Frontier Nursing University Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
611124267
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jun 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Versailles, KY, USA
Phone
8592514700
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$50,146,239
Expenses
$47,702,191
Assets
$137,753,660
Liabilities
$27,468,479

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR SUSAN STONE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (PART-YEAR))
  • DR BROOKE FLINDERS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (PART-YEAR))

Highest reported compensation

  • DR SUSAN STONE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (PART-YEAR)): $578,052 total reported compensation
  • JOAN SLAGER (DEAN): $260,311 total reported compensation
  • SHELLEY ALDRIDGE (CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER): $232,462 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See schedule o. Our mission is to provide a high-quality education that prepares nurses to become competent, entrepreneurial, ethical and compassionate nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to work with all people, with an emphasis on rural and underserved communities. We transform the health and well-being of individuals, families, and populations, and to promote healthcare equity by increasing access to highly skilled nurse-midwives and advanced practice nurses.

What it reported doing in 2024

Frontier nursing university (fnu) has been providing quality education to nurses seeking advanced degrees since 1939. Fnu offers a high-quality education that prepares nurses to become competent, entrepreneurial, ethical and compassionate nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners who will provide primary care for women and families residing in all areas, with a focus on rural and medically underserved populations. Fnu fulfills our mission by operating accredited distance education programs, which allow nurses from across the nation to achieve their higher education dreams without leaving their work or home. The primary tenet is healthcare professionals who are educated in their communities will remain to serve their home communities.(continued on schedule o)fnu currently offers the following programs: - a post-masters doctor of nursing practice (dnp) degree for nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives. - a master of science in nursing (msn) + companion dnp program with four tracks as options: nurse-midwife, family nurse practitioner, women's health care nurse practitioner, and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.since achieving institutional accreditation in 2004, total enrollment has grown from 200 students to more than 2,700 students. Frontier nursing university continues to be the leading school in the united states for nurse- midwifery education, graduating over one-third of new nurse-midwives annually. Our other programs continue to grow and we have over 8,000 alumni who are making a difference as primary care providers daily in the lives of communities nationwide, particularly those in rural and underserved communities. Fnu graduates are providing primary healthcare to rural and underserved families in every state in the united states as well as several foreign countries. The quality and academic rigor of a frontier nursing university education are evident in the certification pass rates of our graduates. Certification results from 2021 revealed that pass rates of the graduates of the frontier family nurse practitioner program, nurse-midwifery program, women's health care nurse practitioner program, and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner program all exceeded national averages.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 94% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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

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: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.3%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 79.7%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

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: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • 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: Yes; rating input score 100

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: 4.9%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.89; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 75.3% of revenue deployed · 79.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $38M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $578K · 26 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 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.

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 16/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.