College Viability Inspection Report

Southern University and A & M College

Louisiana · Public

Southern University and A & M College is a public institution in Louisiana, enrolling 5,667 students as of 2024. It graduates 11% of students in four years, returns 60% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $18,353 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 5 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, Equity Gap, Endowment, and Tuition Allocation. This report benchmarks Southern University and A & M 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.

Southern University and A & M College 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

Southern University and A & M College — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Southern University and A & M 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

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Four-Year Graduation Rate11.0%+22.2%12th
Six-Year Graduation Rate30.0%0.0%14th
Full-Time Retention Rate60.0%0.0%13th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate23.7%-12.1%12th
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap16.5pp+180.2%80th
Pell Share of Cohort79.4%+1.5%93rd

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.03×+0.2%36th
Total FTE Enrollment5,667+6.4%80th
Endowment Value$13.4M+33.7%23rd
Net Assets (End of Year)$11.6M+115.0%18th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %18.0%-13.7%8th
Student Support Spending %4.1%-22.4%12th
Administrative Spending %11.8%-15.1%21st
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio1.88×-0.4%26th
Average Net Price$18,353+11.1%47th
Net Price: $0-30K Income$19,047+18.5%72nd
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$19,395+20.0%74th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$22,288+18.4%78th
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$25,292+18.1%74th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$26,069+19.6%55th

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Southern University and A & M College'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%
Southern University and A & M College'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
Southern University and A & M College's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10 percentage points in 3 of 5 eligible years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold.
Student OutcomesTriggered
Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0
Southern University and A & M College's ratio stayed at or above 1.0 in all 5 reported years — ending at 1.03× in 2024.
Financial HealthCleared
Enrollment Declined 5% or More
Southern University and A & M College's total enrollment grew from 5,325 to 5,667 students between 2020 and 2024 (+6.4%).
Financial HealthCleared
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Southern University and A & M College's endowment is $13.4M, under the $50 million threshold. A smaller endowment leaves less cushion for scholarships and for tough budget years, even though it grew +33.7% over the period.
Financial HealthTriggered
High Cost, Low Completion
Southern University and A & M College costs less than the national median AND graduates students at below-median rates — only one of two conditions is met.
Value for MoneyCleared
Spending on Students Below the National Median
Southern University and A & M College spends $1.88 on instruction and student support per $1 of admin (2024) — below the national median of $2.75 in 5 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