I am not going to tell you whether it is right for your family. No one who does not know you can tell you that. But I can put before you what the federal government reports about it, without embellishment or fear, so that you and your child can decide with your eyes open. The data is the ground. What follows is the bridge. The destination, as always, is for your family to decide.
What kind of school Fortis College-Centerville is
Let us start with the basics, because there is already information here that changes how you should read everything else.
Fortis College-Centerville is a private, for-profit, two-year institution specializing in a single field: health professions. The Carnegie system, which classifies colleges and universities in the United States by what they do, describes it as a small, two-year school devoted to that one field. It is not a general college with dozens of majors. It is a focused school.
The highest credential it reports offering is an associate degree. That matters a great deal if your child's ultimate goal is a bachelor's degree: you will not find one here, and the federal report of degrees awarded shows no bachelor's degrees awarded by this institution in the most recent year. If the plan is to use Fortis College-Centerville as a first step and then transfer to a four-year school, that transfer agreement is not in this data. You need to request it in writing, directly from admissions.
It is in Centerville, Ohio, in Montgomery County, within the Dayton metropolitan area. The census code places it in a suburb: within the urbanized area, but outside the principal city's downtown. If your child would consider living at home, do me a favor: drive the route yourself on a weekday at the time their classes would take place. A map never tells the whole truth about traffic.
And one note worth keeping in mind: Fortis College-Centerville is not listed as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college, or a land-grant institution. That says nothing about which students it serves today or how your child would feel there. Those questions are answered by talking with the school and, if possible, with a current student.
Who studies there
The enrollment numbers tell a fairly clear story, and it is worth looking at it directly.
Out of every 100 undergraduate students, just 2 were reported as Hispanic or Latino, according to the fall 2023 report. Compared with 255 private two-year schools reporting this same data, Fortis College-Centerville ranks in the bottom quarter: three out of four similar schools have a higher share. There are few Latino students, to put it plainly. That does not disqualify the school or make it bad. But if your child will be one of the few, it is worth asking during the visit what student group, cultural center, or person in the office speaks Spanish and can support them.
What does strongly characterize this student community is something else: 67 out of every 100 students are between 25 and 64 years old. That is more than half. And women are a large majority: 82 out of every 100. This is not a campus of 18-year-olds fresh out of high school experiencing independence for the first time. Above all, it is a place for adults returning to school, often women building or rebuilding a career. If your child is 17 or 18 years old, it is worth making sure they know this before imagining the social environment they will find.
IPEDS does not report where incoming students came from—which states or how far away—for this school. That data simply is not available.
The size of the school
Fortis College-Centerville is small: 460 students enrolled in the official fall count, all undergraduates, with no graduate enrollment. Compared with the other 255 private two-year schools, its size falls in the middle of the group: neither among the largest nor among the smallest.
Being small does not make it better or worse. But it does change one practical question you should ask directly: are the courses in your child's program offered every term, or only once a year? The answer determines how long it will actually take to finish.
How academics work
There are several technical details here that, taken together, form a useful picture.
Fortis College-Centerville does not use a traditional academic calendar. In its federal report, it selected "other academic calendar," the category IPEDS reserves for schools with nontraditional formats. That does not tell you when each program begins or how long each term lasts. Request those dates in writing before making any family plans.
It does accept credit for AP exams, but it did not indicate that it accepts credit for life experience. And note something important: saying that it accepts AP does not mean it awards credit for every exam passed. This data does not tell us what score is required or whether those credits apply to your child's specific program. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling, and do not subtract those potential savings from your budget until you have it in hand.
According to its most recent response, it also does not enroll high school students in college courses for credit. If your child is thinking about earning college credits while still in high school, they will not be able to do that here.
As for the ratio of students to instructional staff, the number is notably low: 5 students for every full-time-equivalent member of the instructional staff. Compared with similar schools, it ranks in the bottom quarter, meaning among the group's lowest ratios. But be careful not to draw too broad a conclusion: this ratio does not measure actual class size or guarantee individual attention. It is an institution-wide average. Ask directly how many students are in first-year classes for the program that interests your child.
