Ascent College

Private nonprofitBaccalaureate/Associate's: Assoc. DominantSmall

Fin. Resilience

Resilience score

vs. 234 peers in its group

Ascent College is a private nonprofit institution in Gainesville, VA, classified by Carnegie as “Baccalaureate/Associate's: Assoc. Dominant.”

It enrolls about 82 undergraduates and is benchmarked here against 234 peer institutions (Baccalaureate/Associate's: Assoc. Dominant · Private nonprofit).

On Ibex's Financial Resilience score it rates 13 out of 100 within that peer group, a transparent composite of endowment per undergraduate, net tuition revenue per student, and instructional spend per student.

Its strongest standing relative to peers is graduation rate (6-yr · first-time, full-time) (100%, 100th percentile).

Its weakest is endowment (end of year) ($92,125).

Peer group

Baccalaureate/Associate's: Assoc. Dominant · Private nonprofit

234 institutions

No cross-metric risk flags triggered.

Policy & demographic exposure

How exposed Ascent College is to the structural shifts reshaping higher ed: a composite structural-risk index plus the 2025 federal budget law’s endowment excise tax, Grad PLUS elimination, new Parent PLUS borrowing cap and new Workforce Pell short-term-credential opportunity, and the demographic enrollment cliff. Only signals that apply to this institution are shown.

Structural risk index

Elevated

Enrollment cliff (home state)

-9.6%

Moderate decline

Indicative signals, not forecasts, see each metric’s definition and the methodology. Endowment-tax, Grad PLUS, Parent PLUS and Workforce Pell figures appear only where the institution is actually exposed; “nationally” compares against all schools that report each signal.

Turn these signals into action

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Financial Health Index

3.5

on a −4 to 10 scale

Financial Health IndexStable

NACUBO Composite Financial Index, the balance-sheet health score accreditors and institutional boards use to gauge financial health; bond-rating agencies track similar ratios. 35th percentile of 234 peers. Carries little or no plant debt, so the viability ratio is excluded and weights re-normalized.

Primary reserve 55%1.3 mo

Return on net assets 30%114.6%

Operating result 15%0.3%

Composite of four ratios on a strength-factor scale (−4 weak → 10 strong): below 3 falls short of the threshold for financial health, below 1 signals acute stress, and above 6 is strong. Computed from IPEDS FY2022-23, the most recent finance release (it lags the current year by 2–3 years). Branch campuses that report finances at a parent/system level can show distorted ratios. For informational benchmarking, not a credit rating or financial advice.

Revenue composition

Where the money comes from $903,154 total revenue · IPEDS FY2022-23

Private gifts & grants is the largest single source at 67% of revenue.

Private gifts & grants66.9%

Tuition & fees29.8%

Investment return3.3%

Where each dollar of revenue comes from, as a share of total positive revenue. Sources are standardized across public (GASB) and private (FASB) reporting; a net investment loss in a down market is shown as 0% and excluded from the mix.

Financial Health

Net tuition revenue / FTE

Below peers

$4,591

18th percentile in peer grouppeer median $9,404

233 peers

Instructional spend / FTE

Below peers

$2,637

7th percentile in peer grouppeer median $10,785

233 peers

Endowment (end of year)

Below peers

$92,125

5th percentile in peer grouppeer median $14.2M

135 peers

In-state tuition & fees

$8,550

15th percentile in peer grouppeer median $11,320

141 peers

Out-of-state tuition & fees

$8,550

15th percentile in peer grouppeer median $11,320

141 peers

Avg monthly faculty salary

Below peers

$2,500

10th percentile in peer grouppeer median $5,668

224 peers

Average monthly salary of full-time faculty, as reported to IPEDS.

Endowment per undergrad

Below peers

$1,123

13th percentile in peer grouppeer median $13,984

53 peers

Operating margin

Strong

15.8%

66th percentile in peer grouppeer median 8.5%

FY2022-23231 peers

Net surplus as a share of total revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23): (total revenues − total expenses) ÷ total revenues. A surplus above 4% is strong; a thin surplus near 0% leaves little margin for shocks.

