Trinity Receives an A Grade for College Financial Health

Trinity University has been listed as No. 35 in the nation for overall college financial health on Forbes’ 2024 list of college financial grades. The “A” grade—a score of 3.92 out of 4.50—indicates operational soundness and long-term balance sheet health, and made Trinity one of only four Texas schools to be listed in the top 50.

To create the list, Forbes analyzed 876 private nonprofit colleges that enroll at least 500 students using the latest available financial data from the National Center for Education Statistics, which covers the fiscal year that began in July 2021 and ended in June 2022. Forbes used a combination of nine measures, including endowment assets per full-time student, which the publication cited as the most important determinant in a college’s long-term financial health.

Institutional financial health will be a key factor in weathering the “long-forecasted demographic cliff,” Forbes notes. Starting in 2026, the article states, the number of high school graduates will drop precipitously, a direct effect of slowed birth rates during the recession between 2007-09. According to a model by Carleton College economics professor Nathan Grawe, who gave an invited talk at Trinity University last year, the traditional college-age population will decline by 15% within two years, and hundreds of colleges in the U.S. will be competing to woo a shrinking pool of available first-year students.

“Students moving onto campus in the fall will be part of the Class of 2028, and expected to graduate two years after the demographic changes will begin to affect schools,” the article says. “Anyone who wants to spend their four years on the same campus, with the same friends, professors and programs, would be wise to pick a college with strong operating revenues and balance sheet.”