Of the 20 four-year public institutions whose graduation rates within 150 percent of normal time climbed the most, six raised their rates from below 50 percent to 50 percent or above. Seven of the 20 private nonprofit colleges with the largest percentage-point increases did the same.
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4-year public institutions
| 1. | U. of South Florida | 3,926 | 3,752 | 51.7% | 68.4% | 16.7 |
| 2. | California State U.-Monterey Bay | 540 | 944 | 37.8% | 53.4% | 15.6 |
| 3. | U. of Maine at Presque Isle | 181 | 155 | 30.4% | 45.8% | 15.4 |
| 4. | Louisiana State U. at Alexandria | 149 | 146 | 12.8% | 27.4% | 14.6 |
| 5. | Florida International U. | 3,967 | 2,946 | 43.4% | 57.8% | 14.4 |
| 6. | Pennsylvania State U.-New Kensington | 148 | 148 | 40.5% | 54.1% | 13.5 |
| 7. | U. of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College | 823 | 1,333 | 19.1% | 32.3% | 13.3 |
| 8. | California State U. at Long Beach | 4,241 | 3,473 | 54.0% | 67.0% | 13.0 |
| 9. | California State Polytechnic U. at Pomona | 3,089 | 2,728 | 50.3% | 62.9% | 12.5 |
| 10. | California State U. at Fullerton | 3,816 | 3,842 | 50.1% | 61.9% | 11.9 |
| 11. | Indiana U.-Purdue U. at Indianapolis | 2,211 | 2,624 | 32.9% | 44.7% | 11.8 |
| 12. | Colorado Mesa U. | 828 | 963 | 28.4% | 39.9% | 11.5 |
| 13. | U. of Montana Western | 190 | 156 | 32.6% | 43.6% | 11.0 |
| 14. | U. of Massachusetts at Amherst | 4,397 | 4,106 | 67.4% | 78.3% | 10.9 |
| 15. | Peru State College | 213 | 227 | 25.8% | 36.6% | 10.7 |
| 16. | U. of North Alabama | 982 | 1,064 | 27.4% | 37.8% | 10.4 |
| 17. | San Jose State U. | 2,439 | 2,621 | 46.4% | 56.8% | 10.4 |
| 18. | California State U.-Dominguez Hills | 705 | 1,069 | 24.4% | 34.7% | 10.3 |
| 19. | State U. of New York Maritime College | 247 | 355 | 46.6% | 56.6% | 10.1 |
| 20. | Central Connecticut State U. | 1,333 | 1,277 | 47.3% | 57.3% | 10.1 |
4-year private nonprofit institutions
| 1. | Newman U. | 181 | 174 | 28.2% | 50.0% | 21.8 |
| 2. | College of the Ozarks | 239 | 244 | 53.6% | 73.4% | 19.8 |
| 3. | Otis College of Art and Design | 171 | 171 | 52.0% | 71.3% | 19.3 |
| 4. | McPherson College | 107 | 136 | 45.8% | 64.7% | 18.9 |
| 5. | Cornerstone U. | 313 | 315 | 44.4% | 61.3% | 16.9 |
| 6. | Talladega College | 135 | 240 | 20.0% | 36.7% | 16.7 |
| 7. | Madonna U. | 185 | 178 | 45.4% | 61.2% | 15.8 |
| 8. | Marietta College | 387 | 386 | 51.2% | 66.3% | 15.2 |
| 9. | Davenport U. | 180 | 374 | 25.0% | 39.8% | 14.8 |
| 10. | Illinois College | 256 | 224 | 56.6% | 71.4% | 14.8 |
| 11. | Seton Hill U. | 333 | 301 | 44.7% | 59.5% | 14.7 |
| 12. | Mount Saint Mary’s U. (Calif.) | 177 | 210 | 51.4% | 65.7% | 14.3 |
| 13. | Immaculata U. | 296 | 198 | 55.4% | 69.7% | 14.3 |
| 14. | U. of St. Thomas (Tex.) | 289 | 284 | 43.9% | 58.1% | 14.2 |
| 15. | Dillard U. | 490 | 321 | 24.5% | 38.3% | 13.8 |
| 16. | Lancaster Bible College | 101 | 115 | 58.4% | 72.2% | 13.8 |
| 17. | Avila U. | 154 | 118 | 41.6% | 55.1% | 13.5 |
| 18. | Bethel College (Ind.) | 310 | 286 | 50.6% | 63.6% | 13.0 |
| 19. | Holy Cross College | 150 | 121 | 12.7% | 25.6% | 13.0 |
| 20. | Eastern Nazarene College | 186 | 173 | 53.2% | 65.9% | 12.7 |
4-year for-profit institutions
| 1. | Grantham U. | 278 | 183 | 19.4% | 42.1% | 22.7 |
| 2. | Monroe College (N.Y.) | 203 | 423 | 69.5% | 90.3% | 20.8 |
| 3. | Daniel Webster College | 192 | 167 | 43.2% | 48.5% | 5.3 |
| 4. | U. of Phoenix-Maryland | 244 | 111 | 15.2% | 19.8% | 4.7 |
| 5. | Colorado Technical U. Online | 787 | 136 | 9.5% | 14.0% | 4.4 |
| 6. | Academy of Art U. | 510 | 854 | 34.5% | 38.9% | 4.4 |
| 7. | LIM College | 188 | 242 | 52.1% | 55.8% | 3.7 |
| 8. | Grand Canyon U. | 169 | 223 | 30.8% | 33.6% | 2.9 |
| 9. | Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale | 178 | 241 | 39.9% | 42.7% | 2.9 |
| 10. | Illinois Institute of Art at Chicago | 468 | 168 | 30.8% | 33.3% | 2.6 |
Note: Graduation rates are based on students’ completion of their degrees within 150 percent of the normal time, which is usually six years for a bachelor’s degree. The 2015 subcohort of first-time, full-time undergraduates who were seeking bachelor’s or equivalent degrees when they entered college in the fall of 2009 were considered to have graduated within 150 percent of the expected time if they earned a degree by August 31, 2015. The 2011 subcohort, who entered college in the fall of 2005, were considered to have completed in that time frame if they earned a degree by August 31, 2011. Students who were no longer enrolled because of death or total disability, service in the armed forces or a federal foreign-aid service, or service in an official church mission were excluded from the initial subcohorts. Colleges with fewer than 100 students in either subcohort were excluded from the table. Percentages and percentage points were rounded, but colleges were ranked before rounding.
Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data