Felician University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
221912028
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2021
Location
Rutherford, NJ, USA
Phone
201.559.6000
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$84,830,273
Expenses
$92,365,993
Assets
$84,235,197
Liabilities
$36,844,722

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

Leadership & pay

34 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR MILDRED MIHLON (PRESIDENT)
  • THOMAS TRUCHAN (VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE AND CFO)
  • MICHAEL MARKOWITZ (VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS)
  • PRISCILLA KLYMENKO (VICE PRESIDENT OF ENROLLMENT MGT.)
  • JANEL OWENS (VICE PRESIDENT OF STUDENT AFFAIRS)
  • JAMES W CRAWFORD III (PAST PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JAMES W CRAWFORD III (PAST PRESIDENT): $390,385 total reported compensation
  • DR MILDRED MIHLON (PRESIDENT): $334,445 total reported compensation
  • THOMAS TRUCHAN (VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE AND CFO): $216,514 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Felician University is an independent co-educational Catholic/Franciscan University founded and sponsored by the Felician Sisters to educate a diverse population of students within the framework of a liberal arts tradition, providing a full complement of learning experiences to bring students to their highest potential.

What it reported doing in 2024

Felician university continues to enroll students throughout the tri-state region and the world. Flagship programs like nursing and education continue to attract students, while new offerings in emerging business areas, the 5-year mba program, and the addition of new doctoral programs are attracting an increasingly diverse applicant pool. The university enrolled 2,840 students in the 2024-25 academic year. New nursing simulation labs, study abroad programs, and a state-of-the-art health and wellness facility on the rutherford campus have expanded student life activities, resulting in a strong increase in campus community and retention.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 91% 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 61% for direct work, and 39% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 92.4%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.47 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -8.9%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.91; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.44; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.5%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 24th 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 · 92.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 24 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $85.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $390K · 34 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5.1M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.