University of the People
Pasadena, CA · official site ↗
Private nonprofitProfessions-focused Undergraduate/Graduate-Master's Large/MediumVery large
2
Fin. Resilience
University of the People is a private nonprofit institution in Pasadena, CA, classified by Carnegie as “Professions-focused Undergraduate/Graduate-Master's Large/Medium.”
It enrolls about 22,688 undergraduates and is benchmarked here against 45 peer institutions (Professions-focused Undergraduate/Graduate-Master's Large/Medium · Private nonprofit).
On Ibex's Financial Resilience score it rates 2 out of 100 within that peer group, a transparent composite of endowment per undergraduate, net tuition revenue per student, and instructional spend per student.
That score and the financial health index below are not the same measure and can disagree: the resilience score ranks per-student resource levels against this peer group, while the financial health index scores the institution's own balance sheet and operating result on the CFI scale, independent of peers. A school with modest resources per student can still run a sound balance sheet, and a wealthy one can still post an operating loss.
Its strongest standing relative to peers is enrollment momentum (CAGR) (35.9%, 99th percentile).
Its weakest is endowment (end of year) ($665,467).
Peer group
Professions-focused Undergraduate/Graduate-Master's Large/Medium · Private nonprofit
45 institutions
No cross-metric risk flags triggered.
What changedlargest year-over-year moves
Endowment (end of year)
▲ +26%
$529,668 → $665,467
2022→2023
Net tuition revenue / FTE
▼ -19%
$677 → $549
2023→2024
Undergraduate enrollment
▲ +18%
19,276 → 22,688
2023→2024
In-state tuition & fees
▲ +17%
$1,200 → $1,400
2023→2024
Instructional spend / FTE
▼ -9%
$219 → $199
2023→2024
Graduation rate (6-yr · first-time, full-time)
▼ -3.2 pts
36.7% → 33.5%
2023→2024
Most recent single-year change in each tracked metric (rates in percentage points). Green = moved in this metric’s favorable direction, red = unfavorable, grey = size or context, not scored. Each row uses the latest pair of years that metric has, and federal collections release on different schedules, so the years differ from row to row: read the years on the row, not just the ranking. A single year is also not a trend, the multi-year series is on each metric’s card below.
Policy & demographic exposure
How exposed University of the People 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 indexAn indicative 0–100 structural-risk index (higher = more pressure) blending operating margin, months of cash cushion, tuition dependency and the home-state enrollment cliff. Screens for the financial and demographic strain that precedes closures and mergers, directional, not a prediction.
80
HighEnrollment 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%. This is a directional feeder-market signal, not an enrollment forecast.
-27.7%
Severe declineIndicative 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 exposed, and “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, and the rest are working mockups we build to your institution’s data.
Financial Health Index
2.0
on a −4 to 10 scale
Primary reserve 55%0 mo
Return on net assets 30%8%
Operating result 15%7%
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.
Enrollment shock
What an enrollment loss would do to the budgetTuition revenue falls with the students. Every other revenue line and the entire cost base stay where they are. It measures the size of the hole a decline would open, not what the institution would end up reporting after it responded.
Tuition and fees fund 100% of this institution’s operating revenue, and it runs a 7.0% operating margin. It could lose about 7.0% of its enrollment before the surplus becomes a deficit, if nothing else changed.
-3.3%
operating margin after the loss, with costs unchanged
A deliberately simple counterfactual: net tuition per student and total costs stay where the latest IPEDS finance filing put them, so only the tuition line moves. No institution facing this would hold costs flat, which is the point, the figure is the gap that would have to be closed, not a forecast of the margin it would report. A school that responds by discounting harder to hold headcount converts the same problem into a net-price one, and it does not show up here.
Revenue composition
Where the money comes from
$19.3M total revenue · IPEDS FY2022-23
Tuition & fees is the largest single source at 72% of revenue.
Tuition & fees72.2%
Private gifts & grants27.6%
Investment return0.2%
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
The bar under each rank is the spread across the peer group: the shaded box is the middle half, the pale line is their median, and the gold marker is this institution. Hover for the figures.
