University of the Ozarks

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
710236867
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Clarksville, AR, USA
Phone
(479) 979-1000
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
University or Technological Institute
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$65,173,911
Expenses
$47,235,953
Assets
$252,889,270
Liabilities
$64,583,338

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

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RICHARD DUNSWORTH (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • RICHARD DUNSWORTH (PRESIDENT): $331,804 total reported compensation
  • JANIE DIELS (VP FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS): $167,169 total reported compensation
  • LORI MCBEE (VP OF ADVANCEMENT & ALUMNI): $137,696 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

University of the Ozarks provides a transformative, student-centered liberal arts education grounded in Christian heritage, preparing graduates for lives of leadership, service, and ethical decision-making.

What it reported doing in 2024

Educational services - provided educational courses to an average enrollment of 840 full-time equivalent students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 61% 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 71% for direct work, and 29% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 82
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.5%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th 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: 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: 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: 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: 27.5%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.35; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 37th 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: 93.5% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 27 of 27 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $39.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $332K · 32 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $24.1M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 57/100.