Baker College
Legal name: Baker College Professional Services
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 383043861
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2023
- Location
- Owosso, MI, USA
- Phone
- (855) 487-7888
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Undergraduate College (4-year)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $50,817,579
- Expenses
- $72,966,621
- Assets
- $155,860,866
- Liabilities
- $104,511,166
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
19 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- BART DAIG (FORMER BOARD OF REGENTS/PRESIDENT CEO/TRUSTEE)
Highest reported compensation
- JACQUELINE SPICER (COO): $460,014 total reported compensation
- AARON MAIKE (VP CAMPUS ADMIN/ENGAGE): $264,600 total reported compensation
- SCOTT WOOD (CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER): $219,500 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Baker College has been empowering students for more than a century, driven by a clear mission: to deliver a transformative, student-centered education that opens doors to lifelong academic and professional success. Founded in 1911, Baker College offers associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees across Michigan and online. Our student-first philosophy is the cornerstone of our mission, ensuring students have access to comprehensive, quality education and support from start to finish. Through student success teams, mentorship programs, and multicultural services, we foster community and inclusivity, preparing students to thrive in a diverse and interconnected world. We recognize that earning a degree is just one aspect of your busy life. That’s why we prioritize maintaining a personal and friendly atmosphere on each of our campuses. With small class sizes, we ensure that...
What it reported doing in 2024
A private college in Michigan, baker college is accredited by the higher learning commission and is a member of hlc. Baker college is a non-profit higher education institution, serving students at locations throughout Michigan and online worldwide. Baker college subordinate organizations provide certificate, associate, bachelor, master, and doctorate degrees in various service and technical fields. For the 2024-25 fiscal year, baker college had a total of 3,853 students with a total of 85,868 credit hours. Awarded $8,320,935 in scholarships to 4,110 students.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 80% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 86% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and liabilities are high compared with assets.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 87
- Sustainability: 26
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 81.9%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 77.8%; rating input score 78; 26th 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: -43.6%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.14; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.67; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $59.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $460K · 19 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.5M reported
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
- 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.