College Viability Inspection Report

Whitworth University

Washington · Private, not-for-profit

Whitworth University is a private, nonprofit institution in Washington, enrolling 1,953 students as of 2024. It graduates 66% of students in four years, returns 78% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $27,605 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 4 are flagged: Retention, Equity Gap, Enrollment, and Price vs. Outcomes. This report benchmarks Whitworth 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.

Whitworth 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

Whitworth University — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Whitworth 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 Rate66.0%-2.9%83rd
Six-Year Graduation Rate76.0%-3.8%84th
Full-Time Retention Rate78.0%-3.7%54th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate64.0%+1.2%77th
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap11.1pp-42.6%60th
Pell Share of Cohort37.6%+32.7%48th

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.14×+8.6%66th
Total FTE Enrollment1,953-21.5%55th
Endowment Value$202.1M+22.3%78th
Net Assets (End of Year)$268.7M+19.8%74th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %37.2%+6.2%66th
Student Support Spending %20.5%+5.6%78th
Administrative Spending %15.8%-7.7%39th
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio3.66×+14.8%71st
Average Net Price$27,605+7.1%81st
Net Price: $0-30K Income$16,788+17.4%63rd
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$18,242+6.1%69th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$20,358-5.9%69th
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$26,525-15.1%78th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$34,641+4.2%82nd

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Whitworth University's retention rate fell below 80% in 3 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold.
Student OutcomesTriggered
Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50%
Whitworth University's 4-year graduation rate stayed at or above 63% in all 5 reported years — above the 50% threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points
Whitworth University'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
Whitworth University's ratio fell below 1.0 in 1 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
Enrollment Declined 5% or More
Whitworth University's total enrollment fell from 2,488 to 1,953 students between 2020 and 2024 (-21.5%) — a decline of 5% or more.
Financial HealthTriggered
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Whitworth University's endowment is $202.1M and grew +22.3% between 2020 and 2024 — clearing both the $50 million size threshold and the 15% growth threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
High Cost, Low Completion
Whitworth University 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
Whitworth University spends $3.66 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: Whitworth University'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