by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding Rice 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.
The freshmen retention rate applies to first-time / full-time students who come back for their second year.
With 97% students making it past their freshmen year, Rice 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 Texas, the average is 68.17%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Rice | 97% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Texas | 68.17% |
There were approximately 963 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 83% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 91% of the students had graduated and after eight years 92% 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 Rice graduation rate 91%.
The average Rice student takes 4.11 years to graduate with their bachelors.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 878 | 83% |
| Six Years | 963 | 91% |
| Eight Years | 7 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 83 | 8% |
Approximately 83 students or 8% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 83 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
49 transferred to another institution.
Rice lost contact with the remaining 33 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 49 | 59.0% |
| Dropped Out | 33 | 39.8% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaskan Native | 100% |
| Asian | 97% |
| Black / African-American | 86% |
| Hawaiian | 100% |
| Hispanic | 97% |
| International | 95% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 90% |
| Unknown | 100% |
| White | 93% |
First-time, full-time students under the age of 25 are much more likely to graduate in four years. Some schools cater to mostly traditional students while others cater to 'non-traditional' students. So called 'non-traditional' students include part-time students or those who may be returning after an absense. It is common for part-time and/or adult students to take longer to graduate.
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 Rice are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
Examining the graduation rates of the specific cohorts shown below may be more revealing than looking at the overall graduaton rates.
First-time / full-time students at Rice University represent 95% of the students in the class of 2015, and 94.39% of Rice bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 83%, first-time students in the Rice class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Rice graduation rate was 91%, and by the eight year mark, 92% 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 | Rice | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 83% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 91% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 92% | 47.82% |
80 first-time / full-time students or 8% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
47 transferred to another institution.
Rice lost contact with the remaining 32 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 47 | 58.75% |
| Dropped Out | 32 | 40.00% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Rice first-time, part-time students.
58 Rice students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 5.48% 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 93%, 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 95%.
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 | Rice | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 93% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 95% | 55.07% |
3 non first-time / part-time students or 5% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
2 transferred to another institution.
Rice lost contact with the remaining 1 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 2 | 66.67% |
| Dropped Out | 1 | 33.33% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Rice returning, part-time students.
