by our College Data Analytics TeamAre students coming back to Muhlenberg after their first year? Are Muhlenberg students graduating in a timely manner? What happens to the students who don't graduate? Get all your questions answered here.
Freshmen retention rate refers to the percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year.
With 94% students making it past their freshmen year, Muhlenberg has freshmen retention rates above the national average.
Nationwide, the average first to second year retention rate is 70.57%.
When looking at just colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, the average is 73.24%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Muhlenberg | 94% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Pennsylvania | 73.24% |
There were approximately 568 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 85% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 84% of the students had graduated and after eight years 84% of this class completed their degree.
The official graduation rate of Muhlenberg is 84%. 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.
The typical Muhlenberg student takes 4.05 years to complete their bachelor's degree.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 552 | 81% |
| Six Years | 568 | 84% |
| Eight Years | 1 | 0% |
| Did Not Complete | 111 | 16% |
Approximately 111 students or 16% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 111 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
72 transferred to another institution.
Muhlenberg lost contact with the remaining 38 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 72 | 64.9% |
| Dropped Out | 38 | 34.2% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaskan Native | 100% |
| Asian | 94% |
| Black / African-American | 81% |
| Hispanic | 74% |
| International | 61% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 100% |
| Unknown | 70% |
| White | 82% |
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 Muhlenberg 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 Muhlenberg College represent 86% of the students in the class of 2015, and 89.26% of Muhlenberg bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 85%, first-time students in the Muhlenberg class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Muhlenberg graduation rate was 87%, and by the eight year mark, 87% 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 | Muhlenberg | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 85% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 87% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 87% | 47.82% |
78 first-time / full-time students or 13% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
58 transferred to another institution.
Muhlenberg lost contact with the remaining 20 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 58 | 74.36% |
| Dropped Out | 20 | 25.64% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Muhlenberg first-time, part-time students.
58 Muhlenberg students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 8.52% 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 72%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate higher than the national average for students in this category.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 72%.
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 | Muhlenberg | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 72% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 72% | 55.07% |
16 non first-time / part-time students or 28% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
9 transferred to another institution.
Muhlenberg lost contact with the remaining 7 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 9 | 56.25% |
| Dropped Out | 7 | 43.75% |
37 Muhlenberg students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 5.43% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 51%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate higher than the national average.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 54%.
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 | Muhlenberg | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 51% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 54% | 37.80% |
17 non first-time / part-time students or 46% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
5 transferred to another institution.
Muhlenberg lost contact with the remaining 11 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 5.88% |
| Transferred | 5 | 29.41% |
| Dropped Out | 11 | 64.71% |
