Mississippi Christian University

Legal name: Mississippi College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
640303086
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Clinton, MS, US
Phone
601.925.3000
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$140,448,605
Expenses
$130,400,343
Assets
$279,583,852
Liabilities
$45,535,788

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

Leadership & pay

46 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAMES B THOMPSON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JAMES B THOMPSON (PRESIDENT): $390,868 total reported compensation
  • MIKE HIGHFIELD (EXEXUTIVE VP, PROVOST): $310,027 total reported compensation
  • JOHN P ANDERSON (DEAN LAW SCHOOL): $303,704 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Mississippi Christian University is a private Christian university that connects faith and education, preparing students for lives of leadership and service.

What it reported doing in 2024

Educational and general expenses: instruction is provided to more than 5,000 students with undergradutate, graduate and doctoral programs and degrees. The university is committed to excellence and innovation in teaching and learning. Tuition and fee revenue are used to pay salaries of faculty and staff and provide teaching facilities and necessary supplies. Grants: the university awarded over $47 million in financial aid to students during the 2024-2025 aid year and made over $75,000 in grants to organizations that support student ministries on campus.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 88% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 58% for direct work, and 42% for grants.

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: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.1%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 88%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th 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: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 87.9%; rating input score 88; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.2%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.14; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.2%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 9 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 91.1% of revenue deployed · 88% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 33 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $114.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $391K · 46 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $13.4M reported
  • Consistency: 46 of 46 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 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: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.