by our College Data Analytics TeamAre students coming back to Radford after their first year? Are Radford students graduating in a timely manner? What happens to the students who don't graduate? Get all your questions answered here.
The percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year is tracked as the freshmen retention rate.
With 75% students making it past their freshmen year, Radford 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 Virginia, the average is 69.66%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Radford | 75% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Virginia | 69.66% |
Of the 1,875 students in the class of 2015, how many completed their degree on time?
Four years after beginning their degree, 38% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 61% of the students had graduated and after eight years 61% of this class completed their degree.
Any student who completes their bachelor's degree within six years is considered to have graduated on time, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. This makes the offical Radford graduation rate 61%.
The average length of time it takes an Radford undergraduate student to complete their bachelor's degree is 4.31 years.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 1,471 | 48% |
| Six Years | 1,875 | 61% |
| Eight Years | 20 | 0% |
| Did Not Complete | 1,200 | 39% |
Approximately 1200 students or 39% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 1200 students who did not complete their degree?
7 are still enrolled.
921 transferred to another institution.
Radford lost contact with the remaining 271 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 7 | 0.6% |
| Transferred | 921 | 76.8% |
| Dropped Out | 271 | 22.6% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaskan Native | 50% |
| Asian | 38% |
| Black / African-American | 51% |
| Hispanic | 60% |
| International | 72% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 44% |
| Unknown | 33% |
| White | 59% |
First-time, full-time students, under the age of 25 are known as traditional students. These students are more likely to graduate in four years than so called 'non-traditional' students that includes part-time students, transfer students, or adult learners. Some schools cater to non-traditional students and it may affect their overall graduation rates.
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 Radford are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
How does this school do graduating the type of student you are most concerned bout?
First-time / full-time students at Radford University represent 66% of the students in the class of 2015, and 60.16% of Radford bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 38%, first-time students in the Radford class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Radford graduation rate was 55%, and by the eight year mark, 56% 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 | Radford | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 38% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 55% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 56% | 47.82% |
903 first-time / full-time students or 44% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
7 are still enrolled.
716 transferred to another institution.
Radford lost contact with the remaining 180 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 7 | 0.78% |
| Transferred | 716 | 79.29% |
| Dropped Out | 180 | 19.93% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Radford first-time, part-time students.
968 Radford students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 31.24% 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 | Radford | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 72% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 72% | 55.07% |
269 non first-time / part-time students or 28% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
185 transferred to another institution.
Radford lost contact with the remaining 83 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 0.37% |
| Transferred | 185 | 68.77% |
| Dropped Out | 83 | 30.86% |
81 Radford students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 2.61% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 64%, 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 65%.
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 | Radford | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 64% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 65% | 37.80% |
28 non first-time / part-time students or 35% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
20 transferred to another institution.
Radford lost contact with the remaining 8 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 20 | 71.43% |
| Dropped Out | 8 | 28.57% |
