College Viability Inspection Report

Middle Tennessee State University

Tennessee · Public

Middle Tennessee State University is a public institution in Tennessee, enrolling 15,065 students as of 2024. It graduates 35% of students in four years, returns 80% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $13,859 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 4 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, Equity Gap, and Enrollment. This report benchmarks Middle Tennessee State 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.

Middle Tennessee State 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

Middle Tennessee State University — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Middle Tennessee State 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 Rate35.0%+66.7%41st
Six-Year Graduation Rate55.0%+25.0%49th
Full-Time Retention Rate80.0%+1.3%61st
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate47.7%+7.2%49th
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap11.5pp-9.6%61st
Pell Share of Cohort47.6%+0.4%67th

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.02×-4.0%35th
Total FTE Enrollment15,065-10.5%93rd
Endowment Value$153.6M+41.1%73rd
Net Assets (End of Year)$573.2M+30.5%85th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %45.1%-3.6%86th
Student Support Spending %14.6%+23.3%58th
Administrative Spending %7.7%+10.5%9th
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio7.71×-7.9%96th
Average Net Price$13,859+13.0%28th
Net Price: $0-30K Income$9,289+6.0%24th
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$10,273-3.6%28th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$13,007-10.3%31st
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$16,935-0.0%31st
Net Price: $110K+ Income$19,046+10.6%24th

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Middle Tennessee State University's retention rate fell below 80% in 4 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold.
Student OutcomesTriggered
Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50%
Middle Tennessee State 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
Middle Tennessee State University's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10 percentage points in 5 of 5 eligible years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold.
Student OutcomesTriggered
Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0
Middle Tennessee State University's ratio stayed at or above 1.0 in all 5 reported years — ending at 1.02× in 2024.
Financial HealthCleared
Enrollment Declined 5% or More
Middle Tennessee State University's total enrollment fell from 16,838 to 15,065 students between 2020 and 2024 (-10.5%) — a decline of 5% or more.
Financial HealthTriggered
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Middle Tennessee State University's endowment is $153.6M and grew +41.1% between 2020 and 2024 — clearing both the $50 million size threshold and the 15% growth threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
High Cost, Low Completion
Middle Tennessee State University costs less than the national median AND graduates students at above-median rates — neither condition for this flag is met.
Value for MoneyCleared
Spending on Students Below the National Median
Middle Tennessee State University spends $7.71 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 MoneyCleared
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