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South University-Columbia

Columbia, SC · official site ↗

Private for-profitDoctoral/Professional UniversitySmall
96
Fin. Resilience
Resilience score

vs. 12 peers in its group

South University-Columbia is a private for-profit institution in Columbia, SC, classified by Carnegie as “Doctoral/Professional University.”

It enrolls about 450 undergraduates and is benchmarked here against 12 peer institutions (Doctoral/Professional University · Private for-profit).

On Ibex's Financial Resilience score it rates 96 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 instructional spend / fte ($7,410, 100th percentile).

Its weakest is operating margin (-18.2%).

Ibex's cross-metric scan flags: Undergrad enrollment down 49% since 2016; First-year retention 57% (below 60%).

Peer group

Doctoral/Professional University · Private for-profit

12 institutions

Undergrad enrollment down 49% since 2016
First-year retention 57% (below 60%)
Policy & demographic exposure

How exposed South University-Columbia 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.
6.7%
Stable or growing

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.

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Revenue composition
Where the money comes from $10.4M total revenue · IPEDS FY2022-23

Tuition & fees is the largest single source at 61% of revenue.

Tuition & fees61.3%
Government grants & contracts36.7%
Auxiliary enterprises1.6%
Other revenue0.4%

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.

Net price by income
Average net price by family income After grant & scholarship aid · Scorecard 2024-25
$0–30K$26,588
$30–48K$30,474
$48–75K$32,022
$75–110K$29,386

Average annual net price (total cost minus grant and scholarship aid) paid by federal-aid recipients in each family-income band. Lower-income bands often pay less where need-based aid is strong.

Financial Health
Net tuition revenue / FTETuition revenue per full-time-equivalent student after institutional aid/discounts — what tuition actually nets.
Strong
$14,275
92nd percentile in peer grouppeer median $11,508
Instructional spend / FTESpending on instruction per FTE student — how much of the budget reaches the classroom.
Strong
$7,410
100th percentile in peer grouppeer median $1,694
In-state tuition & feesPublished in-state tuition and fees before aid (sticker price).
$18,145
100th percentile in peer grouppeer median $13,581
Out-of-state tuition & feesPublished out-of-state tuition and fees before aid (sticker price).
$18,145
100th percentile in peer grouppeer median $13,581
Avg annual cost of attendanceAverage total annual cost — tuition, fees and living costs — before aid.
$35,322
78th percentile in peer grouppeer median $34,298
Avg monthly faculty salaryAverage monthly salary of full-time faculty (IPEDS) — a proxy for faculty investment.
Average
$7,075
45th percentile in peer grouppeer median $7,113
Average monthly salary of full-time faculty, as reported to IPEDS.
Average net priceAverage yearly price families actually pay after grants and scholarships.
Average
$27,693
56th percentile in peer grouppeer median $27,693
Operating marginNet surplus as a share of total revenue — whether the institution runs in the black.
Deficit
-18.2%
8th percentile in peer grouppeer median 6%
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 dependencyTuition's share of total revenue — how exposed the budget is to enrollment swings.
61.3%
8th percentile in peer grouppeer median 94.9%
Tuition & fees as a share of total revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23). Higher = more exposed to enrollment swings.
Graduation & completion
Graduation rate · first-time, full-time
23.3%

23.3% graduate within 6 years (150% of normal time)
15.8% 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
26.2%

26.2% 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.
450
33rd percentile in peer grouppeer median 7,784
First-year retentionShare of first-time, full-time freshmen who return for a second year — an early signal of student fit and support.
Strong
57.1%
80th percentile in peer grouppeer median 41.2%
Graduation rate (6-yr · first-time, full-time)Of first-time, full-time freshmen, the share who earn a bachelor's at this institution within six years (150% of normal time) — the conventional headline graduation rate. It counts only first-time, full-time students and excludes part-time entrants and transfer-ins, who are captured instead by the all-students completion rate.
Strong
23.3%
78th percentile in peer grouppeer median 20%
Graduation rate (4-yr on-time · first-time, full-time)Of first-time, full-time freshmen, the share who earn a bachelor's within four years (100% of normal time) — the 'on-time' rate. It runs well below the six-year rate because many students take a fifth or sixth year; same first-time, full-time cohort as the six-year rate.
Strong
15.8%
75th percentile in peer grouppeer median 8.6%
Pell recipient shareShare of undergraduates on a federal Pell Grant — a proxy for the share from lower-income families.
58%
75th percentile in peer grouppeer median 52.5%
Program concentration (HHI)How concentrated a school's annual completions are across academic fields, as a Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (10,000 = one field, lower = many). Higher means more reliance on a few fields; lower means a diversified program portfolio.
Highly concentrated
5,557
— percentile in peer group
How concentrated the institution's degree and certificate output is across academic fields (CIP 2-digit families), as a Herfindahl-Hirschman Index on the latest year's completions: 10,000 means every completion is in one field; lower means output is spread across many. A higher value means the school leans on fewer fields and is more exposed to demand shifts in them; a lower value reflects a broad program portfolio. Shown for institutions reporting at least 100 annual completions. A structural-diversification signal, not a measure of quality.
12-month FTE enrollmentFull-time-equivalent enrollment over the full year — the denominator for per-student finance measures.
507
25th percentile in peer grouppeer median 17,730
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.
14:1
25th percentile in peer grouppeer median 25:1
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.
Stable or growing
6.7%
— 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
26.2%
50th percentile in peer grouppeer median 27.1%
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
Black66.9%
White12.9%
Unknown10.9%
Two or more races3.8%
Hispanic/Latino2.2%
International1.1%
Asian0.9%
American Indian/Alaska Native0.9%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander0.4%

