University of the Southwest

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
850164940
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Hobbs, NM, USA
Phone
5753926561
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$21,824,198
Expenses
$18,352,001
Assets
$20,479,133
Liabilities
$1,969,465

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR RYAN TIPTON (PRESIDENT)
  • STEVE APPEL (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR RYAN TIPTON (PRESIDENT): $330,793 total reported compensation
  • DR BRIANNA LOPEZ (CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER): $225,202 total reported compensation
  • DR PAULA SMITH (EVP/CFO/TREASURER): $167,212 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 southwest is a christ-centered educational community dedicated to developing men and women for a lifetime of servant leadership by emphasizing faith, responsibility, and initiative.

What it reported doing in 2024

Usw offers graduate level programs in the fields of business, education, and arts and sciences. Degrees offered include mba, dba, mse, edd, ms, ma, and dmin. The usw college of business functions as an educational catalyst for positive social change by developing business leaders, entrepreneurs, and executives dedicated to applying servant leadership principles in free enterprise operations. The usw college of education mission is to immerse candidates in authentic professional learning through a rigorous and innovative curriculum that leverages their strenghts and empowers them to be reflective professionals who are committed to equity and serving their students, families, and communities from an asset-based perspective. The usw college of arts & sciences is dedicated to providing the highest quality education in a wide range of academic disciplines to offer a deeper understanding of life, meaning, purpose, and knowledge while developing analytical and critical thinking skills on a path to being servant leaders in their vocations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 91% 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.

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 assets have declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 75.1%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 27th 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: 15.9%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.12; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.4%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74% of revenue deployed · 75.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $13.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $331K · 28 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $2.3M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 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: 10 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.