Tuition dependency

29.8%

57th percentile in peer grouppeer median 25.2%

FY2022-23231 peers

Tuition & fees as a share of total revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23). Higher = more exposed to enrollment swings.

Tuition discount rate

High

57.8%

85th percentile in peer grouppeer median 27.4%

FY2022-23233 peers

Institutional grant aid as a share of gross tuition & fee revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23, FASB): allowances applied to tuition ÷ (net tuition revenue + those allowances) – the tuition-discount rate enrollment leaders track, i.e. the share of sticker tuition handed back as institutional aid. Private nonprofit institutions only; public (GASB) institutions report tuition differently and are not shown. The national private-college average is roughly 56% (NACUBO); above ~60% signals heavy price competition.

State appropriations share

100th percentile in peer grouppeer median 0%

FY2022-23231 peers

State appropriations as a share of total revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23). Material for public institutions; ~0 for private.

Administrative cost share

38.9%

82nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 28.8%

FY2022-23232 peers

Institutional support, central administration, executive management, governance, general administration, fundraising and (under FASB rules) operation & maintenance of plant, as a share of total expenses (IPEDS FY2022-23, FASB). Private nonprofit institutions only: public (GASB) institutions report functional expenses on a different basis and frequently consolidate large hospital and auxiliary operations, which makes a comparable ratio unreliable, so they are not shown. Because FASB folds plant operations into institutional support, this runs higher than a narrow 'central-office' figure, and schools with sizable hospital or auxiliary operations show a lower ratio as those costs enlarge total expenses. An informational benchmark of administrative intensity, compared within the peer group, not a measure of waste or quality.

Months of operating cushion

Thin

1.3 mo

17th percentile in peer grouppeer median 10.8 mo

FY2022-23227 peers

How many months of operating expenses the institution could cover from expendable reserves (IPEDS FY2022-23 primary reserve ratio × 12). About 5 months, one semester, is the accreditor benchmark for solid footing; below ~3 months is thin. A negative figure means expendable reserves are themselves negative.

Endowment per FTE student

Below peers

$2,047

10th percentile in peer grouppeer median $107,291

FY2022-23135 peers

End-of-year endowment ÷ 12-month FTE enrollment, endowment wealth per full-time-equivalent student. The FTE-correct companion to endowment-per-undergraduate; FTE counts graduate and part-time load, so research universities look less wealthy on this basis than on a headcount basis.

Spent on instruction

20.2%

19th percentile in peer grouppeer median 31.5%

2024-25233 peers

Instruction spending divided by total functional expenses (IPEDS Finance, FY2022-23 (FASB)). 'Where the money goes' context, reported here for private-nonprofit (FASB) institutions only, where the functional split is comparable; not computed for public or for-profit institutions. Higher is not automatically better; research universities and those with hospitals or large auxiliaries spread spending across other functions.

Spent on student services

35.4%

97th percentile in peer grouppeer median 9.4%

2024-25233 peers

Student-services spending (admissions, registrar, student life, counseling) divided by total functional expenses (IPEDS Finance, FY2022-23 (FASB)). Private-nonprofit (FASB) institutions only. Spending-mix context, not a quality measure.

Spent on academic support

5.6%

42nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 7%

2024-25233 peers

Academic-support spending (libraries, academic computing, deans' offices) divided by total functional expenses (IPEDS Finance, FY2022-23 (FASB)). Private-nonprofit (FASB) institutions only. Context, not a quality measure.

Spent on research

89th percentile in peer grouppeer median 0%

2024-25233 peers

Research spending divided by total functional expenses (IPEDS Finance, FY2022-23 (FASB)). Private-nonprofit (FASB) institutions only; near zero at teaching-focused colleges and sizeable at research universities. Spending-mix context, not a quality measure.

