Ibex Insights
Ibex Insights
 Open dashboard

Ottawa University-Milwaukee

Brookfield, WI · official site ↗

Private nonprofitBaccalaureate: Diverse FieldsSmall
17
Fin. Resilience
Resilience score

vs. 177 peers in its group

Ottawa University-Milwaukee is a private nonprofit institution in Brookfield, WI, classified by Carnegie as “Baccalaureate: Diverse Fields.”

It enrolls about 41 undergraduates and is benchmarked here against 177 peer institutions (Baccalaureate: Diverse Fields · Private nonprofit).

On Ibex's Financial Resilience score it rates 17 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 median earnings (10 yr) ($55,552, 89th percentile).

Its weakest is instructional spend / fte ($2,168).

Ibex's cross-metric scan flags: Undergrad enrollment down 74% since 2016.

Peer group

Baccalaureate: Diverse Fields · Private nonprofit

177 institutions

Undergrad enrollment down 74% since 2016
Policy & demographic exposure

How exposed Ottawa University-Milwaukee is to the structural shifts reshaping higher ed: a composite structural-risk index plus the 2025 federal budget law’s endowment excise tax and Grad PLUS elimination and the demographic enrollment cliff. Only signals that apply to this institution are shown.

Enrollment cliff (home state)Projected change in the institution's home-state high-school graduates from 2025 to 2041 (WICHE). The U.S. total falls about 13%; a directional feeder-market signal, not an enrollment forecast.
-16.9%
Steep decline

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

Turn these signals into action

Seeing exposure is step one. Ibex builds AI agents that monitor and act on exactly these pressures — explore an interactive demo. Live demos run real workflows; the rest are working mockups we build to your institution’s data.

AI Recruiter Agent
Financial Health Index
-0.4
on a −4 to 10 scale
Financial Health IndexStress

NACUBO Composite Financial Index — the balance-sheet health score accreditors and institutional boards use to gauge financial health; bond-rating agencies track similar ratios. reported at parent/system level — reflects Ottawa University-Ottawa (excluded from rankings and peer percentiles).

Primary reserve 35%0.3 mo
Reserves vs. debt 35%0.02×
Return on net assets 20%-2.4%
Operating result 10%-2.9%

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 $66.5M total revenue · IPEDS FY2022-23

Reported at parent/system level — reflects Ottawa University-Ottawa.

Tuition & fees is the largest single source at 62% of revenue.

Tuition & fees62.2%
Auxiliary enterprises19.6%
Other revenue7.8%
Private gifts & grants6.0%
Government grants & contracts2.8%
Investment return1.7%

