ANALYSIS: Graduation Rates Fall at One-Third of 4-Year Colleges
SORTABLE TABLES: Graduation Rates Over Time, by Type of Institution:
Public Research | Private Research | Public Master’s | Private Master’s | Private Baccalaureate Arts & Sciences
We compare here the graduation rates at four-year colleges for the six years ending in 2008 with the rates for the six years ending in 2003. Because rates can spike up or down in a particular year, we also show a separate comparison that tends to reduce the effect of those outliers on differences in colleges’ rates over time. To make this comparison, we averaged each college’s rates in 2003 and 2008 with rates in the immediately preceeding years, then compared the averages. To further illustrate changes over time at each college, we show in boldface type any rate that increased over the one in the immediately preceeding year. Figures are rounded. About These Data
** Change in averaged graduation rates: the difference, in percentage points, of the average of the rates for 2001 and 2002 compared with the average of the rates for 2007 and 2008.
| Institution | Change in percentage points, 2003-8 | Change in averaged graduation rates** | Change in admissions selectivity | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| C of Saint Thomas More * | 59 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 16% | n/a | 100% | 55% | 40% | 75% |
| Talladega C | 47 | 8 | less | 53% | 33% | 33% | 42% | 29% | 23% | 80% |
| Rust C | 45 | 19 | more | 37% | 28% | n/a | n/a | n/a | 29% | 73% |
| Shimer C * | 34 | -13 | none | 100% | 21% | 33% | 40% | 83% | 40% | 55% |
| Brigham Young U Hawaii | 21 | 12 | more | 43% | 29% | 41% | 41% | 48% | 46% | 51% |
| Brevard C | 20 | 16 | n/a | 20% | 11% | 27% | 28% | 29% | 32% | 31% |
| Marlboro C | 20 | 23 | none | 32% | 44% | 49% | 56% | 49% | 59% | 64% |
| St. Andrews Presbyterian C | 19 | 10 | less | 43% | 35% | 34% | 44% | 34% | 43% | 54% |
| Northland C | 18 | 14 | more | 43% | 39% | 45% | 46% | 47% | 54% | 57% |
| C of Idaho | 15 | 15 | n/a | 45% | 52% | 56% | 55% | 65% | 59% | 67% |
| McPherson C | 15 | 1 | none | 45% | 26% | 30% | 25% | 24% | 33% | 41% |
| Wesleyan C | 15 | 13 | more | 41% | 46% | 47% | 45% | 58% | 52% | 61% |
| Berea C | 15 | 14 | more | 50% | 49% | 63% | 62% | 61% | 63% | 64% |
| Washington C | 14 | 9 | less | 70% | 66% | 63% | 68% | 72% | 73% | 80% |
| Lyon C | 13 | 9 | less | 51% | 49% | 63% | 68% | 65% | 55% | 62% |
| Merrimack C | 13 | 14 | more | 63% | 58% | 68% | 71% | 67% | 77% | 71% |
| Sterling C | 12 | 10 | more | 42% | 39% | 40% | 63% | 44% | 50% | 51% |
