Butler University

What it reported doing in 2024

Education: butler university delivers an outstanding education steeped in the liberal arts and coupled with experiential learning opportunities that include internships, study abroad, service projects, and scholarly research. Through this comprehensive approach, we prepare students to step directly into a career or graduate school with confidence. The university's most recent placement rate was 98 percent, including 25 percent that went on to attend graduate school or participate in a gap-year program. In its rankings for 2026, u.s. News and world report named butler the no. 1 school among midwest regional universities for the eighth consecutive year and the most innovative school in the midwest for the eleventh consecutive year. The university also was listed among the best for undergraduate teaching, first-year experiences, and study abroad. Auxiliary: butler arts and events center (baec): butler arts and events center is a home for passion, creativity, education, and the highest caliber of professional and student performances. With over 300 student, faculty, and professional performances each year, baec includes clowes memorial hall, schrott center for the arts, shelton auditorium, the krannert room, eidson-duckwall recital hall, and lilly hall studio theatre and is a destination for exceptional arts and entertainment experiences and an incubator for outstanding arts professionals. Health and recreation complex: a health and recreation complex that is equipped with recreation courts, an indoor jogging track, an aquatics area, a weight and fitness space, and lounge opened in fall 2006. Students enrolled in at least 12 credit hours are automatic members. Membership is also available to university faculty, staff, alumni, and a limited number of community members. Athletics: butler university participates in intercollegiate athletics at the ncaa division i level. Nineteen of butler's 20 teams compete in the big east, while the football program is a member of the pioneer football league. The bulldogs have a long history of athletic success, including back-to-back trips to the ncaa division i men's basketball national championship game in 2010 and 2011, and the university is home to one of the nation's great intercollegiate basketball facilities, hinkle fieldhouse. For more information about butler athletics, visit www.butlersports.com. Room and board: butler students can choose from a number of housing options, including a residential apartment village for juniors and seniors, an apartment-style residence hall, two coeducational residence halls, and 13 fraternities and sororities. A 660-bed modern, suite-style housing facility - predominately for sophomores - opened in fall 2016, and a 647-bed, suite-style residence hall for first-year students opened in fall 2018. All butler undergraduates are required to live on campus for six academic year semesters.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 86.4%; rating input score 86
• Program expense ratio: 84.7%; rating input score 85
• Fundraising efficiency: $13.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 95%; rating input score 95; 34th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • 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: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 93.5%; rating input score 94; 44th 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: 2.4%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.22; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 1.7%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings