College Viability Inspection Report

Marian University

Wisconsin · Private, not-for-profit

Marian University is a private, nonprofit institution in Wisconsin, enrolling 979 students as of 2024. It graduates 36% of students in four years, returns 67% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $22,697 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 Marian 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.

Marian 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

Marian University — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Marian 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 Rate36.0%0.0%43rd
Six-Year Graduation Rate51.0%-3.8%42nd
Full-Time Retention Rate67.0%-5.6%23rd
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate37.4%-17.9%29th
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap12.3pp+461.5%64th
Pell Share of Cohort45.1%+64.6%63rd

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.03×+14.4%36th
Total FTE Enrollment979-10.8%36th
Endowment Value$10.6M+31.1%20th
Net Assets (End of Year)$50.8M+28.2%36th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %24.0%-9.7%19th
Student Support Spending %23.5%-0.7%86th
Administrative Spending %20.6%+46.0%60th
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio2.30×-35.2%37th
Average Net Price$22,697-4.9%65th
Net Price: $0-30K Income$17,449-3.5%66th
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$13,638-26.8%47th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$17,998-9.3%59th
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$21,164-9.4%54th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$27,106-3.9%60th

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Marian 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%
Marian 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
Marian University's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10 percentage points in 4 of 5 eligible years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold.
Student OutcomesTriggered
Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0
Marian University's ratio fell below 1.0 in 2 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
Enrollment Declined 5% or More
Marian University's total enrollment fell from 1,097 to 979 students between 2020 and 2024 (-10.8%) — a decline of 5% or more.
Financial HealthTriggered
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Marian University's endowment is $10.6M, under the $50 million threshold. A smaller endowment leaves less cushion for scholarships and for tough budget years, even though it grew +31.1% over the period.
Financial HealthTriggered
High Cost, Low Completion
Marian University costs more than the national median AND graduates students at below-median rates — both conditions for this flag are met.
Value for MoneyTriggered
Spending on Students Below the National Median
Marian University spends $2.30 on instruction and student support per $1 of admin (2024) — below the national median of $2.75 in 4 of 5 reported years.
Value for MoneyTriggered
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