Net tuition revenue / FTETuition revenue per full-time-equivalent student after institutional aid/discounts, what tuition nets.Calculated from filings
Below peers
$549
1st percentile in peer grouppeer median $13,368
higher is better
2024-25 (Scorecard)45 peers
Instructional spend / FTESpending on instruction per FTE student, how much of the budget reaches the classroom.Calculated from filings
Below peers
$199
1st percentile in peer grouppeer median $7,038
higher is better
2024-25 (Scorecard)45 peers
Endowment (end of year)Total endowment value at year end, long-term invested wealth that funds operations and cushions shocks.As filed
Below peers
$665,467
1st percentile in peer grouppeer median $58.6M
higher is better
FY2022-2343 peers
Value of endowment assets at the end of the fiscal year (IPEDS finance, FY2022-23: FASB F2H02 / GASB F1H02), co-vintage with the other finance-year metrics on this page. Usually filed at the parent campus: most branch and online sub-units show the parent's endowment as a clearly labeled inherited value, and a few report a small endowment of their own alongside it. Multi-year trend from College Scorecard, shown only where it matches the IPEDS filing.
In-state tuition & feesPublished price before any aid. Shown as context, not as good or bad: at most private colleges almost nobody pays it, and a high sticker often sits on top of deep discounting, so a cheaper-looking school can cost a given family more. Compare schools on net price instead. Sticker price is here because it is what gets quoted.Published in-state tuition and fees before aid (sticker price).As filed
$1,400
1st percentile in peer grouppeer median $35,670
context, not scored
2024-25 (Scorecard)44 peers
Out-of-state tuition & feesPublished price before any aid. Shown as context, not as good or bad: at most private colleges almost nobody pays it, and a high sticker often sits on top of deep discounting, so a cheaper-looking school can cost a given family more. Compare schools on net price instead. Sticker price is here because it is what gets quoted.Published out-of-state tuition and fees before aid (sticker price).As filed
$1,400
1st percentile in peer grouppeer median $35,670
context, not scored
2024-25 (Scorecard)44 peers
Endowment per undergradEndowment divided by undergraduate headcount. The two numbers come from different collections and different years, so read it as an order of magnitude rather than a precise figure. Not shown where the school enrolls fewer than 100 undergraduates; see endowment per FTE.Endowment divided by undergraduate headcount, endowment wealth behind each undergrad.Calculated from filings
Below peers
$29
3rd percentile in peer grouppeer median $14,067
higher is better
FY2022-23 endowment / 2024-25 enrollment43 peers
Two collections, two dates: IPEDS reports the endowment for fiscal 2022-23 and the College Scorecard reports the 2024-25 headcount it is divided by. Treat it as an order-of-magnitude comparison, not a to-the-dollar figure.
Operating marginOperating surplus or deficit as a share of operating revenue, leaving out investment swings and capital gifts: whether day-to-day operations run in the black.Calculated from filings
Strong
7%
65th percentile in peer grouppeer median 3.8%
higher is better
FY2022-2344 peers
Operating result as a share of operating revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23): the IPEDS net operating revenue ratio, the same figure the Financial Health Index uses. It leaves out capital appropriations, capital gifts and additions to endowment, and for private nonprofits counts only unrestricted revenue, so a one-year swing in investment markets or a building grant does not read as an operating surplus or deficit. For-profit institutions: (revenue excluding investment return − total expenses) ÷ that revenue. A surplus above 4% is strong. A thin surplus near 0% leaves little margin for shocks. Values beyond ±100% are not shown.
Tuition dependencyNet tuition as a share of operating revenue, how exposed the budget is to enrollment swings.Calculated from filings
100%
98th percentile in peer grouppeer median 70.3%
context, not scored
FY2022-2344 peers
Tuition and fees as a share of operating revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23), the same revenue base as the operating margin, so the two combine correctly in the enrollment-loss scenario. Operating revenue leaves out capital appropriations, capital gifts and endowment additions, and for private nonprofits counts unrestricted revenue only, so this share can run a few points above the tuition slice of the revenue-mix chart, which divides by every revenue source. For public institutions the base is the IPEDS consolidated figure, which can include component units such as foundations and university health systems, so a public with a large hospital shows lower dependency than its campus budget alone would. Not shown where the operating margin is not shown. Higher = more exposed to enrollment swings.