| Greensboro C | 11 | -16 | none | 46% | 30% | 44% | 46% | 38% | 2% | 41% |
| Morehouse C | 11 | 8 | none | 56% | 56% | 50% | 61% | 54% | 60% | 67% |
| Bloomfield C | 11 | 7 | none | 36% | 25% | 28% | 28% | 33% | 38% | 36% |
| Bethel C | 11 | 12 | none | 36% | 50% | 50% | 54% | 57% | 50% | 61% |
| Westminster C (Mo.) | 11 | 10 | none | 50% | 53% | 52% | 61% | 63% | 59% | 63% |
| DePauw U | 10 | 7 | more | 77% | 75% | 75% | 79% | 82% | 81% | 85% |
| Colorado C | 10 | 5 | none | 83% | 77% | 84% | 83% | 84% | 83% | 87% |
| American Jewish U * | 9 | 15 | n/a | 53% | 61% | n/a | 70% | 63% | 75% | 70% |
| Westmont C | 9 | 5 | none | 68% | 72% | 70% | 72% | 77% | 69% | 80% |
| Illinois Wesleyan U | 9 | 4 | none | 83% | 74% | 81% | 82% | 80% | 82% | 83% |
| Claremont McKenna C | 8 | 8 | none | 82% | 86% | 91% | 88% | 88% | 89% | 94% |
| Asbury C | 8 | 8 | none | 57% | 63% | 70% | 69% | 66% | 64% | 71% |
| C of the Holy Cross | 8 | 4 | none | 92% | 90% | 90% | 91% | 92% | 92% | 98% |
| Occidental C | 8 | 5 | more | 79% | 77% | 75% | 84% | 82% | 81% | 86% |
| Bard C | 8 | 7 | more | 71% | 68% | 69% | 72% | 74% | 76% | 76% |
| C of Wooster | 8 | 8 | none | 65% | 68% | 68% | 75% | 73% | 73% | 76% |
| Gordon C | 8 | 7 | more | 65% | 67% | 66% | 74% | 72% | 71% | 75% |
| Muhlenberg C | 8 | 5 | none | 82% | 78% | 82% | 85% | 86% | 83% | 86% |
| Illinois C | 8 | 4 | none | 58% | 55% | 61% | 56% | 55% | 58% | 63% |
| Gettysburg C | 7 | 6 | none | 76% | 75% | 77% | 76% | 80% | 81% | 83% |
| Stephens C | 7 | 3 | none | 59% | 50% | 57% | 52% | 54% | 58% | 57% |
| Baptist Bible C | 7 | 4 | n/a | 37% | 21% | 15% | 34% | 23% | 37% | 28% |
| St. John’s C (Md.) | 7 | 8 | more | 62% | 64% | 71% | 74% | 68% | 71% | 71% |
| Ripon C | 7 | 10 | none | 59% | 62% | 75% | 70% | 75% | 72% | 69% |
| Whitman C | 7 | 3 | none | 87% | 85% | 83% | 86% | 88% | 86% | 92% |
| Allegheny C | 7 | 3 | less | 73% | 67% | 66% | 73% | 77% | 71% | 74% |
| Saint Michael’s C | 7 | 5 | more | 76% | 75% | 78% | 77% | 77% | 80% | 81% |
| Reed C | 7 | 7 | none | 68% | 71% | 70% | 73% | 75% | 75% | 78% |
| Lawrence U | 6 | 9 | none | 67% | 69% | 73% | 76% | 78% | 79% | 75% |
| Randolph C | 6 | 3 | none | 62% | 61% | 61% | 63% | 64% | 62% | 67% |
| Harvey Mudd C | 6 | 5 | none | 80% | 84% | 85% | 88% | 85% | 84% | 90% |
| William Jewell C | 6 | 6 | none | 59% | 56% | 63% | 64% | 64% | 65% | 63% |
| Olivet C | 6 | 6 | more | 32% | 30% | 37% | 39% | 29% | 38% | 36% |
| Goshen C | 6 | -16 | more | 100% | 66% | 69% | 62% | 61% | 63% | 72% |
| Wofford C | 6 | 4 | none | 75% | 77% | 80% | 78% | 79% | 77% | 83% |