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 / FTETuition revenue per full-time-equivalent student after institutional aid/discounts — what tuition actually nets.
Below peers
$8,872
21st percentile in peer grouppeer median $12,051
Instructional spend / FTESpending on instruction per FTE student — how much of the budget reaches the classroom.
Below peers
$2,168
2nd percentile in peer grouppeer median $7,754
Endowment (end of year)Total endowment value at year end — long-term invested wealth that funds operations and cushions shocks.
Below peers
$491,810
6th percentile in peer grouppeer median $16.3M
Avg monthly faculty salaryAverage monthly salary of full-time faculty (IPEDS) — a proxy for faculty investment.
Average
$6,468
55th percentile in peer grouppeer median $6,342
Average monthly salary of full-time faculty, as reported to IPEDS.
Endowment per undergradEndowment divided by undergraduate headcount — endowment wealth behind each undergrad.
Below peers
$11,995
29th percentile in peer grouppeer median $28,062
Endowment per FTE studentEndowment per full-time-equivalent student — the FTE-correct measure of endowment wealth per student.
Below peers
$4,133
11th percentile in peer grouppeer median $25,161
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.
Operating marginNet surplus as a share of total revenue — whether the institution runs in the black.
Deficit
-1%
Parent/system level
Reported at parent/system level — reflects Ottawa University-Ottawa. Excluded from rankings and peer percentiles.
Tuition dependencyTuition's share of total revenue — how exposed the budget is to enrollment swings.
62.2%
Parent/system level
Reported at parent/system level — reflects Ottawa University-Ottawa. Excluded from rankings and peer percentiles.
Tuition discount rateInstitutional grant aid as a share of gross tuition (IPEDS, private nonprofits only) — the tuition-discount rate. The share of sticker tuition handed back as aid; a high rate (the national average is ~56%) signals heavy price competition for students.
Moderate
42.9%
Parent/system level
Reported at parent/system level — reflects Ottawa University-Ottawa. Excluded from rankings and peer percentiles.
State appropriations shareState appropriations' share of total revenue — material for public institutions, near zero for private.
0%
Parent/system level
Reported at parent/system level — reflects Ottawa University-Ottawa. Excluded from rankings and peer percentiles.
Administrative cost shareInstitutional support (central administration, governance, general administration, fundraising, and under FASB the operation & maintenance of plant) as a share of total expenses — private nonprofit (FASB) institutions only, where the figure is comparable. An informational gauge of administrative intensity, not a measure of waste.
31.5%
Parent/system level
Reported at parent/system level — reflects Ottawa University-Ottawa. Excluded from rankings and peer percentiles.
Months of operating cushionMonths of operating expenses covered by expendable reserves — the institution's cash cushion.
Thin
0.3 mo
Parent/system level
Reported at parent/system level — reflects Ottawa University-Ottawa. Excluded from rankings and peer percentiles.
Reserves vs. debtExpendable reserves divided by long-term debt — whether reserves could cover the debt.
Thin
0.02×
Parent/system level
Reported at parent/system level — reflects Ottawa University-Ottawa. Excluded from rankings and peer percentiles.
Return on net assetsChange in net assets over the year — whether the institution grew wealthier.
Weak
-2.4%
Parent/system level
Reported at parent/system level — reflects Ottawa University-Ottawa. Excluded from rankings and peer percentiles.
Graduation & completion
Graduation rate · first-time, full-time
—

Not reported — this institution has no first-time, full-time bachelor's-degree cohort, so the graduation rate does not apply. See the all-students completion rate.

Completion rate · all students
51.1%

51.1% 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 enrollmentNumber of degree-seeking undergraduates (IPEDS fall headcount). A size measure, not a quality signal.
41
2nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 744
Pell recipient shareShare of undergraduates on a federal Pell Grant — a proxy for the share from lower-income families.
41.7%
51st percentile in peer grouppeer median 41%
12-month FTE enrollmentFull-time-equivalent enrollment over the full year — the denominator for per-student finance measures.
119
5th percentile in peer grouppeer median 771
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 ratioStudents per instructional faculty member — lower usually means smaller classes and more contact.
2:1
1st percentile in peer grouppeer median 12:1
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.
Enrollment cliff (home state)Projected change in the institution's home-state high-school graduates from 2025 to 2041 (WICHE). The U.S. total falls about 13%; a directional feeder-market signal, not an enrollment forecast.
Steep decline
-16.9%
— percentile in peer group
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.
Completion rate (all students · 8-yr)Of ALL entering degree-seeking undergraduates — full- and part-time, first-time and transfer-in — the share who earned a degree or certificate at this institution within eight years (IPEDS Outcome Measures). Broader than the graduation rate, which counts only first-time, full-time students, so the two are measured on different students and are not directly comparable.
Average
51.1%
57th percentile in peer grouppeer median 47.4%
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.
Student body
Undergraduate race & ethnicity IPEDS 2024-25
White65.8%
Black19.5%
Hispanic/Latino7.3%
Asian2.4%
American Indian/Alaska Native2.4%
Unknown2.4%