Structural risk index

Elevated

– percentile in peer group

2024-25231 peers

An indicative 0–100 structural-risk index (higher = more pressure), an equal-weight blend of the stress signals we measure: thin or negative operating margin, low months of operating cushion, high tuition dependency, and a shrinking home-state high-school-graduate pipeline (enrollment cliff). Averaged over whichever signals are available (at least two required). It screens for the financial and demographic pressures that precede closures and mergers, a directional indicator, NOT a prediction that any institution will close, and not a credit rating.

Graduation & completion

Graduation rate · first-time, full-time

100%

100% graduate within 6 years (150% of normal time)
0% on-time, within 4 years (100%)
Counts only students who entered full-time as first-time freshmen and earned a bachelor's here, the conventional headline rate. Excludes part-time entrants and transfer-ins.

Completion rate · all students

57.1%

57.1% earned a degree or certificate within 8 years (IPEDS Outcome Measures)
The broader cohort, also counts part-time entrants and transfer-ins, and any credential. More inclusive, so it can run higher than the graduation rate.

Why two numbers? They measure different students over different windows, so they are not directly comparable. The graduation rate is the standard federal headline but tracks only first-time, full-time students through a bachelor's; the all-students completion rate adds the part-time and transfer students it leaves out, over a longer window. Read each for what it covers. Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Graduation Rates & Outcome Measures, via College Scorecard.

Enrollment & Pipeline

Undergraduate enrollment

45th percentile in peer grouppeer median 93

149 peers

Graduation rate (6-yr · first-time, full-time)

Strong

100%

100th percentile in peer grouppeer median 46.2%

126 peers

Graduation rate (4-yr on-time · first-time, full-time)

Average

46th percentile in peer grouppeer median 7.6%

124 peers

Pell recipient share

27.5%

28th percentile in peer grouppeer median 41.1%

145 peers

Completion rate (all students · 8-yr)

Strong

57.1%

69th percentile in peer grouppeer median 43.7%

2024-25142 peers

Share of ALL entering degree-seeking undergraduates, full- and part-time, first-time and transfer-in, who earned a degree or certificate at this institution within eight years (IPEDS Outcome Measures, via College Scorecard). Broader and more inclusive than the graduation-rate figures, which count only first-time, full-time students entering a bachelor's program, so the two are measured on different groups of students and are not directly comparable.

Adult learners (25+)

64.4%

73rd percentile in peer grouppeer median 27.8%

2024-25106 peers

Share of undergraduates aged 25 or older (College Scorecard, FY2024-25). Read as context on the student mix: schools serving many working adults look different on persistence and part-time measures than traditional-age campuses, and neither is inherently better.

Part-time undergraduates

100%

100th percentile in peer grouppeer median 0%

2024-25145 peers

Share of undergraduates enrolled part-time (College Scorecard, FY2024-25). Context, not quality: a high part-time share is common at community and commuter institutions and affects graduation-rate comparisons, which are based only on full-time, first-time students.

Median family income

$34,340

62nd percentile in peer grouppeer median $29,639

2024-25107 peers

Median family income of students at this institution (College Scorecard, FY2024-25). An affordability and access signal, not a measure of quality: a lower figure typically means the school enrolls more students from modest-income families.

Low-income students (under $30K)

44%

33rd percentile in peer grouppeer median 50%

2024-2563 peers

Share of students whose families earn under roughly $30,000 a year (College Scorecard, FY2024-25). A direct low-income access signal: a higher share usually reflects a school enrolling more students from modest-income households, and pairs naturally with the Pell recipient share.

Women (share of undergraduates)

56.1%

91st percentile in peer grouppeer median 0%

2024-25149 peers

Share of undergraduates who are women (College Scorecard, FY2024-25). Reported as context on the student mix, not a measure of quality.

8-year completion (all students)

Strong

57.1%

69th percentile in peer grouppeer median 43.7%

2024-25142 peers

Share of ALL entering students, full-time and part-time, first-time and transfer-in, who complete an award within eight years (College Scorecard Outcome Measures, FY2024-25). It is a broader, more representative completion signal than the first-time-full-time graduation rates, because it counts the part-time and returning students those rates exclude. Higher is better.

