by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding RCC 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 54% students making it past their freshmen year, RCC 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 North Carolina, the average is 66.53%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| RCC | 54% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| North Carolina | 66.53% |
Of the 228 students in the class of 2015, how many completed their degree on time?
Four years after beginning their degree, 32% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 26% of the students had graduated and after eight years 27% of this class completed their degree.
The official graduation rate of RCC is 26%. 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 | 196 | 23% |
| Six Years | 228 | 26% |
| Eight Years | 10 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 632 | 73% |
Approximately 632 students or 73% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 632 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
249 transferred to another institution.
RCC lost contact with the remaining 376 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 249 | 39.4% |
| Dropped Out | 376 | 59.5% |
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 RCC 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 Rockingham Community College represent 25% of the students in the class of 2015, and 35.96% of RCC bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 32%, first-time students in the RCC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the RCC graduation rate was 37%, and by the eight year mark, 38% 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 | RCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 32% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 37% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 38% | 47.82% |
135 first-time / full-time students or 62% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
52 transferred to another institution.
RCC lost contact with the remaining 83 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 52 | 38.52% |
| Dropped Out | 83 | 61.48% |
First-time / part-time students at Rockingham Community College represent 52.06% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 19%, first-time, part-time students in the RCC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 20%.
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 | RCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 15% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 19% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 20% | 23.72% |
363 first-time / part-time students or 80% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
3 are still enrolled.
103 transferred to another institution.
RCC lost contact with the remaining 257 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 3 | 0.83% |
| Transferred | 103 | 28.37% |
| Dropped Out | 257 | 70.80% |
44 RCC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 5.05% 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 48%, 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 48%.
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 | RCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 48% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 48% | 55.07% |
23 non first-time / part-time students or 52% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
2 are still enrolled.
14 transferred to another institution.
RCC lost contact with the remaining 7 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 2 | 8.70% |
| Transferred | 14 | 60.87% |
| Dropped Out | 7 | 30.43% |
154 RCC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 17.66% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 26%, 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 28%.
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 | RCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 26% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 28% | 37.80% |
111 non first-time / part-time students or 72% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
2 are still enrolled.
80 transferred to another institution.
RCC lost contact with the remaining 29 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 2 | 1.80% |
| Transferred | 80 | 72.07% |
| Dropped Out | 29 | 26.13% |
