by our College Data Analytics TeamAre students coming back to WBU after their first year? Are WBU students graduating in a timely manner? What happens to the students who don't graduate? Get all your questions answered here.
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, WBU 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 Arkansas, the average is 66.23%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| WBU | 53% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Arkansas | 66.23% |
Of the 97 students in the class of 2015, how many completed their degree on time?
Four years after beginning their degree, 31% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 45% of the students had graduated and after eight years 45% 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 WBU graduation rate 45%.
How long does it take to get a bachelor's degree at WBU? The standard length of time for most students is 4.16 years.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 81 | 37% |
| Six Years | 97 | 45% |
| Eight Years | 1 | 0% |
| Did Not Complete | 119 | 55% |
Approximately 119 students or 55% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 119 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
87 transferred to another institution.
WBU lost contact with the remaining 32 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 87 | 73.1% |
| Dropped Out | 32 | 26.9% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Black / African-American | 47% |
| Hawaiian | 100% |
| Hispanic | 100% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 100% |
| White | 37% |
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 WBU 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 Williams Baptist University represent 65% of the students in the class of 2015, and 58.76% of WBU bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 31%, first-time students in the WBU class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the WBU 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 | WBU | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 31% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 41% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 41% | 47.82% |
83 first-time / full-time students or 59% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
63 transferred to another institution.
WBU lost contact with the remaining 20 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 63 | 75.90% |
| Dropped Out | 20 | 24.10% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on WBU first-time, part-time students.
74 WBU students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 34.10% 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 54%, 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 55%.
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 | WBU | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 54% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 55% | 55.07% |
33 non first-time / part-time students or 45% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
24 transferred to another institution.
WBU lost contact with the remaining 9 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 24 | 72.73% |
| Dropped Out | 9 | 27.27% |
3 WBU students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 1.38% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 0%, 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 0%.
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.
3 non first-time / part-time students or 100% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
0 transferred to another institution.
WBU lost contact with the remaining 3 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 0 | 0.00% |
| Dropped Out | 3 | 100.00% |
