Milwaukee School of Engineering

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
390477970
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Milwaukee, WI, United States
Phone
(800) 332-6763
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Graduate, Professional Schools (Separate Entities)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$211,353,854
Expenses
$190,175,200
Assets
$444,496,462
Liabilities
$34,447,704

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

Leadership & pay

55 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN WALZ (PRESIDENT)
  • DANIEL BERGEN (SENIOR ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN WALZ (PRESIDENT): $670,202 total reported compensation
  • PAUL MATSON (VP - FINANCE AND CFO): $327,541 total reported compensation
  • ERIC BAUMGARTNER (EVP - ACADEMICS): $323,508 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Mission, Vision and Values Our Mission Inspires Us. MSOE is the university of choice for those seeking an inclusive community of experiential learners driven to solve the complex challenges of today and tomorrow. Inspires Us. Our Vision Challenges Us. Dr. Walz served as the fifth president in MSOE’s 122-year history, from 2016 through 2025. On Jan. 1, 2026 he transitioned into his new role as President Emeritus, where his efforts are focused on fundraising and external outreach to support the university’s Next Bold Step campaign and long-term strategic priorities. The Impact of Dr. John Walz Dr. John WalzThe impact of Walz’s leadership can be seen across campus in new construction, programs, and developments that enhanced...

What it reported doing in 2024

Milwaukee school of engineering (msoe) is a nonprofit, nonsectarian university providing a balanced education at the undergraduate and graduate level in the disciplines of engineering, business, mathematics, and nursing. Milwaukee school of engineering is the university of choice for those seeking an inclusive community of experiential learners driven to solve the complex challenges of today and tomorrow. Total student enrollment for the fall of 2024-25 was approximately 2,956, of which 2,705 were undergraduates and 251 were graduate students. Msoe is at the forefront of applied ai education. With ai interwoven throughout the curriculum at msoe and ai-centered courses across disciplines, students are empowered to delve deep into theory and gain practical experience exploring hands-on projects.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 76% 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 51% for direct work, and 49% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 63
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.5%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 96.4%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.34; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 88.5% of revenue deployed · 96.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 40 of 40 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $183.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $670K · 55 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $8M reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 13 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.