Kent State University at Salem is a public institution in Ohio, enrolling 630 students as of 2024. It graduates 2% of students in four years, returns 47% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $13,301 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 8 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 4 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, Enrollment, and Price vs. Outcomes. This report benchmarks Kent State University at Salem'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.
Kent State University at Salem 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 Kent State University at Salem complete their degrees, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
College Financial Health
How financially stable Kent State University at Salem is, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
Value for Your Money
How Kent State University at Salem 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.
Kent State University at Salem — All Reported Indicators
Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Kent State University at Salem. 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 | 2.0% | -50.0% | 6th |
| Six-Year Graduation Rate | 3.0% | -72.7% | 3rd |
| Full-Time Retention Rate | 47.0% | -13.0% | 4th |
| Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate | 1.6% | -76.1% | 5th |
| Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap | -0.1pp | -101.2% | 16th |
| Pell Share of Cohort | 48.8% | -6.3% | 69th |
Financial Health
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue-to-Expense Ratio | 1.04× | not reported | 40th |
| Total FTE Enrollment | 630 | -21.7% | 25th |
| Endowment Value | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Net Assets (End of Year) | not reported | not reported | not reported |
Value for Money
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructional Spending % | 56.0% | not reported | 96th |
| Student Support Spending % | 6.8% | not reported | 22nd |
| Administrative Spending % | 18.7% | not reported | 52nd |
| Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio | 3.36× | -9.9% | 65th |
| Average Net Price | $13,301 | +54.9% | 25th |
| Net Price: $0-30K Income | $10,684 | +68.2% | 33rd |
| Net Price: $30K-48K Income | $9,900 | +30.7% | 26th |
| Net Price: $48-75K Income | $14,582 | +48.9% | 39th |
| Net Price: $75K-110K Income | $17,624 | +55.8% | 35th |
| Net Price: $110K+ Income | $18,045 | +52.1% | 20th |
Inspection Flags
| Flag | Section | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Retention Below 80% Kent State University at Salem'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% Kent State University at Salem'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 Kent State University at Salem's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10pp in 1 of 5 eligible years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold. | Student Outcomes | Cleared |
| Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0 Kent State University at Salem's ratio fell below 1.0 in 1 of 4 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold. | Financial Health | Cleared |
| Enrollment Declined 5% or More Kent State University at Salem's total enrollment fell from 805 to 630 students between 2020 and 2024 (-21.7%) — a decline of 5% or more. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15% Endowment was not reported for 2020 or 2024, so this flag could not be evaluated. | Financial Health | Not Evaluated |
| High Cost, Low Completion Kent State University at Salem costs less than the national median AND graduates students at below-median rates — only one of two conditions is met. | Value for Money | Cleared |
| Spending on Students Below the National Median Kent State University at Salem spends $3.36 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: Kent State University at Salem'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 |