Stevenson University
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 520705392
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Stevenson, MD, US
- Phone
- 1-877-468-6852
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Undergraduate College (4-year)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $187,727,722
- Expenses
- $171,623,418
- Assets
- $362,650,459
- Liabilities
- $166,659,642
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
47 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Elliot L Hirshman (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- Elliot L Hirshman (PRESIDENT): $747,778 total reported compensation
- Susan Gorman (EVP OF ACADEMIC AFFAIR/PROVOS): $309,575 total reported compensation
- Mark Hergan (VP ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT): $292,016 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Stevenson University is a private university in Maryland that prepares students for fulfilling careers and lives through rigorous academic programs, hands-on learning, and a supportive community.
What it reported doing in 2024
The number of students receiving grants is as follows: pell 1,212, seog 167, work study 141, federal direct sub 1,177, federal direct unsub 1,828, parent loans 614, and stevenson grants and scholarships 2,946.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 82% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 62
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 85.7%; rating input score 86
- Program expense ratio: 88.8%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $27.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: Fail
- 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: 8.6%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.11; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.46; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.3%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 85.7% of revenue deployed · 88.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 28 of 28 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $152.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $748K · 47 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $21.2M reported
- Consistency: 51 of 51 current checks pass
- Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 16 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.
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.