College Viability Inspection Report

Virginia Wesleyan University

Virginia · Private, not-for-profit

Virginia Wesleyan University is a private, nonprofit institution in Virginia, enrolling 1,376 students as of 2024. It graduates 37% of students in four years, returns 74% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $21,267 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 5 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, Equity Gap, Cost vs. Completion, and Tuition Allocation. This report benchmarks Virginia Wesleyan University'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.

Virginia Wesleyan University 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

Virginia Wesleyan University — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Virginia Wesleyan University. 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 Rate37.0%-21.3%45th
Six-Year Graduation Rate44.0%-15.4%29th
Full-Time Retention Rate74.0%+15.6%41st
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate29.7%-30.4%18th
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap20.3pp+75.3%90th
Pell Share of Cohort41.1%+7.6%55th

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.54×+55.4%95th
Total FTE Enrollment1,376-4.1%46th
Endowment Value$121.8M+107.3%69th
Net Assets (End of Year)$191.5M+61.3%67th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %35.6%-1.5%60th
Student Support Spending %22.0%+2.7%83rd
Administrative Spending %18.8%-12.5%53rd
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio3.06×+14.3%58th
Average Net Price$21,267-9.6%59th
Net Price: $0-30K Income$14,080-30.8%52nd
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$17,108-13.4%64th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$15,967-27.8%48th
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$22,603-5.3%62nd
Net Price: $110K+ Income$24,782-2.6%49th

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Virginia Wesleyan University'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%
Virginia Wesleyan University'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
Virginia Wesleyan University'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
Virginia Wesleyan University'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
Virginia Wesleyan University's total enrollment fell from 1,435 to 1,376 students between 2020 and 2024 (-4.1%) — less than the 5% decline that triggers this flag.
Financial HealthCleared
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Virginia Wesleyan University's endowment is $121.8M and grew +107.3% between 2020 and 2024 — clearing both the $50 million size threshold and the 15% growth threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
High Cost, Low Completion
Virginia Wesleyan University costs more than the national median AND graduates students at below-median rates — both conditions for this flag are met.
Value for MoneyTriggered
Spending on Students Below the National Median
Virginia Wesleyan University spends $3.06 on instruction and student support per $1 of admin (2024) — below the national median of $2.75 in 3 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