It does report one structured academic opportunity: a complete program that can be taken only in the evenings or on weekends. If your child works or has other daytime obligations, that is worth exploring directly with the school.
How admission works
This is simple to explain but easy to misinterpret, so let us proceed carefully.
Fortis College-Centerville reports an open-admission policy for all or most of its first-time students. The application fee is $0. That sounds like—and largely is—a more accessible entry point than the one at selective colleges.
But "open admission" is not the same as "guaranteed entry into any program." The general policy does not eliminate eligibility requirements that may apply, and a specific program—especially in health, where space may sometimes be limited or clinical prerequisites may apply—can have its own conditions. Because it has open admission, IPEDS does not require this school to report how many people apply and how many are admitted, how it uses the SAT or ACT, or the rate at which admitted students ultimately enroll. None of those blank fields indicates a lack of transparency by the school: under this policy, the government simply does not request that data. Verify the specific requirements of the program that interests your child directly with the school.
Regarding transfers: in fall 2023, 79 degree- or certificate-seeking students entered Fortis College-Centerville for the first time after previously studying at another institution. Compared with similar schools, that count places it in the upper half of the group. It is a count of people, not a proportion, and it depends on the school's size. How many credits the school accepted from those students is a separate question that must be answered directly there.
What it costs, in real numbers
At Fortis College-Centerville, among 22 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $22,936. Among 3 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $27,340; for 1 student with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $31,120. For dependent students, the band combines their parents' income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (22 students) and the highest-income band (1 student) is $8,184. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship, the average was $23,674.
Even after grants and scholarships were subtracted, the average net price for the lowest-income families was $22,936 in academic year 2022-23. If that number does not fit your budget, it is better to see it today than in August.
An average does not show how different the cases within that band were; this data cannot establish that some families were far below or above the published figure. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grants and scholarships, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships.
How it is paid for: grants, Pell, and loans
The good news first: aid that does not have to be repaid reaches most students. Out of every 100 degree- or certificate-seeking students, 78 received some form of grant, scholarship, or other nonrepayable aid, averaging $6,145 per year among those who received it. And the federal Pell Grant, reserved for low-income families, reached 71 out of every 100 students. Requesting need-based aid here is neither unusual nor shameful: most students do it. Do not hesitate to ask which documents are required and when they are due.
Now for the part that requires more attention. 76 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal loan in the most recent academic year. That is a clear majority, and compared with the other 256 private two-year schools, Fortis College-Centerville ranks on the high side: seven out of ten similar schools, or more, had a lower proportion of students borrowing.
The average among those who did borrow was $7,564 in a single year. If your child borrowed a similar amount each year during the program's typical two years, the total would be about $15,128, not including interest. And that number—it is worth saying very clearly—does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes end up signing for, bank debt, or credit cards. Nor is it the total debt students have when they graduate; determining that would require adding up every year, and that data is not in this report.
Financing with debt is common here, not the exception. That does not determine whether your child will need it—that depends on their financial aid offer and what your family can contribute—but it does tell you that it is wise to calculate the full cost before the first signature, not afterward. If the offer includes debt, request the estimated monthly payment before accepting anything.
The school also reports offering an installment tuition payment plan as an additional option for managing the cost.
The campus, learning format, and support
Here are some practical facts worth understanding before imagining your child's daily life there.
Fortis College-Centerville does not provide its own housing—neither residence halls nor apartments under its control—and does not report offering meal plans. That does not mean the official financial aid budget ignores those expenses if your child lives off campus; it only means the school itself does not provide them directly. Request the specific budget that would be used for their aid package.
It reports no ROTC opportunities and no membership in any national athletic association (NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, USCAA, or NCCAA). If either of those things—military service or competitive sports—is important to your child, this does not appear to be the school, although it is always worth confirming directly because an unchecked box on a form is not necessarily proof that no nearby pathway exists.
