University of California-Santa Cruz is a public institution in California, enrolling 19,358 students as of 2024. It graduates 62% of students in four years, returns 88% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $18,059 a year after grants and scholarships. None of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated for University of California-Santa Cruz are flagged. This report benchmarks University of California-Santa Cruz'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.
University of California-Santa Cruz 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.
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Student Outcomes
How students at University of California-Santa Cruz complete their degrees, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
College Financial Health
How financially stable University of California-Santa Cruz is, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
Value for Your Money
How University of California-Santa Cruz 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.
University of California-Santa Cruz — All Reported Indicators
Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for University of California-Santa Cruz. 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 | 62.0% | +26.5% | 80th |
| Six-Year Graduation Rate | 77.0% | +4.0% | 86th |
| Full-Time Retention Rate | 88.0% | +3.5% | 82nd |
| Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate | 71.3% | -3.7% | 85th |
| Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap | 5.3pp | +107.7% | 35th |
| Pell Share of Cohort | 28.4% | -29.8% | 28th |
Financial Health
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue-to-Expense Ratio | 0.88× | not reported | 7th |
| Total FTE Enrollment | 19,358 | +6.5% | 95th |
| Endowment Value | $165.0M | +42.6% | 75th |
| Net Assets (End of Year) | not reported | not reported | not reported |
Value for Money
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructional Spending % | 24.8% | not reported | 20th |
| Student Support Spending % | 10.9% | not reported | 42nd |
| Administrative Spending % | 8.4% | not reported | 11th |
| Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio | 4.24× | -7.6% | 80th |
| Average Net Price | $18,059 | +1.2% | 46th |
| Net Price: $0-30K Income | $8,717 | -21.0% | 21st |
| Net Price: $30K-48K Income | $10,613 | -11.9% | 30th |
| Net Price: $48-75K Income | $14,418 | -7.4% | 38th |
| Net Price: $75K-110K Income | $18,986 | -15.2% | 43rd |
| Net Price: $110K+ Income | $33,323 | +5.1% | 80th |
Inspection Flags
| Flag | Section | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Retention Below 80% University of California-Santa Cruz's retention rate stayed at or above 85% in all 5 reported years — above the 80% threshold. | Student Outcomes | Cleared |
| Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50% University of California-Santa Cruz's 4-year graduation rate fell below 50% in 1 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold. | Student Outcomes | Cleared |
| Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points University of California-Santa Cruz's Pell graduation gap stayed at or below 10 percentage points in all 5 eligible years. | Student Outcomes | Cleared |
| Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0 University of California-Santa Cruz's ratio fell below 1.0 in 2 of 4 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold. | Financial Health | Cleared |
| Enrollment Declined 5% or More University of California-Santa Cruz's total enrollment grew from 18,169 to 19,358 students between 2020 and 2024 (+6.5%). | Financial Health | Cleared |
| Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15% University of California-Santa Cruz's endowment is $165.0M and grew +42.6% between 2020 and 2024 — clearing both the $50 million size threshold and the 15% growth threshold. | Financial Health | Cleared |
| High Cost, Low Completion University of California-Santa Cruz costs less than the national median AND graduates students at above-median rates — neither condition for this flag is met. | Value for Money | Cleared |
| Spending on Students Below the National Median University of California-Santa Cruz spends $4.24 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 Money | Cleared |
| 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 Money | Cleared |