by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding U-M 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 96% students making it past their freshmen year, U-M 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 Michigan, the average is 70.80%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| U-M | 96% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Michigan | 70.80% |
Of the 6,688 students in the class of 2015, how many completed their degree on time?
Four years after beginning their degree, 77% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 92% of the students had graduated and after eight years 92% of this class completed their degree.
The official graduation rate of U-M is 92%. 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 U-M student takes 4.16 years to complete their bachelor's degree.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 5,758 | 79% |
| Six Years | 6,688 | 92% |
| Eight Years | 52 | 0% |
| Did Not Complete | 563 | 8% |
Approximately 563 students or 8% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 563 students who did not complete their degree?
10 are still enrolled.
294 transferred to another institution.
U-M lost contact with the remaining 254 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 10 | 1.8% |
| Transferred | 294 | 52.2% |
| Dropped Out | 254 | 45.1% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaskan Native | 78% |
| Asian | 96% |
| Black / African-American | 86% |
| Hawaiian | 100% |
| Hispanic | 90% |
| International | 89% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 92% |
| Unknown | 92% |
| White | 94% |
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 U-M 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 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor represent 85% of the students in the class of 2015, and 85.24% of U-M bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 77%, first-time students in the U-M class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the U-M graduation rate was 92%, 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 | U-M | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 77% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 92% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 92% | 47.82% |
479 first-time / full-time students or 8% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
10 are still enrolled.
262 transferred to another institution.
U-M lost contact with the remaining 206 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 10 | 2.09% |
| Transferred | 262 | 54.70% |
| Dropped Out | 206 | 43.01% |
First-time / part-time students at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor represent 0.36% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 81%, first-time, part-time students in the U-M class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 81%.
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 | U-M | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 62% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 81% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 81% | 23.72% |
5 first-time / part-time students or 19% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
1 transferred to another institution.
U-M lost contact with the remaining 3 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 20.00% |
| Transferred | 1 | 20.00% |
| Dropped Out | 3 | 60.00% |
1008 U-M students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 13.79% 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 92%, 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 93%.
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 | U-M | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 92% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 93% | 55.07% |
72 non first-time / part-time students or 7% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
3 are still enrolled.
30 transferred to another institution.
U-M lost contact with the remaining 39 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 3 | 4.17% |
| Transferred | 30 | 41.67% |
| Dropped Out | 39 | 54.17% |
45 U-M students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 0.62% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 77%, 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 84%.
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 | U-M | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 77% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 84% | 37.80% |
7 non first-time / part-time students or 16% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
1 transferred to another institution.
U-M lost contact with the remaining 6 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 1 | 14.29% |
| Dropped Out | 6 | 85.71% |