Tuition discount rateInstitutional grant aid as a share of gross tuition (IPEDS, private nonprofits only), the tuition-discount rate. This is the share of sticker tuition handed back as aid. A high rate signals heavy price competition for students.Calculated from filings
0%
1st percentile in peer grouppeer median 33.6%
context, not scored
FY2022-2341 peers
Institutional grant aid as a share of gross tuition and fee revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23, FASB): tuition allowances funded by the school itself (endowment, gifts and other institutional money) ÷ (net tuition revenue + all allowances applied to tuition). Pell, other federal, state and local grants are left out of the numerator because they are not the school's discount. Private nonprofit institutions only. Public (GASB) institutions report tuition differently and are not shown. Also not shown where a school books most of its own aid as scholarship expense instead of as a tuition allowance, because this measure cannot see that aid. The rate covers all students, undergraduate and graduate, so it runs well below NACUBO's widely quoted average, which covers first-time, full-time freshmen only.
State appropriations shareState appropriations' share of total revenue, material for public institutions, near zero for private.Calculated from filings
0%
42nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 0%
context, not scored
FY2022-2343 peers
State appropriations as a share of total revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23). Material for public institutions, ~0 for private.
Months of operating cushionMonths of operating expenses covered by expendable reserves, the institution's cash cushion.Calculated from filings
Thin
0 mo
5th percentile in peer grouppeer median 7.9 mo
higher is better
FY2022-2342 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.
Return on net assetsChange in net assets over the year, whether the institution grew wealthier.Calculated from filings
Strong
8%
73rd percentile in peer grouppeer median 5.3%
higher is better
FY2022-2342 peers
Change in total net assets ÷ net assets (IPEDS FY2022-23), whether the institution grew wealthier over the year. 2–4% is adequate, and above 4% is strong.
Endowment per FTE studentEndowment per full-time-equivalent student, the FTE-correct measure of endowment wealth per student.Calculated from filings
Below peers
$32
3rd percentile in peer grouppeer median $11,317
higher is better
FY2022-2343 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. Both sides are FY2022-23: the denominator is the FTE count from the endowment's own year (2022-23), not the newer FTE figure shown in the enrollment section, so dividing the two numbers on this page will not reproduce this one. Where one campus files finance for sister campuses that share its federal ID, the endowment covers all of them, so their FTE is counted too.
Spent on instructionInstruction as a share of total functional expenses (private-nonprofit reporting).Calculated from filings
24.3%
15th percentile in peer grouppeer median 33.8%
context, not scored
FY2022-23 (IPEDS)44 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. It is 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 servicesStudent services as a share of total functional expenses (private-nonprofit reporting).Calculated from filings
5.2%
1st percentile in peer grouppeer median 19.3%
context, not scored
FY2022-23 (IPEDS)44 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 supportAcademic support as a share of total functional expenses (private-nonprofit reporting).Calculated from filings
13.7%
83rd percentile in peer grouppeer median 8.5%
context, not scored
FY2022-23 (IPEDS)44 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 researchResearch as a share of total functional expenses (private-nonprofit reporting).Calculated from filings
0%
33rd percentile in peer grouppeer median 0%
context, not scored
FY2022-23 (IPEDS)44 peers
Research spending divided by total functional expenses (IPEDS Finance, FY2022-23 (FASB)). Private-nonprofit (FASB) institutions only. It runs near zero at teaching-focused colleges and sizeable at research universities. Spending-mix context, not a quality measure.
