Asians had the highest overall rate of returning for a second year to the same institution where they started (known as the retention rate). They also had the highest rate of continuing for a second year at the same or any other institution (known as the persistence rate). The percentage of students who transferred to another college by their second year was higher for whites, over all, than for blacks, Asians, and Hispanics.
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All institutions
Continued enrollment at starting institution (retention rate) | 61.1% | 72.9% | 54.5% | 62.0% | 64.4% | 60.3% | 69.8% |
Continued enrollment at other institution | 12.3% | 11.3% | 12.5% | 10.6% | 14.8% | 14.9% | 7.1% |
Persistence rate | 73.4% | 84.2% | 66.9% | 72.5% | 79.2% | 75.2% | 76.9% |
4-year public institutions
Continued enrollment at starting institution (retention rate) | 69.7% | 82.3% | 64.8% | 68.8% | 72.4% | 69.1% | 73.8% |
Continued enrollment at other institution | 12.0% | 9.0% | 13.0% | 11.4% | 13.7% | 14.8% | 6.0% |
Persistence rate | 81.7% | 91.3% | 77.8% | 80.1% | 86.1% | 83.9% | 79.7% |
4-year private nonprofit institutions
Continued enrollment at starting institution (retention rate) | 74.7% | 82.5% | 67.0% | 75.0% | 78.5% | 76.0% | 79.4% |
Continued enrollment at other institution | 10.1% | 7.1% | 13.5% | 11.8% | 11.3% | 13.0% | 3.9% |
Persistence rate | 84.9% | 89.6% | 80.5% | 86.8% | 89.8% | 89.0% | 83.3% |
2-year public institutions
Continued enrollment at starting institution (retention rate) | 49.1% | 58.2% | 43.1% | 55.1% | 50.2% | 49.2% | 52.8% |
Continued enrollment at other institution | 13.6% | 15.9% | 12.1% | 9.9% | 17.6% | 15.4% | 12.6% |
Persistence rate | 62.7% | 74.1% | 55.1% | 64.9% | 67.8% | 64.6% | 65.3% |
Note: For this table, the retention rate is defined as the percentage of students — both full-time and part-time — who continued enrollment at the same higher-education institution in the fall semesters of their first and second years. The persistence rate is the percentage of students who continued enrollment at any higher-education institution — including those different from the ones where they first enrolled — in the fall semesters of their first and second years. Non-degree-seeking students were included in the overall rates. Students whose race or ethnicity was unknown or missing were omitted from the table. Race-and-ethnicity data were available for 79 percent of entering students over all, 83 percent of those at four-year public institutions, 79 percent of those at private nonprofit institutions, and 76 percent of those at public two-year institutions. Because race-or-ethnicity data were available for only 46 percent of entering students in the for-profit sector, disaggregated results for that sector are not presented. Percentages may not add up precisely to totals because of rounding. More data are available at nscresearchcenter.org.
Source: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, “Snapshot Report — First-Year Persistence and Retention”