College Viability Inspection Report

The College of Wooster

Ohio · Private, not-for-profit

The College of Wooster is a private, nonprofit institution in Ohio, enrolling 2,021 students as of 2024. It graduates 70% of students in four years, returns 82% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $28,004 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 2 are flagged: Equity Gap and Price vs. Outcomes. This report benchmarks The College of Wooster'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.

The College of Wooster 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

The College of Wooster — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for The College of Wooster. 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 Rate70.0%-2.8%88th
Six-Year Graduation Rate74.0%-1.3%82nd
Full-Time Retention Rate82.0%-5.8%66th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate63.4%-3.0%77th
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap13.8pp+29.7%71st
Pell Share of Cohort23.1%+24.7%20th

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.30×+30.3%86th
Total FTE Enrollment2,021-0.3%56th
Endowment Value$437.8M+32.2%87th
Net Assets (End of Year)$574.0M+10.7%85th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %30.2%-8.5%37th
Student Support Spending %23.1%+10.8%85th
Administrative Spending %12.2%-3.2%23rd
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio4.37×+2.3%82nd
Average Net Price$28,004+0.3%82nd
Net Price: $0-30K Income$12,512-1.0%44th
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$14,032-18.0%49th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$17,941-16.3%58th
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$26,165+1.0%77th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$32,2230.0%77th

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
The College of Wooster's retention rate stayed at or above 80% in all 5 reported years — above the 80% threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50%
The College of Wooster's 4-year graduation rate stayed at or above 70% in all 5 reported years — above the 50% threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points
The College of Wooster'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
The College of Wooster'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
The College of Wooster's total enrollment fell from 2,027 to 2,021 students between 2020 and 2024 (-0.3%) — less than the 5% decline that triggers this flag.
Financial HealthCleared
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
The College of Wooster's endowment is $437.8M and grew +32.2% between 2020 and 2024 — clearing both the $50 million size threshold and the 15% growth threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
High Cost, Low Completion
The College of Wooster costs more than the national median but also graduates students at above-median rates — only one of two conditions is met.
Value for MoneyCleared
Spending on Students Below the National Median
The College of Wooster spends $4.37 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
Both conditions were met: The College of Wooster'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 MoneyTriggered