Johnson & Wales University-Providence is a private, nonprofit institution in Rhode Island, enrolling 3,915 students as of 2024. It graduates 47% of students in four years, returns 82% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $32,057 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 6 are flagged: Retention, Equity Gap, Revenue to Expenses, Enrollment, Cost vs. Completion, and Price vs. Outcomes. This report benchmarks Johnson & Wales University-Providence'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-Providence 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-Providence complete their degrees, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
College Financial Health
How financially stable Johnson & Wales University-Providence is, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
Value for Your Money
How Johnson & Wales University-Providence 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-Providence — All Reported Indicators
Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Johnson & Wales University-Providence. 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 | 47.0% | -13.0% | 60th |
| Six-Year Graduation Rate | 52.0% | -17.5% | 44th |
| Full-Time Retention Rate | 82.0% | +17.1% | 66th |
| Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate | 40.2% | -23.7% | 35th |
| Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap | 15.8pp | +15.9% | 78th |
| Pell Share of Cohort | 39.8% | -7.0% | 53rd |
Financial Health
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue-to-Expense Ratio | 0.96× | +1.4% | 18th |
| Total FTE Enrollment | 3,915 | -37.9% | 73rd |
| Endowment Value | $346.1M | +72.9% | 85th |
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $686.0M | -3.6% | 87th |
Value for Money
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructional Spending % | 34.7% | -8.2% | 55th |
| Student Support Spending % | 25.0% | -10.6% | 89th |
| Administrative Spending % | 11.4% | -4.3% | 20th |
| Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio | 5.25× | -5.1% | 90th |
| Average Net Price | $32,057 | +8.4% | 89th |
| Net Price: $0-30K Income | $25,530 | -4.0% | 91st |
| Net Price: $30K-48K Income | $25,443 | -4.6% | 90th |
| Net Price: $48-75K Income | $28,088 | -0.0% | 91st |
| Net Price: $75K-110K Income | $31,803 | +11.0% | 90th |
| Net Price: $110K+ Income | $35,464 | +14.9% | 84th |
Inspection Flags
| Flag | Section | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Retention Below 80% Johnson & Wales University-Providence's retention rate fell below 80% in 4 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. | Student Outcomes | Triggered |
| Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50% Johnson & Wales University-Providence's 4-year graduation rate fell below 50% in 1 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold. | Student Outcomes | Cleared |
| Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points Johnson & Wales University-Providence'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-Providence's revenue-to-expense ratio fell below 1.0 in 4 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. 2024: 0.96×. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| Enrollment Declined 5% or More Johnson & Wales University-Providence's total enrollment fell from 6,307 to 3,915 students between 2020 and 2024 (-37.9%) — a decline of 5% or more. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15% Johnson & Wales University-Providence's endowment is $346.1M and grew +72.9% between 2020 and 2024 — clearing both the $50 million size threshold and the 15% growth threshold. | Financial Health | Cleared |
| High Cost, Low Completion Johnson & Wales University-Providence 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-Providence spends $5.25 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-Providence'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 |