by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding SC 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 53% students making it past their freshmen year, SC 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 Kansas, the average is 65.77%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| SC | 53% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Kansas | 65.77% |
Of the 379 students in the class of 2015, how many completed their degree on time?
Four years after beginning their degree, 33% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 43% of the students had graduated and after eight years 44% 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 SC graduation rate 43%.
The average SC student takes 4.13 years to graduate with their bachelors.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 315 | 36% |
| Six Years | 379 | 43% |
| Eight Years | 13 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 494 | 56% |
Approximately 494 students or 56% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 494 students who did not complete their degree?
1 are still enrolled.
298 transferred to another institution.
SC lost contact with the remaining 180 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 0.2% |
| Transferred | 298 | 60.3% |
| Dropped Out | 180 | 36.4% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaskan Native | 43% |
| Asian | 33% |
| Black / African-American | 47% |
| Hispanic | 11% |
| International | 12% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 40% |
| Unknown | 67% |
| White | 45% |
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 SC 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 Southwestern College represent 18% of the students in the class of 2015, and 17.41% of SC bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 33%, first-time students in the SC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the SC graduation rate was 41%, and by the eight year mark, 41% 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 | SC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 33% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 41% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 41% | 47.82% |
96 first-time / full-time students or 59% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
66 transferred to another institution.
SC lost contact with the remaining 29 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 1.04% |
| Transferred | 66 | 68.75% |
| Dropped Out | 29 | 30.21% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on SC first-time, part-time students.
153 SC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 17.25% 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 65%, 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 65%.
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 | SC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 65% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 65% | 55.07% |
54 non first-time / part-time students or 35% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
2 are still enrolled.
30 transferred to another institution.
SC lost contact with the remaining 22 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 2 | 3.70% |
| Transferred | 30 | 55.56% |
| Dropped Out | 22 | 40.74% |
572 SC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 64.49% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 37%, 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 40%.
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 | SC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 37% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 40% | 37.80% |
344 non first-time / part-time students or 60% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
13 are still enrolled.
202 transferred to another institution.
SC lost contact with the remaining 129 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 13 | 3.78% |
| Transferred | 202 | 58.72% |
| Dropped Out | 129 | 37.50% |
