Polk State College is a public institution in Florida, enrolling 6,896 students as of 2024. It costs an average of $10,011 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 4 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 2 are flagged: Enrollment and Endowment. This report benchmarks Polk State College'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.
Polk State College 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.
Look Beyond the Brochure. Then Ask Your College.
Changing the Balance of Power from Colleges to Students and Families.
Every campus tour is a sales pitch. Colleges will show you the beautiful quad and the smiling Dean — not what doesn't flatter them. The right questions can reveal information that significantly impacts your experience.
Student Outcomes
How students at Polk State College complete their degrees, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
College Financial Health
How financially stable Polk State College is, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
Value for Your Money
How Polk State College 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.
Polk State College — All Reported Indicators
Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Polk State College. 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 | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Six-Year Graduation Rate | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Full-Time Retention Rate | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Pell Share of Cohort | not reported | not reported | not reported |
Financial Health
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue-to-Expense Ratio | 1.09× | +14.0% | 54th |
| Total FTE Enrollment | 6,896 | -9.7% | 83rd |
| Endowment Value | $35.4M | +9.7% | 41st |
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $153.8M | +105.3% | 62nd |
Value for Money
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructional Spending % | 40.5% | +7.3% | 76th |
| Student Support Spending % | 11.2% | +2.6% | 43rd |
| Administrative Spending % | 11.9% | -17.6% | 22nd |
| Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio | 4.34× | +29.0% | 82nd |
| Average Net Price | $10,011 | +16.8% | 13th |
| Net Price: $0-30K Income | $9,446 | +8.7% | 25th |
| Net Price: $30K-48K Income | $9,203 | +2.2% | 21st |
| Net Price: $48-75K Income | $9,502 | +7.9% | 13th |
| Net Price: $75K-110K Income | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Net Price: $110K+ Income | $7,464 | -19.8% | 1st |
Inspection Flags
| Flag | Section | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Retention Below 80% Not enough reported data for this flag — only 2 of 5 years available. | Student Outcomes | Not Evaluated |
| Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50% Not enough reported data for this flag — only 0 of 5 years available. | Student Outcomes | Not Evaluated |
| Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points Not enough reported data for this flag — only 0 of 5 years had a Pell cohort of 50+ students. | Student Outcomes | Not Evaluated |
| Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0 Polk State College's ratio fell below 1.0 in 2 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold. | Financial Health | Cleared |
| Enrollment Declined 5% or More Polk State College's total enrollment fell from 7,636 to 6,896 students between 2020 and 2024 (-9.7%) — a decline of 5% or more. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15% Polk State College's endowment is $35.4M — under $50 million — and grew +9.7% between 2020 and 2024, below the 15% growth threshold. Both conditions are met. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| High Cost, Low Completion Either net price or 6-year graduation rate is not reported, so this flag could not be evaluated. | Value for Money | Not Evaluated |
| Spending on Students Below the National Median Polk State College's ratio fell below the national median of $2.75 in 1 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold. | Value for Money | Cleared |
| Rising Price, Falling Outcomes Endpoint data missing for either net price or graduation rate — flag could not be evaluated. | Value for Money | Not Evaluated |