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
Median earnings (10 yr)Median earnings of former students ten years after first enrolling (working, federally-aided students).
Strong
$55,552
89th percentile in peer grouppeer median $45,846
Median debt at graduationMedian federal loan debt graduates carry at the point they complete.
Strong
$21,500
22nd percentile in peer grouppeer median $24,990
3-yr cohort default rateShare of borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment. Lower is better.
Average
8.1%
37th percentile in peer grouppeer median 9.5%
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 loansShare of students taking out federal loans — a borrowing-reliance signal.
61.7%
61st percentile in peer grouppeer median 56.9%
Debt-to-earnings ratioMedian graduate debt divided by median earnings — how heavy the debt load is versus what graduates earn. Lower is better.
Strong
0.39×
11th percentile in peer grouppeer median 0.51×
Loan repayment rate (3-yr)
46.5%
32nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 53.6%
Share of student-loan borrowers who had repaid at least $1 of their loan principal within three years of entering repayment (College Scorecard, FY2024-25). Read it as context, not a simple good/bad score: a low rate can mean borrowers are struggling, but it can also mean many graduates have postponed payments while enrolled in graduate or professional school, which is common at selective schools and pushes their rate down. Unlike the cohort default rate, it is not distorted by the 2020-23 federal payment pause. Reported only where enough borrowers exist.
Top fields of study (bachelor's)

Ottawa University-Milwaukee’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.

FieldCompletions / yrMedian earnings, 4 yrs outMedian debtEarnings premiumRisk score
Business, Management & Marketing14$67,731
81th pct · 117 peers
—Above benchmark +74%Moderate · 50
Health Professions & Clinical Sciences9$83,364
75th pct · 64 peers
—Above benchmark +114%Low · 29
Psychology9$43,959
52th pct · 54 peers
—Above benchmark +13%Moderate · 39
Public Administration & Social Service5$52,309
78th pct · 32 peers
—Above benchmark +34%Moderate · 50
Communication & Journalism2$59,445
93th pct · 27 peers
—Above benchmark +53%Moderate · 50
English Language & Literature1———Moderate · 50

All 5 top fields shown clear the WI state earnings-premium benchmark (indicative).

Earnings-premium status is an indicative estimate: median graduate earnings four years out vs the WI 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.

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 Ottawa University-Milwaukee?
Ottawa University-Milwaukee does not file its own IPEDS finance survey — its finances are reported by its parent institution, Ottawa University-Ottawa, which scores -0.4 (Stress) on the NACUBO Composite Financial Index (the −4 to 10 balance-sheet score accreditors and boards use), computed from IPEDS FY2022-23 finances. This parent-level figure is informational benchmarking, not a credit rating.
What is Ottawa University-Milwaukee's student-faculty ratio?
Ottawa University-Milwaukee reports a student-faculty ratio of 2:1 (IPEDS, fall 2023) — that is, about 2 students for every instructional faculty member.
How much do Ottawa University-Milwaukee graduates earn?
Median earnings ten years after entry are $55,552 (College Scorecard), measured across students who received federal aid.
Are Ottawa University-Milwaukee's programs at risk under the federal earnings-premium test?
Indicatively, at Ottawa University-Milwaukee, all 5 of the largest fields with available earnings data clear the WI state earnings-premium benchmark used by the 2025 federal test (effective July 1, 2026) — median graduate earnings (four years out) exceed those of a typical worker without the credential. This is an estimate using College Scorecard earnings vs ACS medians; the official Department of Education determination may differ.
Which schools are Ottawa University-Milwaukee's peers?
Ottawa University-Milwaukee is benchmarked against 177 institutions in the Baccalaureate: Diverse Fields · Private nonprofit peer group; all percentiles and medians on this page are computed within that group.
Compare with peers
American Baptist CollegeSouthern California SeminarySterling CollegePolytechnic University of Puerto Rico-MiamiOak Hills Christian CollegePolytechnic University of Puerto Rico-Orlando

Explore Ottawa University-Milwaukee interactively

Open the full dashboard to switch peer views, hover trends, and compare head-to-head.

Open in dashboard

Want a custom dashboard for Ottawa University-Milwaukee?

We build tailored intelligence dashboards — Ottawa University-Milwaukee and the peer set you choose, the metrics and risk signals your team cares about, kept current and delivered to you. Tell us what you’d want to track and a specialist will scope it with you.

Request a custom dashboard

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.