Graduation rates

Question:
What are the graduation rates for students obtaining a bachelor's degree?

Response:

Approximately 58 percent of first-time, full-time students who began seeking a bachelor's degree at a 4-year institution in fall 2004 completed a bachelor's degree at that institution within 6 years or 150 percent of normal completion time to degree. In comparison, 55 percent of first-time, full-time students who began seeking a bachelor's degree in fall 1996 earned a bachelor's degree within 6 years at that institution.

Completion rates for bachelor's degree seeking students who enrolled at a 4-year institution in fall 2004 varied by institutional control. Students at private nonprofit institutions had the highest graduation rates, followed by students at public institutions and private for-profit institutions. For example, the 6-year graduation rate at private nonprofit institutions was 65 percent, compared with 56 percent at public institutions and 28 percent at private for-profit institutions.

At both public and private nonprofit 4-year institutions, the 6-year graduation rates of first-time, full-time female students who sought a bachelor's degree in fall 2004 were higher than those of males. At public institutions, about 58 percent of females seeking a bachelor's degree graduated within 6 years, compared with 53 percent of males; at private nonprofit institutions, 67 percent of females graduated within 6 years, compared with 63 percent of males. However, at private for-profit institutions, the 6-year graduation rate was higher for males (30 percent) than for females (27 percent).

Completion rates for first-time, full-time students who sought a bachelor's degree in fall 2004 also varied by race/ ethnicity. Asian/Pacific Islander students had the highest 6-year graduation rate (69 percent), followed by White students (62 percent), Hispanic students (50 percent), and Black and American Indian/Alaska Native students (39 percent each.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). The Condition of Education 2011 (NCES 2012-045), Indicator 45.

Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 345. Graduation rates of first-time postsec. students who started as full-time degree/certificate-seeking students, by sex, race/ethnicity, time to completion, and lvl and control of inst. where student started: Sl'd cohort entry yrs, 1996 through 2007
  
• 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 347.Percentage distribution of first-time postsecondary students starting at 2- and 4-year institutions during the 2003-04 academic year, by highest degree attained, enrollment status, and selected characteristics: Spring 2009
  
• 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 8. Percentage of persons age 25 and over and of persons 25 to 29 years old with high school completion or higher and a bachelor's or higher degree, by race/ethnicity and sex: Selected years, 1910 through 2011
  
• 2012, The Condition of Education 2012: Degrees Conferred by Public and Private Institutions
  
• 2011, The Condition of Education 2011: Remediation and Degree Completion
  
• 2011, The Condition of Education, 2011: International Comparison of Educational Attainment
  

Other Resources:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2009, Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS): BPS studies follow students when they first begin their postsecondary education.
  
• 2009, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS): IPEDS is a system of surveys designed to collect data from all primary providers of postsecondary education.