vs. 177 peers in its group
Sterling College is a private nonprofit institution in Sterling, KS, classified by Carnegie as “Baccalaureate: Diverse Fields.”
It enrolls about 538 undergraduates and is benchmarked here against 177 peer institutions (Baccalaureate: Diverse Fields · Private nonprofit).
On Ibex's Financial Resilience score it rates 41 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 months of operating cushion (26.3 mo, 91st percentile).
Its weakest is avg monthly faculty salary ($4,904).
Ibex's cross-metric scan flags: Undergrad enrollment down 14% since 2016; First-year retention 50% (below 60%).
Baccalaureate: Diverse Fields · Private nonprofit
177 institutions
How exposed Sterling College 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.
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.
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.
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.
Tuition & fees is the largest single source at 41% of revenue.
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.
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.
41.3% graduate within 6 years (150% of normal time)
29% 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.
41.4% 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.
Undergraduate enrollment by race and ethnicity, as reported to IPEDS (College Scorecard). “International” denotes nonresident students; “Unknown” means race/ethnicity was not reported.
Sterling 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business, Management & Marketing | 34 | — | — | — | Low · 28 |
| Health Professions & Clinical Sciences | 18 | — | — | — | Low · 0 |
| Education | 14 | — | — | — | Low · 32 |
| Parks, Recreation & Fitness | 13 | $38,771 13th pct · 47 peers | — | Above benchmark +7% | High · 71 |
| Psychology | 10 | — | — | — | Low · 0 |
| Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting | 9 | — | — | — | Moderate · 38 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies | 8 | — | — | — | Low · 0 |
| Visual & Performing Arts | 8 | — | — | — | High · 97 |
| Biological & Biomedical Sciences | 5 | — | — | — | Moderate · 63 |
| History | 4 | — | — | — | Low · 0 |
All 1 top fields shown clear the KS state earnings-premium benchmark (indicative).
Earnings-premium status is an indicative estimate: median graduate earnings four years out vs the KS 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.
How financially healthy is Sterling College?
How selective is Sterling College?
What is Sterling College's student-faculty ratio?
How much does Sterling College cost?
How much do Sterling College graduates earn?
Are Sterling College's programs at risk under the federal earnings-premium test?
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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.