Transfer-out rate

29th percentile in peer grouppeer median 18.5%

2024-25126 peers

Share of students who transfer OUT to a different institution within the tracking window (College Scorecard, FY2024-25). Reported as context, not a quality measure: it runs high at access-oriented schools and two-year feeders whose students routinely move on to a four-year program, and it should be read together with the completion and retention figures rather than on its own.

12-month FTE enrollment

15th percentile in peer grouppeer median 111

2022-23234 peers

Full-time-equivalent enrollment over the full 12-month year (IPEDS 12-month enrollment, 2022-23). Counts part-time students at their fractional load, so it runs above fall full-time headcount and is the denominator used for per-student finance measures.

Student-faculty ratio

8:1

37th percentile in peer grouppeer median 11:1

2022-23149 peers

Students per instructional faculty member (IPEDS, fall 2023). Lower generally means smaller classes and more faculty contact, though the measure mixes undergraduate and graduate teaching and is institution-reported.

Fully online students

93%

94th percentile in peer grouppeer median 6%

2024-25234 peers

Share of students enrolled exclusively in distance-education courses (IPEDS, Fall 2023). Describes delivery model, not quality; online-heavy institutions look different on residential measures.

Applicant-pool diversity shift

+5.1%

– percentile in peer group

WICHE 2024 (11th ed.)231 peers

Percentage-point change in the non-white share of the institution's home-state public high-school graduating class between the class of 2025 (the national peak) and 2037 (WICHE, Knocking at the College Door, 11th ed., public-school race detail). A forward look at who the future applicant pool will be: a positive value means the state's graduating class is projected to grow more racially diverse. Strategic recruiting context, not a forecast of any one school's enrollment, and a college recruits from many states.

Enrollment cliff (home state)

Moderate decline

-9.6%

– percentile in peer group

2024-25231 peers

Projected change in the number of high-school graduates in the institution's HOME STATE from the class of 2025 (the national peak) to 2041, per WICHE's Knocking at the College Door, 11th Edition (Dec 2024). The 'enrollment cliff' is the post-2008 birth decline reaching college age; the U.S. total is projected to fall about 13% over this window. A college recruits from many states, so its home-state projection is an indicative directional signal of feeder-market pressure, not a forecast of that institution's own enrollment.

Enrollment momentum (CAGR)

Strong

5.4%

71st percentile in peer grouppeer median 1.5%

2024-25147 peers

Compound annual growth rate of undergraduate enrollment over the years the tool tracks (College Scorecard, roughly 2016-2024). Positive means the school is growing; negative means it is shrinking, the leading indicator of demand stress ahead of the demographic cliff. Banded against the school's peer group.

Net-price momentum (CAGR)

Strong

-3.1%

21st percentile in peer grouppeer median 2.4%

2024-25232 peers

Compound annual growth rate of net tuition revenue per full-time-equivalent student over the tracked years. A high positive rate means the school's real net price is climbing faster than peers, which can strain affordability and yield. Banded against the school's peer group. Lower is better.

Direct competitors within 100 mi

Average

54th percentile in peer grouppeer median 8

2024-25234 peers

How many institutions of the same type (same Carnegie classification and control, i.e. the schools competing for the same students) sit within roughly 100 miles. A higher count means a more crowded local market and a harder yield fight, which matters most as the regional pool of high school graduates shrinks; a low count means the school has its catchment largely to itself. Distance is straight-line from campus coordinates. Banded against the school's peer group. Fewer is better for recruiting leverage.

Hybrid (some online) enrollment

60th percentile in peer grouppeer median 0%

Fall 2023234 peers

Share of all students taking some, but not all, of their courses at a distance (IPEDS, Fall 2023). This is the hybrid middle ground between the fully online share and the fully in-person share, and it signals how far a school has moved coursework online without going exclusively remote. Context metric, not better or worse. Banded against the school's peer group.

