College Viability Inspection Report

Wilmington University

Delaware · Private, not-for-profit

Wilmington University is a private, nonprofit institution in Delaware, enrolling 6,659 students as of 2024. It graduates 9% of students in four years, returns 61% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $14,385 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 3 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, and Tuition Allocation. This report benchmarks Wilmington 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.

Wilmington 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

Wilmington University — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Wilmington 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 Rate9.0%-18.2%10th
Six-Year Graduation Rate20.0%-20.0%7th
Full-Time Retention Rate61.0%+22.0%14th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate19.6%+65.4%10th
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap4.3pp-74.3%32nd
Pell Share of Cohort45.8%+30.4%64th

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.12×+1.5%63rd
Total FTE Enrollment6,659-2.0%83rd
Endowment Value$168.2M+40.2%75th
Net Assets (End of Year)$288.9M+25.4%75th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %35.8%-9.3%61st
Student Support Spending %22.5%+14.8%84th
Administrative Spending %19.8%-18.2%57th
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio2.94×+20.6%56th
Average Net Price$14,385-2.5%30th
Net Price: $0-30K Income$15,500+2.7%58th
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$15,920+4.9%58th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$16,623+6.5%51st
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$19,644+28.6%46th
Net Price: $110K+ Incomenot reportednot reportednot reported

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Wilmington 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%
Wilmington 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
Wilmington University's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10pp in 2 of 5 eligible years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0
Wilmington 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
Wilmington University's total enrollment fell from 6,794 to 6,659 students between 2020 and 2024 (-2.0%) — less than the 5% decline that triggers this flag.
Financial HealthCleared
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Wilmington University's endowment is $168.2M and grew +40.2% between 2020 and 2024 — clearing both the $50 million size threshold and the 15% growth threshold.
Financial HealthCleared
High Cost, Low Completion
Wilmington University costs less than the national median AND graduates students at below-median rates — only one of two conditions is met.
Value for MoneyCleared
Spending on Students Below the National Median
Wilmington University spends $2.94 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