Three of the fastest-growing largest private nonprofit institutions devoted more than 15 percent of their overall functional expenses to advertising and marketing in 2016-17. But heavy spending on advertising was not the only path to robust growth. Eleven of the colleges listed below, more than half of them religious, dedicated less than 2 percent of their functional expenses to such promotion. Click on the plus sign at the beginning of each row to see additional data.
| Rank | Institution | Total spending on advertising and marketing | Advertising and marketing spending as % of all functional expenses | Top independent contractors involved in finding and attracting students | Religious affiliation or identity | Enrollment growth from 2007 to 2017 | Total enrollment, fall 2017 | Advertising/marketing spending per student |
| 1. | Southern New Hampshire U. | $132,777,855 | 22.3% | Mediassociates, Google | — | 1,312.6% | 90,955 | $1,460 |
| 2. | Keiser U. at Ft. Lauderdale | $82,935,589 | 17.5% | Thruline Marketing, Gragg Advertising | — | 58.8% | 18,335 | $4,523 |
| 3. | Regent U. | $22,251,143 | 15.2% | Google, Becker Media, Microsoft Online, DoublePositive | Christian | 130.6% | 9,488 | $2,345 |
| 4. | Western Governors U. | $74,593,696 | 14.1% | PHD Media, Google, Eleven | — | 993.2% | 98,627 | $756 |
| 5. | Colorado Christian U. | $9,732,070 | 10.4% | TriAd Media Solutions, Keypath Education, Zeta Interactive Corp. | Nondenominational | 243.9% | 7,398 | $1,316 |
| 6. | Indiana Tech | $4,683,767 | 4.6% | Asher Agency, myFootpath, Gurukul Overseas | — | 138.9% | 7,871 | $595 |
| 7. | Liberty U. | $23,267,027 | 2.7% | Google, HigherEducation.com, Microsoft Online | Evangelical Christian | 177.2% | 75,044 | $310 |
| 8. | Maryville U. of Saint Louis | $2,574,288 | 2.2% | — | — | 124.7% | 7,689 | $335 |
| 9. | Wilmington U. (Del.) | $2,335,620 | 2.0% | — | — | 69.6% | 14,170 | $165 |
| 10. | Bethel U. (Tenn.) | $1,343,238 | 1.9% | — | Cumberland Presbyterian | 168.2% | 5,779 | $232 |
| 11. | U. of the Cumberlands | $1,293,092 | 1.7% | Vesta Technology Solutions, Keypath Education | Christian | 349.8% | 10,097 | $128 |
| 12. | Southeastern U. (Fla.) | $1,593,531 | 1.6% | — | Assemblies of God Church | 133.4% | 7,163 | $222 |
| 13. | U. of Tampa | $3,740,043 | 1.6% | — | — | 58.0% | 8,895 | $420 |
| 14. | U. of New England | $3,319,275 | 1.5% | — | — | 118.4% | 8,281 | $401 |
| 15. | California Baptist U. | $3,236,189 | 1.2% | — | Southern Baptist | 163.3% | 9,941 | $326 |
| 16. | Belmont U. | $1,993,299 | 0.9% | Advent | Interdenominational | 69.0% | 8,012 | $249 |
| 17. | Utica College | $830,194 | 0.9% | — | — | 72.6% | 5,258 | $158 |
| 18. | Campbellsville U. | $559,746 | 0.8% | Vesta Technology Solutions | Christian | 181.5% | 7,207 | $78 |
| 19. | Chapman U. | $2,384,755 | 0.6% | — | Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) | 56.0% | 9,392 | $254 |
| 20. | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | $1,265,887 | 0.4% | — | — | 59.7% | 6,642 | $191 |
Note: Only degree-granting doctoral and master’s private nonprofit institutions that had at least 5,000 students enrolled in the fall of 2017 and that were eligible to participate in federal Title IV financial-aid programs and that filed a 990 form with the Internal Revenue Service are included in this analysis. Institutions are ranked by the percentage of functional expenses they devoted to advertising and marketing. Data on advertising, functional expenses, and independent contractors were collected from 990 forms that covered the 2016-17 fiscal year or the 2016 calendar year. Institutions included in the comparison are in the top 25 for enrollment growth from 2007-17 in the size category and classifications described above.
“Top independent contractors involved in finding and attracting students” include independent contractors identified on 990 forms as providing such services as advertising, marketing, media management, student recruitment, admissions lead generation, and branding. Organizations are required to list on their 990 forms their five most highly compensated independent contractors that received more than $100,000 in the calendar year. Advertising contractors that did not meet those criteria are not listed. Colleges with dashes in the “contractors” column listed independent contractors in other areas, like construction, architecture, and food services, as the five top paid on their 990s. A college’s “functional expenses” include major classes of program services and supporting activities, like employee salaries and benefits, office expenses, and information technology.
Religious affiliations or identities were based on reports to the U.S. Department of Education, news articles, and colleges’ websites or emailed statements. A dash in that column indicates no religious affiliation or identity. Baccalaureate private nonprofit institutions were excluded because just one, Brigham Young University-Idaho, was among the 25 fastest-growing private nonprofit institutions that met the 2017 enrollment criteria, but it is exempt from filing a 990 form.
The enrollment increase for the University of New Haven is based on a 2007 figure that includes 140 students at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, which combined with the university in 2015. Keiser University’s 990 form is under the name Everglades College Inc. and covers advertising spending for Everglades University, which had 2,444 students in the fall of 2017, as well as Keiser. Enrollment figures are for Keiser alone. Advertising and marketing spending for Quinnipiac University is the sum of the figures it reported on separate 990 forms for Quinnipiac University and Quinnipiac University Online. Questions or comments on the Almanac should be sent to Ruth Hammond.
Sources: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data for enrollment; ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer for spending data on 990 forms
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