Transfer-in share (undergraduate)

5.8%

40th percentile in peer grouppeer median 7.7%

Fall 2023149 peers

Transfer-in students as a share of all undergraduates (IPEDS, Fall 2023). A high share means the school depends on transfer pipelines rather than first-time freshmen, which changes both recruitment strategy and melt/retention risk. Context metric, not better or worse. Banded against the school's peer group.

Graduate share of enrollment

32nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 41.5%

Fall 2023234 peers

Graduate students as a share of total headcount enrollment (IPEDS, Fall 2023). It separates research-intensive universities with large graduate bodies from undergraduate-focused institutions. Context metric, not better or worse. Banded against the school's peer group.

Women share of faculty

36th percentile in peer grouppeer median 18.8%

2023-24233 peers

Women as a share of all instructional staff, full- and part-time combined (IPEDS Human Resources, Fall 2023). A gender-composition signal for the teaching workforce. Context metric, not better or worse. Banded against the school's peer group.

Faculty of color share

100%

100th percentile in peer grouppeer median 7.1%

2023-24233 peers

Instructional staff who are American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or two-or-more races, as a share of all instructional staff (IPEDS Human Resources, Fall 2023). Nonresident and race-unknown staff are excluded from the numerator. Context metric, not better or worse. Banded against the school's peer group.

Enrollment forecast (5-yr)

Strong

57.3%

86th percentile in peer grouppeer median 1.8%

2024-2029 projection147 peers

Projected cumulative change in total enrollment roughly five years out, modeled by a least-squares log-linear fit on the school's own enrollment history (2016-2024). It uses the full multi-year series, so a single shock year (such as 2020) does not drive the result. This is a naive trend extrapolation, not a demographic model, and is capped at plus or minus 60 percent; treat it as direction-of-travel, not a precise count. Banded against the school's peer group; higher means projected growth.

In-state HS graduates

104,008

32nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 137,304

Class of 2025 (WICHE)231 peers

The size of the school's home-state high-school graduating class in 2025 (WICHE Knocking at the College Door, public and private combined). It is the near-term in-state feeder market, the complement to the enrollment-cliff projection, which shows the direction that market is heading. Context metric, not better or worse. Banded against the school's peer group.

Metro-area unemployment rate

Strong

4.7%

29th percentile in peer grouppeer median 5.9%

ACS 2019-23232 peers

The civilian unemployment rate in the school's metropolitan or micropolitan area (US Census ACS 2019-23, mapped by the school's federal CBSA code). It is a proxy for local labor demand: a lower rate means a tighter job market, a stronger near-term destination for graduates and a smaller pool of working adults to recruit. It describes the local economy, not the school. Schools outside any metro area are not scored. Banded against the school's peer group.

Completion equity

Six-year graduation rate by group First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohort · Scorecard 2024-25

White100%

Asian100%

Six-year graduation rate (150% of normal time) for the first-time, full-time bachelor’s cohort, broken out by race and ethnicity and for Pell-grant recipients (College Scorecard). Each bar uses the same measure as the headline graduation rate, so the gaps between groups are directly comparable. School overall: 37%.

Student body

Undergraduate race & ethnicity IPEDS 2024-25

White46.3%

Unknown32.9%

Black11.0%

Hispanic/Latino6.1%

Two or more races2.4%

Asian1.2%

Undergraduate enrollment by race and ethnicity, as reported to IPEDS (College Scorecard). “International” denotes nonresident students; “Unknown” means race/ethnicity was not reported.

Student Outcomes & Risk

3-yr cohort default rate

Below peers

13.2%

90th percentile in peer grouppeer median 4.5%

FY2017 cohort147 peers

Share of borrowers who defaulted within three years of entering repayment (U.S. Dept. of Education official cohort default rate). Shown for the FY2017 borrower cohort, the most recent cohort whose full three-year default window closed before the 2020-23 federal student-loan payment pause. More recent cohorts are reported by the College Scorecard at essentially 0%, but that reflects the payment pause (no payments were due, so almost no one could default), not borrower health, so the pre-pause cohort is the last meaningful reading. Lower is better.

