Baker College

Legal name: Baker of Muskegon

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
381895805
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2015
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2015
Location
Flint, MI, USA
Phone
8107664280
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$25,592,429
Expenses
$27,490,290
Assets
$48,464,572
Liabilities
$2,060,000

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Baker College is dedicated to providing accessible, career-focused education that prepares students for success in their chosen fields.

What it reported doing in 2015

The largest private college in Michigan, baker college is accredited by the higher learning commission and is a member of the north central association of colleges and schools. It is a non-profit higher education institution, serving students at locations throughout Michigan and online worldwide. Baker of muskegon provides certificate, associate, and bachelor degrees in various service and technical fields. For the 2015-16 fiscal year, baker of muskegon had a total of 3,287 students with a total of 91,452 credit hours. $2,845,299 was awarded in scholarships to 1,702 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 94% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 81
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.5%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 73%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 99.8%; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 12th 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: -7.4%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.76; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.2%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -14.4% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -10.1% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.1% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 78.5% of revenue deployed · 73% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $20.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $469K · 20 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $402K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2009 to 2015
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 14 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.