Structural risk indexAn indicative 0–100 structural-risk index (higher = more pressure) blending operating margin, months of cash cushion, tuition dependency and the home-state enrollment cliff. Screens for the financial and demographic strain that precedes closures and mergers, directional, not a prediction.Blended index
High
80
FY2022-23 (IPEDS) with WICHE 2024 projections
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. For-profit institutions report no operating-cushion figure and nearly all of them run close to 100% tuition dependency, so their index rests on at most three signals and reads higher than a nonprofit's; compare a for-profit with other for-profits. Built from the FY2022-23 IPEDS finance filing, the most recent one published, combined with WICHE's high-school-graduate projections. The finance side is two to three years old, so a school that has since raised money, cut costs or lost enrollment will not be reflected here. It is a structural signal, not a current diagnosis, and it is not a prediction that any named institution will close.
Enrollment loss before deficitHow much of its enrollment the institution could lose before running an operating deficit, if it changed nothing else.Modelled by Ibex
Some cushion
7%
51st percentile in peer grouppeer median 6.3%
higher is better
FY2022-2344 peers
The share of its students an institution could lose before its operating surplus becomes a deficit, assuming net tuition per student and total costs stay where they are. It comes straight from two figures in the same IPEDS finance filing: the operating margin, and tuition's share of the same operating revenue. A school with a 3% surplus that funds 85% of itself from tuition can absorb about a 3.5% enrollment loss. The same 3% surplus at a school funding a quarter of itself from tuition absorbs about 12%. Zero means the institution is already running a deficit. Where the surplus is larger than all tuition revenue, no enrollment loss alone produces a deficit and no figure is shown. It is not a prediction: no institution facing that loss would hold costs flat, and the number is the size of the hole that would have to be closed, not the outcome. Banded against the school's peer group. Higher is better.
Operating margin after a 10% enrollment lossWhat the operating margin becomes if a tenth of the students go and nothing else changes.Modelled by Ibex
Into deficit
-3.3%
51st percentile in peer grouppeer median -3.6%
higher is better
FY2022-2344 peers
The institution's operating margin recomputed after losing one student in ten, holding net tuition per student and total costs constant. Tuition revenue falls with the students. Every other revenue line and the whole cost base stay put. A tenth is the scale of decline the demographic projections already put on several states' high-school graduating classes, so it is a scenario rather than a worst case. Not a forecast: a real institution would cut costs, and this measures the gap it would have to cut, not what it would end up reporting. Built from the operating margin and tuition dependency in the same IPEDS filing. Banded against the school's peer group. Higher is better.
Shown exactly as the institution filed it. The value falls outside the normal range for this measure, which usually means a reporting quirk rather than a real figure, so read it with care.
Graduation & completion
Graduation rate · first-time, full-time
33.5%
33.5% graduate within 6 years (150% of normal time)
17% 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
–
Not reported for this institution.
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
The bar under each rank is the spread across the peer group: the shaded box is the middle half, the pale line is their median, and the gold marker is this institution. Hover for the figures.
Undergraduate enrollmentNumber of degree-seeking undergraduates (IPEDS fall headcount). A size measure, not a quality signal.As filed
22,688
94th percentile in peer grouppeer median 3,144
context, not scored
2024-25 (Scorecard)45 peers
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.As filed
Below peers
33.5%
15th percentile in peer grouppeer median 55.4%
higher is better
2024-25 (Scorecard) · cohort of 79343 peers
Share of first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen who earned a bachelor's at this institution within six years (150% of normal time), per College Scorecard. The number of students in the entering cohort is shown under the figure. Where that cohort is smaller than 30 students no rate is published: a graduation rate over a handful of students moves by whole percentage points per student and is not a result.
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 usually runs below the six-year rate, because many students take a fifth or sixth year. The two are not the same students: the on-time rate is measured on a class that entered two years after the one behind the six-year rate, so at a school whose outcomes are moving the newer class can post the higher figure.As filed
Below peers
17%
13th percentile in peer grouppeer median 42.3%
higher is better
2024-25 (Scorecard) · cohort of 58243 peers
Share of first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen who earned a bachelor's within four years (100% of normal time), per College Scorecard. The number of students in the entering cohort is shown under the figure, and no rate is published on a cohort smaller than 30. This rate and the six-year rate are measured on classes that entered two years apart, so at a school whose outcomes are moving they will not always fall in the order you would expect.
