This podcast episode reviews the enrollment, finances, and outcomes for Buena Vista University (IA). Their enrollment risks are mitigated by decent 4 and 6-year graduation rates and an above average endowment. The loss of almost 500 FTE students from 2015-2020 is a significant risk factor and suggests the university has not found a solution to those enrollment losses. It also has decreased tuition and fees revenue that does not quite match the decreases in total expenses.
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As private colleges enter another challenging financial and viability year, I am going to review these high-risk colleges. These are the basic factors I will use to determine which high-risk colleges to review.
A college that meets these general specifications will be considered 'high-risk' of financial weakness and potential issues with viability. The data source is the National Center for Education Statistics and its IPEDS data base. The application used for the analyses is the College Viability App.
1. FTE enrollment has decreased in the past 6 years.
2. 4-year graduation rates average 50% or less over the past 6 reported years
3. 6-year graduation rates average 70% or less over the past 6 reported years
4. Admissions yield (aka popularity indicator) has decreased over the past 6 reported years.
5. Tuition and fees revenue collected by the college has decreased over the past 6 reported years.
6. The endowment in the last reported year is less than $50 million.
As is always the practice at College Viability, we offer comparative analyses of college finances, enrollment, and outcomes. It is not our practice to predict college closures - simply compare results using government data that has been submitted by the colleges themselves.