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).
Below peers
$34,421
20th percentile in peer grouppeer median $37,538
Median debt at graduationMedian federal loan debt graduates carry at the point they complete.
Average
$26,123
56th percentile in peer grouppeer median $26,123
3-yr cohort default rateShare of borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment. Lower is better.
Average
11.8%
67th percentile in peer grouppeer median 11.5%
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.
64.7%
75th percentile in peer grouppeer median 58.1%
Full-time faculty shareShare of faculty employed full-time — higher generally means more availability and continuity.
Strong
34.2%
80th percentile in peer grouppeer median 11.1%
Debt-to-earnings ratioMedian graduate debt divided by median earnings — how heavy the debt load is versus what graduates earn. Lower is better.
Average
0.76×
56th percentile in peer grouppeer median 0.76×
Return on credentialMedian 10-year earnings divided by the four-year cost of attendance (annual cost × 4) — a rough payback ratio for the degree.
Below peers
0.24×
22nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 0.30×
Median 10-year earnings divided by the four-year cost of attendance (average annual cost × 4). A rough payback ratio: 1.0× means a graduate's annual 10-year earnings roughly equal the full four-year sticker cost. Earnings reflect federally-aided students; cost of attendance is the published sticker price before aid, so this is conservative relative to what families net of aid pay.
Field-demand outlook (10-yr)Employment-weighted 10-year BLS job-growth projection for the occupations this school's program mix feeds (U.S. all-occupations benchmark +3.1%). An indicative broad-field demand signal, not a program-specific or placement guarantee.
Outpaces job-market average
+5.5%
85th percentile in peer group
Projected 10-year (2024-34) change in U.S. employment for the occupations this institution's degrees and certificates feed, blended across its program mix. Built by mapping each CIP 2-digit field to its occupations via the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk, taking the employment-weighted average of each occupation's BLS-projected percent change, then weighting fields by the institution's latest-year completions. The U.S. all-occupations benchmark is 3.1%, so a higher value means the school's graduates concentrate in faster-growing labor markets. An INDICATIVE field-level signal at broad-field granularity — not a program-specific or graduate-specific projection, and not a placement or earnings guarantee. Structurally diffuse CIP families whose crosswalk maps to 'any job' are excluded from the signal: 05 Area/Ethnic/Gender Studies, 24 Liberal Arts & Humanities, and 30 Multi/Interdisciplinary. Shown where at least 50% of completions fall in fields with a coherent occupational mapping and the school reports 100+ annual completions.
Loan repayment rate (3-yr)
25.5%
36th percentile in peer grouppeer median 28.8%
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)

South University-Columbia’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
Health Professions & Clinical Sciences33$60,896
33th pct · 9 peers
—Above benchmark +77%Moderate · 50
Business, Management & Marketing10$53,445
22th pct · 9 peers
—Above benchmark +55%Moderate · 50
Psychology7$39,694
40th pct · 5 peers
—Above benchmark +15%Low · 30
Legal Professions & Studies5$49,335—Above benchmark +43%Low · 25
Computer & Information Sciences1$58,915
25th pct · 8 peers
—Above benchmark +71%Moderate · 50
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting1$46,322
22th pct · 9 peers
—Above benchmark +35%Moderate · 50

All 6 top fields shown clear the SC state earnings-premium benchmark (indicative).

Earnings-premium status is an indicative estimate: median graduate earnings four years out vs the SC 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
What is South University-Columbia's student-faculty ratio?
South University-Columbia reports a student-faculty ratio of 14:1 (IPEDS, fall 2023) — that is, about 14 students for every instructional faculty member.
How much does South University-Columbia cost?
The average published cost of attendance is $35,322 and the average net price after aid is $27,693 (College Scorecard).
How much do South University-Columbia graduates earn?
Median earnings ten years after entry are $34,421 (College Scorecard), measured across students who received federal aid.
Are South University-Columbia's programs at risk under the federal earnings-premium test?
Indicatively, at South University-Columbia, all 6 of the largest fields with available earnings data clear the SC 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 South University-Columbia's peers?
South University-Columbia is benchmarked against 12 institutions in the Doctoral/Professional University · Private for-profit peer group; all percentiles and medians on this page are computed within that group.
Compare with peers
University of Management and TechnologyCalifornia Intercontinental UniversityNational American University-Rapid CityTaft University SystemSouth University-Savannah OnlineWalden University

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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.