Share taking federal loans

36.3%

86th percentile in peer grouppeer median 0%

145 peers

Median earnings (6 yr)

Average

$31,455

58th percentile in peer grouppeer median $30,634

2024-2553 peers

Median earnings of former students who are working and were federally aided, measured six years after they first enrolled (College Scorecard, FY2024-25). A shorter-horizon companion to the ten-year earnings figure; early-career pay tends to run below the ten-year mark, so read the two together rather than in isolation.

Top fields of study (bachelor's)

Ascent College’s largest fields by completions, with graduate earnings (4 years out) and debt benchmarked against the same field at its peer group. Sparklines show the 8-year completions trend.

Field	Completions / yr	Median earnings, 4 yrs out	Median debt	Earnings premium	Risk score
Theology & Religious Vocations	3	–	–	–	High · 100

Earnings-premium status is an indicative estimate: median graduate earnings four years out vs the VA state median earnings of a high-school graduate (undergraduate credentials) or a bachelor’s-degree holder (graduate credentials) from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2022 ACS 5-year). The official U.S. Department of Education determination uses its own cohort definition and may differ.

The risk score (0–100) is an indicative blend of earnings-premium margin and the five-year completions trend, higher means a field pays closer to (or below) the benchmark and is shrinking. A directional screen, not an official determination.

Major-level detail (CIP 4-digit)

Theology & Religious Vocations – 3 CIP programs (4-digit), 0 with earnings

Major (CIP 4-digit)	Compl./yr	Earn 4yr	Earn 1yr	% > threshold	Median debt	Debt/earn	Earnings premium	2 of 3 yrs
Pastoral Counseling and Specialized MinistriesCIP 3907 ›	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Religious Music and WorshipCIP 3905	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Theological and Ministerial StudiesCIP 3906 ›	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Major-level earnings, debt and threshold pass-rates are reported by College Scorecard only where enough graduates exist to protect privacy, so 0 of 3 majors show an earnings figure; the rest read “–”. % > threshold is ED’s own share of graduates out-earning the federal earnings threshold (the do-no-harm pass rate), drawn from the best available measurement window (4-, 5- or 1-year) pooled across all nine College Scorecard Field-of-Study releases; a small chip marks any figure not on the 4-year window, and hovering names the cohort size and source release. 2 of 3 yrs flags fields below the earnings-premium benchmark in two of the latest three reported cohort-years, the statutory trigger under the 2025 test (effective July 1, 2026). Indicative; the Department of Education’s official determination may differ. Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard Field of Study (2014–15 through 2022–23 cohorts + most-recent snapshot), accessed March 2026.

See the interactive dashboard for all fields and credential levels (associate through doctoral). Source: College Scorecard Field of Study.

Frequently asked

How financially healthy is Ascent College?

On the NACUBO Composite Financial Index, the −4 to 10 balance-sheet score accreditors and institutional boards use – Ascent College scores 3.5 (Stable), computed from its IPEDS FY2022-23 finances. This is informational benchmarking, not a credit rating.

What is Ascent College's student-faculty ratio?

Ascent College reports a student-faculty ratio of 8:1 (IPEDS, fall 2023) – that is, about 8 students for every instructional faculty member.

Which schools are Ascent College's peers?

Ascent College is benchmarked against 234 institutions in the Baccalaureate/Associate's: Assoc. Dominant · Private nonprofit peer group; all percentiles and medians on this page are computed within that group.

Compare with peers

Family of Faith Christian University Kairos University Torah Temimah Talmudical Seminary Bethany Global University Yeshiva D'monsey Rabbinical College Yeshiva Gedolah Kesser Torah

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Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard & IPEDS (most recent releases), with the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Employment Projections, field-demand outlook) and WICHE (enrollment-cliff projections). Figures lag the current academic year by roughly two to three years. Percentiles and medians are computed within the institution's peer group. Financial Resilience is a transparent composite, see each component above. Compiled by Ibex Insights.