Finances & Financial Aid
Carroll College’s FY 2024-2025 operating budget is $35.3 million. Tuition (net of unfunded aid), room, board, and fees account for 89% of the College’s operating revenue. Undergraduate annual tuition for 2024-2025 is priced at $53,030 and the average room and board package is $11,548. The College currently has a 3-year live on requirement which was implemented in Fall of 2024.
The College awards $24 million annually in institutional financial aid to undergraduate students with 99% of our students receiving aid for an average financial aid package of $33,337 awarded to first-year students. On average the percentage of need met with aid for first-year students is at 87% and the average percent of need met with aid for all students is around 83%. Federal aid awarded to students is roughly $7.4 million annually.
The operating budget supports $22.7 million in compensation funding equal to nearly 64% of the total expense budget.
Per the College’s Audited June 30, 2024, Financial Statements, the fair market value of the College’s endowment totaled $74.9 million and the book value of Carroll’s property, plant, and equipment (including construction in progress) totaled $65.5 million. Outstanding debt was under $9.8 million, with total net assets of $136 million.
As a tuition dependent institution, growth in enrollment, net tuition revenue, fundraising, and alternative revenue sources are the key areas of focus. These strategies are imperative in increasing revenue to align with the College expenses such that we are able to support the institution’s mission, vision, and goals while achieving a sustainable operating budget model.
Tuition Discount
Like most private colleges and universities, Carroll has increased its tuition discount in order to attract the students it seeks. For the Fall of 2024, Carroll’s unfunded discount rate for first-year students was 67.3% and for the entire student body at roughly 58%. Moreover, 99% of Carroll students receive financial aid in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, and work study. In addition to needs-based awards, Carroll offers scholarships for academics, athletics, forensics, theatre, music, and student government. New financial aid initiatives have included the Global Student Refugee Initiative, supported by Carroll and donors, as well as the Pell Promise for Montana Students, which ensures that eligible Pell Grant recipients from Montana can attend Carroll with full tuition coverage. While improving affordability and access for students from a wide range of backgrounds, these rising tuition discounts have put additional pressure on the operating budget.
Enrollment
After historically high enrollment during the recession, Carroll College experienced several consecutive years of enrollment decline. Throughout the pandemic, Carroll saw generally flat enrollment and recently have seen slight increases, including 4.5% growth in headcount for Fall 2024. As has been the case across the country, student interests have shifted from the humanities and social sciences to STEM, to health professions, and to pre-professional programs.
Specifically, whereas Carroll’s student body FTE enrollment in its 2015 banner class was at a near-record high of 1,427 and saw steady decline through Fall 2020, we now have an FTE enrollment of 1,194.
More positively, Carroll’s first-to-second-year retention, which has hovered in recent years around a respectable 79%, increased to 82% this fall. Carroll takes pride in how students progress academically and complete degrees at our institution. Our six-year graduation rate is 66%, the highest rate in Montana and exceptionally high in our region.
Carroll’s Board of Trustees has committees focused on Marketing and Enrollment, which includes trustees, members of the faculty, and staff members with expertise in matters of enrollment, financial aid, and communications. The committee is focused on developing new approaches to institutional positioning and enrollment initiatives, which it will recommend to the administration.
Carroll is also focused on expanding student recruitment initiatives, diversifying our enrollment, improving retention rates, and increasing our graduation rates.
Fundraising
Carroll College has set ambitious fundraising goals to secure the resources needed to support its mission and strengthen its future. As trends show a nationwide decline in the number of individual donors, Carroll is strategically shifting its focus to prioritizing relationship-based fundraising and cultivating leadership-level donors. By growing the Leadership and President’s Circles, Carroll aims to increase gifts at the $1,000+ level, laying the groundwork for major gifts of $25,000 or more, which are critical to significantly enhancing philanthropy at the College.
Over the past six years, Carroll has averaged $6 million annually in fundraising and surpassed $8 million last year. While these amounts represent progress, they have not always fully met the goals set for each year. Currently, Carroll has set a goal of $8 million for this fiscal year and is on pace to exceed it. These efforts build on the success of the MIND BODY SPIRIT campaign, which concluded in 2018 by raising $20.8 million and provided funding for significant campus improvements and initiatives.
Recent fundraising achievements, along with ongoing efforts, have supported transformative projects like the remodeling of the Corette Library and Simperman Learning Commons, the creation of the E.L. Wiegand Nursing Simulation Center, and the addition of Valley Bank Field at Nelson Stadium. Generous donors have also endowed scholarships, professorships, and academic initiatives, including the launch of the Master of Social Work program. These investments are strengthening Carroll’s academic and co-curricular offerings, benefitting both current and future students.
Looking ahead, Carroll is focused on advancing its goals to meet emerging needs. A new Physician Assistant (PA) program is in development, with a $7 million fundraising target for its first phase over the next three years. Additionally, Carroll aims to more than double unrestricted annual giving by 2029, building on last year’s $500,000 achievement. Growing the annual fund will provide critical resources to support Carroll’s operational priorities and student needs.
Carroll’s endowment has also seen remarkable growth, increasing 73% since FY2018 to reach nearly $75 million, largely as a result of positive growth in realized and unrealized investment earnings. The Office of Institutional Advancement is working to build on this success by expanding scholarship support and further increasing the endowment over the next five years. These efforts are vital to sustaining Carroll’s commitment to academic excellence, supporting faculty, and providing financial aid to students—key components of driving enrollment and strengthening the College’s future.