Pell recipient shareShare of undergraduates receiving a Pell grant, the standard proxy for how many low-income students a school enrolls. Not scored in either direction: it is a measure of who a school serves, and both a high and a low share are defensible depending on the mission.Share of undergraduates on a federal Pell Grant, a proxy for the share from lower-income families.As filed
0%
1st percentile in peer grouppeer median 31.8%
context, not scored
2024-25 (Scorecard)45 peers
Adult learners (25+)Share of undergraduates aged 25 or older.As filed
72.9%
88th percentile in peer grouppeer median 17.5%
context, not scored
2023-24 (Scorecard)45 peers
Share of undergraduates aged 25 or older (College Scorecard, 2023-24). 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. From the College Scorecard 2023-24 data file.
Part-time undergraduatesShare of undergraduates enrolled part-time.As filed
34.5%
81st percentile in peer grouppeer median 13.5%
context, not scored
2024-25 (Scorecard)45 peers
Share of undergraduates enrolled part-time (College Scorecard, 2024-25). 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.
Women (share of undergraduates)Share of undergraduates who are women.As filed
47.4%
14th percentile in peer grouppeer median 56.4%
context, not scored
2024-25 (Scorecard)45 peers
Share of undergraduates who are women (College Scorecard, 2024-25). Reported as context on the student mix, not a measure of quality.
Transfer-out rateShare of students who transfer out. Not scored: it runs high at access-oriented and two-year feeder schools whose students are supposed to move on to a four-year program.Share of students who transfer to a different school within the tracking window. Shown as context, not quality.As filed
1%
43rd percentile in peer grouppeer median 10%
context, not scored
2024-25 (Scorecard)43 peers
Share of students who transfer OUT to a different institution within the tracking window (College Scorecard, 2024-25). Reported as context, not a quality measure: it runs high at access-oriented schools whose students routinely move on to another institution, and it should be read together with the completion and retention figures rather than on its own.
12-month FTE enrollmentFull-time-equivalent enrollment over the full year, the denominator for per-student finance measures.As filed
27,070
94th percentile in peer grouppeer median 4,130
context, not scored
2023-24 (IPEDS)45 peers
Full-time-equivalent enrollment over the full 12-month year (IPEDS 12-month enrollment, 2023-24). 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.As filed
27:1
92nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 15:1
context, not scored
Fall 202345 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 studentsShare of students enrolled exclusively in distance-education (online) courses.As filed
100%
97th percentile in peer grouppeer median 22%
context, not scored
Fall 2023 (IPEDS)45 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 shiftProjected change in the non-white share of the home state's public high-school graduating class, class of 2025 to 2037.Modelled by Ibex
+5 pts
WICHE 2024 (11th ed.)
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.
Hybrid (some online) enrollmentShare of students enrolled in some but not all courses online (hybrid), Fall 2023.As filed
0%
6th percentile in peer grouppeer median 22%
context, not scored
Fall 202345 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. Shown as a position within the peer group, not as a score.
Transfer-in share (undergraduate)Transfer-in students as a share of undergraduate enrollment, Fall 2023.As filed
0.8%
1st percentile in peer grouppeer median 7.5%
context, not scored
Fall 202345 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. Shown as a position within the peer group, not as a score.
Graduate share of enrollmentGraduate students as a share of total enrollment, Fall 2023.As filed
15.1%
34th percentile in peer grouppeer median 19.3%
context, not scored
Fall 202345 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. Shown as a position within the peer group, not as a score.