| Wheaton C (Mass.) | 6 | 7 | none | 70% | 75% | 72% | 75% | 75% | 79% | 81% |
| Linfield C | 6 | 3 | more | 69% | 67% | 68% | 68% | 73% | 69% | 73% |
| Monmouth C | 6 | 3 | none | 60% | 61% | 59% | 64% | 72% | 60% | 67% |
| Hendrix C | 6 | 2 | more | 68% | 64% | 68% | 61% | 66% | 66% | 70% |
| North Greenville U | 6 | 7 | n/a | 37% | 43% | 37% | 46% | 37% | 45% | 49% |
| Judson C | 6 | 4 | none | 51% | 44% | 39% | 53% | 36% | 54% | 49% |
| Gustavus Adolphus C | 6 | 5 | none | 82% | 77% | 71% | 76% | 67% | 86% | 83% |
| C of Saint Benedict | 5 | 5 | none | 77% | 79% | 82% | 77% | 80% | 82% | 84% |
| Macalester C | 5 | 5 | none | 82% | 82% | 81% | 85% | 85% | 86% | 87% |
| Lycoming C | 5 | 5 | none | 66% | 66% | 64% | 67% | 66% | 70% | 71% |
| St. Olaf C | 5 | 6 | none | 80% | 81% | 84% | 83% | 85% | 86% | 86% |
| Beloit C | 5 | 9 | more | 66% | 73% | 70% | 71% | 72% | 79% | 78% |
| Agnes Scott C | 5 | 1 | none | 72% | 65% | 72% | 66% | 67% | 69% | 71% |
| U of Richmond | 5 | 5 | none | 82% | 81% | 85% | 81% | 83% | 86% | 87% |
| Marymount Manhattan C | 5 | 3 | more | 45% | 44% | 45% | 42% | 41% | 45% | 49% |
| Pikeville C | 5 | 2 | none | 32% | 30% | 38% | 37% | 29% | 30% | 35% |
| Hampden-Sydney C | 5 | 5 | none | 62% | 57% | 68% | 62% | 65% | 66% | 62% |
| Juniata C | 5 | 3 | none | 74% | 75% | 74% | 74% | 78% | 76% | 80% |
| Dickinson C | 5 | 4 | none | 79% | 79% | 80% | 84% | 82% | 83% | 84% |
| Barnard C | 5 | 4 | n/a | 87% | 84% | 89% | 89% | 87% | 89% | 89% |
| Lindsey Wilson C | 4 | 2 | less | 25% | 20% | 19% | 23% | 26% | 25% | 24% |
| Whittier C | 4 | 6 | none | 50% | 51% | 55% | 57% | 62% | 58% | 55% |
| Denison U | 4 | 4 | more | 76% | 77% | 77% | 80% | 77% | 79% | 81% |
| Cornell C | 4 | 7 | none | 54% | 68% | 65% | 67% | 66% | 64% | 72% |
| Simpson C | 4 | 1 | none | 66% | 64% | 66% | 70% | 69% | 65% | 68% |
| Sweet Briar C | 4 | 7 | none | 61% | 68% | 67% | 67% | 70% | 71% | 72% |
| Davidson C | 4 | 3 | none | 90% | 90% | 91% | 87% | 91% | 93% | 94% |
| Moravian C | 4 | 2 | more | 74% | 71% | 66% | 71% | 70% | 75% | 76% |
| Wingate U | 4 | 4 | none | 44% | 49% | 45% | 51% | 48% | 47% | 53% |
| Colby C | 4 | 2 | none | 88% | 86% | 88% | 89% | 87% | 87% | 90% |
| Albion C | 4 | 3 | none | 68% | 69% | 71% | 72% | 74% | 71% | 73% |
| West Virginia Wesleyan C | 4 | 2 | none | 55% | 55% | 54% | 53% | 56% | 55% | 59% |
| Susquehanna U | 4 | 4 | none | 77% | 78% | 76% | 79% | 83% | 82% | 82% |
| Hamilton C | 4 | 4 | none | 84% | 87% | 86% | 88% | 88% | 88% | 91% |
| Carleton C | 4 | 6 | more | 86% | 89% | 90% | 87% | 93% | 93% | 93% |
