Stetson University

Legal name: Stetson University Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
590624416
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Deland, FL, United States
Phone
3868227015
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
University or Technological Institute

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$263,820,744
Expenses
$281,850,311
Assets
$759,170,553
Liabilities
$243,451,635

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

Leadership & pay

55 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRISTOPHER F ROELLKE (PRESIDENT/TRUSTEE)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRISTOPHER F ROELLKE (PRESIDENT/TRUSTEE): $677,663 total reported compensation
  • D BENJAMIN BARROS (DEAN AND PROFESSOR OF LAW SCHOOL): $357,089 total reported compensation
  • JEFFERY GATES (SVP, ENROLLMENT AND MARKETING): $345,622 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Stetson University's mission and values reflect a commitment to academic excellence, ethical leadership, personal growth and preparing students to create meaningful change in their communities and beyond. Mission Our mission at Stetson University is to provide an excellent education in a creative community where learning and values meet, and to foster in students the qualities of mind and heart that will prepare them to reach their full potential as informed citizens of local communities and the world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Educational: the university provides high quality educational services to students on three different campuses, serving more than 2,450 undergraduate students and approximately 1,630 graduate and post-baccalaureate students. The university is committed to its strong liberal arts heritage, offering over 80 major and minor programs in various fields of study. The university offers numerous graduate degree programs, along with juris doctor, master of laws, and master of jurisprudence degrees. The undergraduate student to faculty ratio is 10:1; the deland campus has 218 full-time faculty members, 90 percent of whom hold a ph.d. Or other terminal degrees. The college of law campus has 48 full-time professors and is supplemented by over 67 experienced practitioners in specialized areas. Grants and scholarships were provided to students based on talent, academic, and athletic achievement and financial need.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 84% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 55% for direct work, and 45% 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: 81
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.5%; rating input score 99
  • Program expense ratio: 91.4%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th 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: 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: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97.3%; rating input score 97; 53rd 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: -6.8%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.69; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.32; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 99.5% of revenue deployed · 91.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 36 of 37 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $257.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $678K · 55 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $38.6M reported
  • Consistency: 44 of 44 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 14 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: 19 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.