Direct competitors within 100 miCount of other institutions within 100 miles. Scored as lower-is-better because it is used here as a competitive-pressure signal for the institution, not as a benefit to students.Number of institutions in the same peer group within 100 miles.Calculated from filings
Strong
0
21st percentile in peer grouppeer median 1
lower is better
2024-25 (Scorecard universe)45 peers
How many institutions in the same Ibex peer group, the schools most likely to compete for the same students, sit within roughly 100 miles. For most schools the peer group is the same Carnegie classification and control. Schools in small classes sit in broader fallback groups by level, sector or region (see Peer groups in the methodology), and for them the count is looser. 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 power.
States recruited fromNumber of distinct US states sending at least one first-time student.Calculated from filings
Below peers
12
18th percentile in peer grouppeer median 25
higher is better
Fall 202242 peers
How many distinct US states the school's first-time degree-seeking class is drawn from (IPEDS Residence and Migration, Fall 2022). A higher count signals broader geographic reach and less dependence on any single state's shrinking pool of high school graduates. A low count means the school recruits from a narrow region and is more exposed to that region's demographic decline. Banded against the school's peer group.
Foreign first-time shareShare of first-time students whose legal residence is a foreign country.As filed
86.2%
99th percentile in peer grouppeer median 0.3%
context, not scored
Fall 202244 peers
Share of the school's first-time degree-seeking class whose legal residence is outside the United States (IPEDS Residence and Migration, Fall 2022). A measure of international reach in the entering class. Neither high nor low is inherently better. It is context for tuition-revenue mix and exposure to visa and geopolitical risk. Shown as a position within the peer group, not as a score.
Metro-area unemployment rateUnemployment rate in the school's metro area, ACS 2020-24.As filed
Below peers
6.8%
87th percentile in peer grouppeer median 5.1%
lower is better
ACS 2020-2443 peers
The civilian unemployment rate in the school's metropolitan or micropolitan area (US Census ACS 2020-24, 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.
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%. This is a directional feeder-market signal, not an enrollment forecast.External projection
Severe decline
-27.7%
WICHE 2024 (11th ed.) projection
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. A projection, not a measurement: WICHE's state-level forecast of high-school graduates. It describes the pool a school recruits from, not the school's own enrollment.
Shown exactly as the institution filed it. The value falls outside the normal range for this measure, which usually means a reporting quirk rather than a real figure, so read it with care.
Scholarly works publishedHow much externally funded research the institution does. Shown as scale, not quality: it reflects mission, and an institution that does no sponsored research is not thereby worse at teaching. Useful for finding peers of comparable research intensity.Lifetime indexed scholarly works (OpenAlex).As filed
646
35th percentile in peer grouppeer median 1,395
context, not scored
Jun 2026 snapshot (OpenAlex)36 peers
From OpenAlex, an open catalog of the world's scholarly works. Counts the institution's lifetime indexed research works (papers, datasets, books and other outputs). It separates research-intensive universities from teaching-focused peers and signals scholarly capacity. It is reported only where OpenAlex has a confident match to this school. Context metric, not better or worse. Shown as a position within the peer group, not as a score.
Research citationsHow much externally funded research the institution does. Shown as scale, not quality: it reflects mission, and an institution that does no sponsored research is not thereby worse at teaching. Useful for finding peers of comparable research intensity.Lifetime citations to the institution's works (OpenAlex).As filed
2,003
1st percentile in peer grouppeer median 28,425
context, not scored
Jun 2026 snapshot (OpenAlex)36 peers
From OpenAlex, an open catalog of the world's scholarly works. Counts the institution's lifetime indexed citations received by its scholarly works. It separates research-intensive universities from teaching-focused peers and signals scholarly capacity. It is reported only where OpenAlex has a confident match to this school. Context metric, not better or worse. Shown as a position within the peer group, not as a score.
Institutional h-indexHow much externally funded research the institution does. Shown as scale, not quality: it reflects mission, and an institution that does no sponsored research is not thereby worse at teaching. Useful for finding peers of comparable research intensity.Institutional h-index (OpenAlex): h works each cited ≥ h times.As filed
19
1st percentile in peer grouppeer median 74
context, not scored
Jun 2026 snapshot (OpenAlex)36 peers
From OpenAlex. The institution has an h-index of h when h of its works have each been cited at least h times: a single figure blending output and impact. Reported only where OpenAlex has a confident match. Context metric, not better or worse. Banded against peers.
