024 — at or above the national median of $2.75 in every reported year. | Value for Money | Cleared |
| Rising Price, Falling Outcomes Both conditions were met: Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte'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 Money | Triggered |