College Viability Inspection Report

University of Wisconsin-River Falls

Wisconsin · Public

University of Wisconsin-River Falls is a public institution in Wisconsin, enrolling 4,062 students as of 2024. It graduates 41% of students in four years, returns 76% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $14,769 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 4 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, Enrollment, and Endowment. This report benchmarks University of Wisconsin-River Falls'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 Wisconsin-River Falls 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 Wisconsin-River Falls — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for University of Wisconsin-River Falls. 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 Rate41.0%+17.1%51st
Six-Year Graduation Rate59.0%+3.5%57th
Full-Time Retention Rate76.0%-1.3%47th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate48.3%-9.5%50th
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap12.0pp+72.5%63rd
Pell Share of Cohort28.0%-5.0%28th

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.18×+7.7%73rd
Total FTE Enrollment4,062-22.0%74th
Endowment Value$33.1M+31.2%39th
Net Assets (End of Year)$215.0M+24.2%70th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %37.3%-5.6%67th
Student Support Spending %18.9%+17.1%73rd
Administrative Spending %10.7%+28.9%18th
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio5.24×-21.7%89th
Average Net Price$14,769+8.3%32nd
Net Price: $0-30K Income$8,472+0.4%20th
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$9,014-4.9%21st
Net Price: $48-75K Income$10,796-25.7%19th
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$16,578-1.0%29th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$18,234+7.3%20th

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
University of Wisconsin-River Falls'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%
University of Wisconsin-River Falls'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 Wisconsin-River Falls's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10pp in 1 of 5 eligible years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0
University of Wisconsin-River Falls's ratio stayed at or above 1.0 in all 5 reported years — ending at 1.18× in 2024.
Financial HealthCleared
Enrollment Declined 5% or More
University of Wisconsin-River Falls's total enrollment fell from 5,207 to 4,062 students between 2020 and 2024 (-22.0%) — a decline of 5% or more.
Financial HealthTriggered
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
University of Wisconsin-River Falls's endowment is $33.1M, under the $50 million threshold. A smaller endowment leaves less cushion for scholarships and for tough budget years, even though it grew +31.2% over the period.
Financial HealthTriggered
High Cost, Low Completion
University of Wisconsin-River Falls 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 Wisconsin-River Falls spends $5.24 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 MoneyCleared
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