College Viability Inspection Report

University of Utah

Utah · Public

University of Utah is a public institution in Utah, enrolling 25,330 students as of 2024. It graduates 35% of students in four years, returns 86% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $16,583 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 3 are flagged: Graduation, Equity Gap, and Price vs. Outcomes. This report benchmarks University of Utah'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 Utah 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

University of Utah — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for University of Utah. 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%+9.4%41st
Six-Year Graduation Rate65.0%-7.1%68th
Full-Time Retention Rate86.0%-3.4%77th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate57.8%+0.3%69th
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap9.1pp-30.4%50th
Pell Share of Cohort19.9%-26.4%16th

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.09×+1.1%55th
Total FTE Enrollment25,330+13.3%97th
Endowment Value$1.65B+54.0%96th
Net Assets (End of Year)$8.74B+35.8%99th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %7.5%-18.6%1st
Student Support Spending %1.3%-13.8%4th
Administrative Spending %5.1%+59.8%3rd
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio1.73×-48.6%23rd
Average Net Price$16,583+28.7%40th
Net Price: $0-30K Income$13,123+25.8%47th
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$13,424+13.5%46th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$14,246+2.9%37th
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$17,663+12.2%35th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$21,533+24.6%34th

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
University of Utah's retention rate stayed at or above 85% in all 5 reported years — above the 80% threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50%
University of Utah'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
University of Utah's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10 percentage points in 4 of 5 eligible years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold.
Student OutcomesTriggered
Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0
University of Utah's ratio stayed at or above 1.0 in all 5 reported years — ending at 1.09× in 2024.
Financial HealthCleared
Enrollment Declined 5% or More
University of Utah's total enrollment grew from 22,350 to 25,330 students between 2020 and 2024 (+13.3%).
Financial HealthCleared
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
University of Utah's endowment is $1.65B and grew +54.0% between 2020 and 2024 — clearing both the $50 million size threshold and the 15% growth threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
High Cost, Low Completion
University of Utah 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
University of Utah's ratio fell below the national median of $2.75 in 2 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold.
Value for MoneyCleared
Rising Price, Falling Outcomes
Both conditions were met: University of Utah'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