Regarding distance education: the school does offer online courses at the undergraduate level, but in the most recent count, no student took their entire course load remotely. Everyone took at least one in-person class. And in its specific response about complete distance programs, it reported that it does not offer one in which all required courses can be completed that way. If online learning is a deciding factor for your family, confirm it in writing for the specific credential level and program.
The library has paid staff, although its annual spending was below $100,000. It has a physical collection, not only digital materials, but does not offer interlibrary loan service. That means that if your child needs a book or article that is not in the collection, it will not arrive through that automatic channel. If their program involves research, it is worth asking how additional materials are obtained.
Among the services it does report are job placement for those who complete their programs and a published web address for services for people with disabilities.
How many stay and how many finish
This may be the most important section of the entire article, so read it slowly.
Of the cohort of first-time, full-time students who entered in fall 2022, only 46 out of every 100 met the official retention criterion one year later: they were still enrolled or had already completed their program. That leaves 21 out of every 39 students in that cohort outside that outcome. The source does not say what happened to them—whether they transferred, paused their studies, or left entirely. Compared with 255 private two-year schools, Fortis College-Centerville ranks among those with the lowest retention: nine out of ten similar schools retained a higher proportion.
The graduation rate, following the cohort that entered in 2020, shows that 42 out of every 100 completed a program within 150% of normal time. This figure follows only students who entered for the first time and attended full time; it does not represent students who transferred in or those who began part time. It is a historical cohort, not a prediction about your child.
And the longest-term figure of all, the one that looks back eight years: of a cohort of 840 students who entered between July 2015 and June 2016—including both first-time students and those with prior college experience, attending full time and part time—as of August 2023, 33 out of every 100 held a degree or certificate from this school. 67 did not.
Compare that with similar schools: among 183 private two-year schools reporting this data, Fortis College-Centerville ranks at the very bottom. Nine out of ten similar schools, or more, reported a higher proportion at eight years.
It is worth stating this with complete honesty, without dramatizing or softening it: most of that cohort did not finish with a credential from this school within eight years. The data does not explain why. We do not know how many went to another institution and finished there, or how many simply left school. Among Pell Grant recipients, the outcome was nearly identical—33 out of every 100—with only a difference of 2 points compared with those who did not receive it. That does not mean the path was equally easy for everyone; it means that, in this aggregate figure, the difference by income was minimal.
This percentage covers the entire school, not a specific program. If your child enters a particular program within this institution, that figure—the one that truly matters for their situation—must be requested directly from the department.
What no institution-wide figure can tell you
Nothing above predicts what will happen to your child. Averages describe thousands of students together, not one person with their own history, effort, and circumstances. A low graduation figure is not a sentence imposed on anyone; it is a signal to ask more questions, not fewer. Ask what happened to that eight-year cohort, what specific support exists today to keep a student from stopping halfway, and—this is important—make sure your child's college list includes more than one option.
Your child's responsibilities are their effort, their program, and their decisions in the classroom. Yours are different: understand what this will actually cost, verify in writing what this article cannot confirm for you—the AP equivalencies, transfer agreements, off-campus housing budget, and specific requirements of the health program that interests them—and sit down together to determine whether the net price, loan burden, and likelihood of finishing fit what their life requires.
You now have an in-depth understanding of one of the three pieces of the plan: what this school really is and offers, according to its own federal reports. You still need to combine it with what your child wants to study and what your family can afford without being overwhelmed. The decision comes from that combination, not from this piece alone.
Source note: the information in this article comes from reports that Fortis College-Centerville submits to the United States Department of Education through the IPEDS system, with data corresponding primarily to academic years 2022-23 and 2023-24, except where another period is indicated. Best College Aid does not represent Fortis College-Centerville or any government agency; this article is not a substitute for direct verification with the institution.