Arcadia University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
231352620
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Glenside, PA, USA
Phone
1-877-ARCADIA (1-877-272-2342)
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
University or Technological Institute

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$187,602,000
Expenses
$191,453,000
Assets
$243,615,000
Liabilities
$104,095,000

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AJAY NAIR (PRESIDENT)
  • ANDREW LAW (CEO, ARCADIA ABROAD)

Highest reported compensation

  • AJAY NAIR (PRESIDENT): $625,338 total reported compensation
  • JOAN SINGLETON (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $401,021 total reported compensation
  • JEFFREY RUTENBECK (PROVOST/SVP ACADEMIC AFFAIRS): $354,028 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Arcadia university's pioneering, global, integrated, liberal arts, and professional learning experience cultivates leaders who are intellectually fearless and uniquely prepared for life and work. Our highly regarded, values-based learning community reflects the world in which we want to live.

What it reported doing in 2024

We believe that living in close proximity to people from different backgrounds is a critically important way for students to learn important life skills, and we treat residential life as an important opportunity for learning. Our desire is to ensure that students' living arrangements support and enhance their educational work and goals. While our primary goal is to provide safe living environments conducive to study and academic success, we encourage and support the development of the following core competencies in our students: diversity and inclusion; global perspectives; civic engagement; citizenship; self-advocacy; problem-solving; respect for others; and the development of identity, purpose, and integrity. Within the residence halls and apartments, an engaged team of professional and paraprofessional staff use the physical structure of the living environment as a tool to maximize learning moments and challenge students to develop and apply these competencies.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 95% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 66% for direct work, and 34% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.5%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 82.8%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.1%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.27; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.2%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.1% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 83.5% of revenue deployed · 82.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $158.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $625K · 32 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $11.8M reported
  • Consistency: 43 of 43 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.