College Viability Inspection Report

Wisconsin Lutheran College

Wisconsin · Private, not-for-profit

Wisconsin Lutheran College is a private, nonprofit institution in Wisconsin, enrolling 1,015 students as of 2024. It graduates 51% of students in four years, returns 73% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $24,095 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 3 are flagged: Retention, Equity Gap, and Endowment. This report benchmarks Wisconsin Lutheran College'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.

Wisconsin Lutheran College 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

Wisconsin Lutheran College — All Reported Indicators

Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Wisconsin Lutheran College. 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 Rate51.0%+18.6%67th
Six-Year Graduation Rate67.0%+6.3%71st
Full-Time Retention Rate73.0%-5.2%39th
Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate54.5%+0.7%62nd
Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap12.9pp-12.3%68th
Pell Share of Cohort30.2%-7.6%32nd

Financial Health

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Revenue-to-Expense Ratio1.04×+17.4%39th
Total FTE Enrollment1,015+0.4%36th
Endowment Value$49.5M+37.4%49th
Net Assets (End of Year)$74.2M+20.3%44th

Value for Money

Metric2024 Value5-Yr % ChangeNational Percentile
Instructional Spending %31.0%-4.2%40th
Student Support Spending %21.2%+5.5%81st
Administrative Spending %16.7%+1.3%43rd
Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio3.13×-1.8%60th
Average Net Price$24,095+11.9%70th
Net Price: $0-30K Income$18,190+39.1%69th
Net Price: $30K-48K Income$15,913-9.2%58th
Net Price: $48-75K Income$20,519+38.0%70th
Net Price: $75K-110K Income$20,475-11.2%50th
Net Price: $110K+ Income$28,019+6.8%64th

Inspection Flags

FlagSectionStatus
Retention Below 80%
Wisconsin Lutheran College'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%
Wisconsin Lutheran College's 4-year graduation rate fell below 50% in 2 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold.
Student OutcomesCleared
Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points
Wisconsin Lutheran College'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
Wisconsin Lutheran College'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
Wisconsin Lutheran College's total enrollment grew from 1,011 to 1,015 students between 2020 and 2024 (+0.4%).
Financial HealthCleared
Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15%
Wisconsin Lutheran College's endowment is $49.5M, under the $50 million threshold. A smaller endowment leaves less cushion for scholarships and for tough budget years, even though it grew +37.4% over the period.
Financial HealthTriggered
High Cost, Low Completion
Wisconsin Lutheran College 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
Wisconsin Lutheran College's ratio fell below the national median of $2.75 in 1 of 5 reported years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold.
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