Dorsey College

Legal name: Dorsey College Holdings

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
922890279
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Madison Heights, MI, USA
Phone
2485859200
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Higher Education Institutions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$52,109,019
Expenses
$51,795,167
Assets
$43,627,466
Liabilities
$45,733,176

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

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN PORTER (CORPORATE PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT (LES))
  • JOHN BARNES (CORPORATE VP/PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • JOHN O'SULLIVAN (VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN PORTER (CORPORATE PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT (LES)): $871,743 total reported compensation
  • MARK FALKOWSKI (CORPORATE SECRETARY/GENERAL COUNSEL): $477,593 total reported compensation
  • JOHN BARNES (CORPORATE VP/PRESIDENT & CEO): $360,294 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

A Trusted Michigan Career School for 90 Years... Established in downtown Detroit in 1934... In 2021, Dorsey Schools became Dorsey College. Dorsey College offers students career-focused education, now incorporating associate degree programs and the convenience and flexibility of hybrid education, which allows us to better serve our students, local employers, and the communities in which we live.

What it reported doing in 2024

Instructional - faculty, library and curriculum expense for students earning certificate and associate degrees serving approximately 2,500 students as of the fiscal year ended 6/30/2025. Approximately 5,400 students were served. Student services - along with admissions, academic services, and financial aid departments.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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. Some related-organization disclosures are missing and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.3%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 83.8%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 0.6%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.84; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.05; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.7%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 50.3% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 52.3% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.7% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 83.3% of revenue deployed · 83.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $43.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $872K · 31 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.9M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 35/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.