Wikipedia pageviews (monthly)Average monthly English-Wikipedia pageviews, trailing 12 months.As filed
5,295
76th percentile in peer grouppeer median 2,519
context, not scored
trailing 12 mo (Wikipedia)36 peers
Average monthly views of the institution's English-Wikipedia article over the trailing 12 months (Wikimedia REST API), counting human readers only (automated crawlers excluded) and following a renamed article to its current title. A top-of-funnel public-attention proxy: how often people look the school up. Reported only where a matching Wikipedia article exists. Context metric, not better or worse. Shown as a position within the peer group, not as a score.
Year foundedYear the institution was founded (Wikidata).As filed
2012
98th percentile in peer grouppeer median 1920
context, not scored
Wikidata29 peers
The year the institution was founded, from Wikidata (the structured-data sister project of Wikipedia). An establishment and legacy signal. It is reported only where Wikidata records a founding date for a matched institution. Context, not better or worse. Banded against the school's peer group, so an earlier year ranks as more established.
In-state HS graduatesPublic + private high-school graduates in the school's state, class of 2025.External projection
469,214
96th percentile in peer grouppeer median 90,631
context, not scored
Class of 2025 (WICHE)42 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. Shown as a position within the peer group, not as a score.
Enrollment momentum (CAGR)Enrollment momentum (CAGR).Modelled by Ibex
Strong
35.9%
99th percentile in peer grouppeer median -1.5%
higher is better
2020-21 to 2024-25 (Scorecard)44 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. Where the reported count jumps by a merger or a campus consolidation brought under one institution, only the years after that jump are measured, and where too little history follows it no rate is shown. A sharp fall is measured in full: a shrinking count is the signal this metric exists to carry, not an artifact to be cut away. Where the latest year reports no undergraduates at all, no rate is shown. No rate is shown where the enrolment never reaches 25 in the measured window: on a series that small one student is a double-digit annual rate, and a percentile computed from it would rank noise. Banded against the school's peer group. The window shown is the one this school's own figure was measured over: it is shorter where the series starts late, ends early, or is cut at a reporting change, so peers are not all measured over identical years.
Net tuition revenue momentum (CAGR)Net tuition revenue momentum (CAGR).Modelled by Ibex
4.1%
90th percentile in peer grouppeer median 1.4%
context, not scored
2020-21 to 2024-25 (Scorecard)44 peers
Compound annual growth rate of net tuition revenue per full-time-equivalent student over the tracked years, in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). This is what the institution collects per student after its own discounts, not the net price a family pays (see Net price for that). A rising rate strengthens revenue but can strain affordability and yield, so it is shown as context rather than scored. Compared with the school's peer group. The window shown is the one this school's own figure was measured over: it is shorter where the series starts late, ends early, or is cut at a reporting change, so peers are not all measured over identical years.
Competing enrollment nearbyUndergraduates enrolled at same-peer-group institutions within 100 miles, per one of this school's own undergraduates.Calculated from filings
Strong
0.00×
21st percentile in peer grouppeer median 0.77×
lower is better
2024-25 (Scorecard universe)45 peers
For every undergraduate enrolled here, how many are enrolled at directly competing institutions (the same peer group: usually the same Carnegie classification and control, a broader fallback group for schools in small classes) within roughly 100 miles. It is the weight behind the competitor count on the neighbouring card: three tiny colleges nearby and one 40,000-student public are the same number of competitors and a completely different market. A value of 5x means the surrounding same-type market is five times this school's size, so a small shift in where those students choose to go moves this school's class far more than it moves theirs. Straight-line distance from campus coordinates, same 100-mile catchment as the competitor count. Banded against the school's peer group. Lower means more room to grow without taking students from a larger rival.
Consecutive years of enrollment declineHow many years in a row undergraduate enrollment has fallen, counting back from the most recent year.Modelled by Ibex
Not declining
0 yrs
31st percentile in peer grouppeer median 0 yrs
lower is better
2020-21 to 2024-25 (Scorecard)45 peers
The number of consecutive years, ending with the most recent one, in which this school's undergraduate headcount fell. Zero means the latest year was flat or up. A single down year is ordinary. Three or more in a row is the pattern that precedes program cuts and closures, and it is visible in the federal data years before it becomes public. A fall smaller than 2% counts as flat, because year-to-year reporting noise at that scale would otherwise manufacture streaks. Measured on the same window as enrollment momentum: where a merger or consolidation makes the earlier years a different institution, only the years after it are counted. Banded against the school's peer group. Lower is better. The window shown is the one this school's own figure was measured over: it is shorter where the series starts late, ends early, or is cut at a reporting change, so peers are not all measured over identical years.
Where students come from
Feeder statesThe home state of every first-time degree-seeking undergraduate in the entering class, as reported to IPEDS. Darker means a larger share of the class. The institution's own state is highlighted separately because at nearly every school it dwarfs the rest.
12 states and territories · Fall 2022
CA 2.3%GA 2.3%MD 1.5%TX 1.5%AK 0.8%
Home state of first-time degree-seeking undergraduates (IPEDS residence and migration). Each state is one square of equal size, arranged in the rough shape of the country, so a small state sending many students is as visible as a large one. The institution’s own state is shown in gold and every other state is shaded against the largest of them, not against the home state, which otherwise flattens the rest of the map. 86.2% came from outside the United States. Shares are of the whole entering class, so they do not add to 100% where students came from abroad.
Student body
Undergraduate race & ethnicity
IPEDS 2024-25
Unknown87.9%
White4.7%
Hispanic/Latino2.7%
Black2.6%
Asian1.6%
Two or more races0.5%
American Indian/Alaska Native0.1%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander0.1%
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
The bar under each rank is the spread across the peer group: the shaded box is the middle half, the pale line is their median, and the gold marker is this institution. Hover for the figures.
Share taking federal loansShare of students taking out federal loans, a borrowing-reliance signal.As filed
0%
1st percentile in peer grouppeer median 51.9%
context, not scored
2024-25 (Scorecard)45 peers
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page carries one of these labels. They are not degrees of confidence: a projection is not a worse number than a filing, it is a different kind of claim, and the distinction is invisible when both are set in the same grey card.
As filedThis is the institution's own figure as filed with a federal collection, or a federal agency's own published figure about it. Ibex has not adjusted it.
Calculated from filingsCalculated by Ibex from figures in the same federal filing, using nothing but arithmetic: a share, a ratio, or an amount per student. It is exactly as sound as the filed numbers it divides.
Blended indexA blend of several other measures on this page, combined by Ibex. The components and how they are weighted are listed in this metric's description. Reasonable people could weight them differently and get a different score.
Modelled by IbexFitted or extrapolated by Ibex from the institution's reported history. This number appears in no federal file: it is a summary of a trend, and it inherits every irregularity in the years it was fitted through.
External projectionBuilt on an external projection about the future, published by a research body rather than measured. Projections are revised as the underlying assumptions change, and this one describes a scenario, not a fact.
Frequently asked
How financially healthy is University of the People?
On the NACUBO Composite Financial Index (the −4 to 10 balance-sheet score accreditors and institutional boards use), University of the People scores 2.0 (Watch), computed from its IPEDS FY2022-23 finances. This is informational benchmarking, not a credit rating.
What is University of the People's student-faculty ratio?
University of the People reports a student-faculty ratio of 27:1 (IPEDS, fall 2023), that is, about 27 students for every instructional faculty member.
Which schools are University of the People's peers?
University of the People is benchmarked against 45 institutions in the Professions-focused Undergraduate/Graduate-Master's Large/Medium · Private nonprofit peer group. All percentiles and medians on this page are computed within that group.
Compare with peers
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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). Most figures lag the current academic year by two to three years; earnings and debt come from the 2020-21 file and a few measures from older files, and each card states its own data year. 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.