Wheeling Jesuit University Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 550394213
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Wheeling, WV, USA
- Phone
- 3042432000
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- University or Technological Institute
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $32,301,046
- Expenses
- $34,275,846
- Assets
- $14,307,981
- Liabilities
- $7,754,315
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DIANNA M VARGO (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- CHAD CARTER (BOARD SECRETARY): $145,116 total reported compensation
- JENNIFER HORNYAK (BOARD MEMBER): $136,625 total reported compensation
- ZAC BRUNEY (HEAD FOOTBALL COACH): $106,339 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
By integrating learning, research and economic development with classical knowledge and christian revelation, the university seeks to foster competence, creativity and innovation throughout and beyond the campus community. Graduates of the university enter the world of work with socially responsible goals, a life long appetite for learning and the desire to make our universe a better place. Leadership to model the catholic concern for regional and global neighbors, the university welcomes people of all creeds, races and nationalities to share in the intelligent pursuit of excellence. The university promotes close student-faculty contacts and encourages students to develop their full potential for leadership.
What it reported doing in 2024
General/other postsecondary education: the university is a catholic liberal arts university founded in 1954. The university provides higher learning in the jesuit tradition to educate students to prepare them for career opportunities after graduation with a philosophy of focusing on the entire person (educational, developmental, and spiritual). Wheeling jesuit university offers more than 30 majors including liberal arts, business, engineering, nursing, criminal justice, and physical therapy.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 86% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 53% for direct work, and 47% 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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Accountability: 71
- Sustainability: 24
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 91%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 83.9%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $80.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- 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: 50%; rating input score 50; 8th 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: -6.1%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.54; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.7%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -5% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -10.6% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 91% of revenue deployed · 83.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $28.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $145K · 10 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $287K reported
- Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 4 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.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.