by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding HCC retention and graduation rates. First year retention rates let you know how many first-time, full-time students students come back for their second year. Graduation rates tell you how many students complete their degree and how long it takes.
Freshmen retention rate refers to the percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year.
With 66% students making it past their freshmen year, HCC has freshmen retention rates similar to the national average.
Nationwide, the average first to second year retention rate is 70.57%.
When looking at just colleges and universities in Maryland, the average is 71.84%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| HCC | 66% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Maryland | 71.84% |
There were approximately 810 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
After four years 24% of the cohort graduated. After six years 17% had completed their degree, and 19% after eight years.
The official graduation rate of HCC is 17%. This is the percentage of students who completed their degree within 150% of the published time. That means six years for a standard bachelor's degree program.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 629 | 13% |
| Six Years | 810 | 17% |
| Eight Years | 79 | 2% |
| Did Not Complete | 3,892 | 81% |
Approximately 3892 students or 81% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 3892 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
1447 transferred to another institution.
HCC lost contact with the remaining 2310 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 1447 | 37.2% |
| Dropped Out | 2,310 | 59.4% |
Some schools have mainly first-time, full-time students, while others cater to part-time students, transfer students, or adult learners. For a variety of reasons first-time, full-time students under the age of 25 are usually more likely to graduate in four years.
Traditional Students:
First-time, full-time students under the age of 25.
Non-Traditional Students:
Any student that is not first-time, full-time, and under the age of 25.
The majority of students at HCC are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
Comparing the graduation rates of specific cohorts shown below will be more revealing than the overall statistics shared above.
First-time / full-time students at Howard Community College represent 25% of the students in the class of 2015, and 44.20% of HCC bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 24%, first-time students in the HCC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the HCC graduation rate was 30%, and by the eight year mark, 32% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for first-time undergraduates attending classes full-time is 37.92% after four years, 46.43% after six years, and 47.82% after eight years.
| First-Time / Full-Time Completions | HCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 24% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 30% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 32% | 47.82% |
825 first-time / full-time students or 68% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
362 transferred to another institution.
HCC lost contact with the remaining 424 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 362 | 43.88% |
| Dropped Out | 424 | 51.39% |
First-time / part-time students at Howard Community College represent 27.19% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 13%, first-time, part-time students in the HCC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 15%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for first-time undergraduates attending classes part-time is: 14.37% after four years, 21.59% after six years, 23.72% after eight years.
| First-Time / Part-Time Completions | HCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 9% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 13% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 15% | 23.72% |
1100 first-time / part-time students or 85% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
56 are still enrolled.
322 transferred to another institution.
HCC lost contact with the remaining 722 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 56 | 5.09% |
| Transferred | 322 | 29.27% |
| Dropped Out | 722 | 65.64% |
419 HCC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 8.76% of the students in the class of 2015.
Non first-time students could include transfer students or adults who have returned to school after an absense.
With a six year graduation rate of 24%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate lower than the national average for students in this category.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 26%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for non first-time undergraduates attending classes full-time is: 49.57% after four years, 53.83% after six years, and 55.07% after eight years.
| Returning / Full-Time Completions | HCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 24% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 26% | 55.07% |
310 non first-time / part-time students or 74% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
8 are still enrolled.
162 transferred to another institution.
HCC lost contact with the remaining 140 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 8 | 2.58% |
| Transferred | 162 | 52.26% |
| Dropped Out | 140 | 45.16% |
1852 HCC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 38.74% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 10%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate lower than the national average.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 11%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for non first-time undergraduates attending classes part-time is: 36.03% after six years, 36.03% after eight years.
| Returning / Part-Time Completions | HCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 10% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 11% | 37.80% |
1657 non first-time / part-time students or 89% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
32 are still enrolled.
601 transferred to another institution.
HCC lost contact with the remaining 1024 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 32 | 1.93% |
| Transferred | 601 | 36.27% |
| Dropped Out | 1,024 | 61.80% |