| Kenyon C | 4 | 3 | none | 82% | 84% | 84% | 83% | 87% | 83% | 88% |
| Lane C | 4 | 0 | more | 28% | 29% | 28% | 38% | 34% | 25% | 32% |
| Transylvania U | 4 | 4 | none | 69% | 66% | 64% | 65% | 71% | 73% | 70% |
| Mount Holyoke C | 4 | 6 | none | 81% | 79% | 78% | 80% | 83% | 89% | 82% |
| Russell Sage C | 4 | -1 | none | 72% | 69% | 63% | 62% | 67% | 67% | 73% |
| Sage Graduate Sch | 4 | -1 | none | 72% | 69% | 63% | 62% | 67% | 67% | 73% |
| Centenary C of Louisiana | 3 | 3 | none | 53% | 56% | 55% | 54% | 57% | 55% | 59% |
| Austin C | 3 | 2 | none | 78% | 74% | 74% | 76% | 75% | 78% | 78% |
| Eastern Mennonite U | 3 | 5 | more | 63% | 61% | 60% | 67% | 61% | 70% | 64% |
| Vassar C | 3 | 4 | none | 88% | 89% | 86% | 91% | 90% | 93% | 92% |
| Spelman C | 3 | 2 | none | 78% | 77% | 77% | 74% | 79% | 78% | 80% |
| Lafayette C | 3 | 4 | more | 85% | 86% | 86% | 90% | 90% | 89% | 89% |
| Pomona C | 3 | 4 | none | 89% | 92% | 90% | 95% | 93% | 94% | 95% |
| Saint Anselm C | 3 | -1 | none | 76% | 73% | 77% | 75% | 69% | 71% | 76% |
| Franklin Pierce U | 3 | -1 | none | 47% | 46% | 45% | 49% | 52% | 41% | 49% |
| Siena C | 3 | 5 | more | 72% | 77% | 77% | 80% | 77% | 80% | 80% |
| Scripps C | 3 | 7 | more | 69% | 79% | 74% | 84% | 72% | 79% | 82% |
| Hiram C | 3 | -2 | more | 68% | 59% | 65% | 64% | 56% | 61% | 62% |
| Drew U | 3 | -1 | less | 75% | 74% | 73% | 73% | 76% | 71% | 77% |
| Colgate U | 3 | 2 | none | 88% | 89% | 89% | 91% | 89% | 90% | 91% |
| Smith C | 2 | 4 | none | 80% | 86% | 84% | 86% | 86% | 86% | 88% |
| Millikin U | 2 | 4 | none | 61% | 61% | 61% | 62% | 68% | 67% | 63% |
| Baker U | 2 | 2 | none | 57% | 57% | 58% | 67% | 61% | 59% | 59% |
| Atlantic Union C | 2 | 3 | none | 41% | 39% | 36% | 37% | 28% | 44% | 41% |
| Trinity C (Conn.) | 2 | 3 | none | 83% | 84% | 87% | 85% | 83% | 87% | 86% |
| Haverford C | 2 | 1 | none | 91% | 92% | 90% | 88% | 94% | 91% | 94% |
| Southwestern U | 2 | 2 | more | 70% | 73% | 75% | 78% | 73% | 72% | 75% |
| Nebraska Wesleyan U | 2 | 3 | more | 66% | 64% | 63% | 69% | 70% | 70% | 65% |
| St. Lawrence U | 2 | 4 | none | 72% | 74% | 75% | 75% | 76% | 77% | 76% |
| Wesleyan U | 2 | 2 | none | 89% | 91% | 92% | 90% | 90% | 92% | 93% |
| Presbyterian C | 2 | 0 | none | 72% | 71% | 76% | 73% | 71% | 71% | 73% |
| Thiel C | 2 | -1 | none | 42% | 33% | 31% | 42% | 51% | 39% | 35% |
| Connecticut C | 2 | 0 | more | 84% | 86% | 86% | 87% | 86% | 81% | 88% |
| Calvin C | 2 | 1 | less | 73% | 74% | 76% | 71% | 75% | 73% | 76% |
| Union C (N.Y.) | 2 | 2 | none | 84% | 83% | 88% | 85% | 86% | 86% | 85% |
| Bryn Mawr C | 1 | 2 | none | 82% | 85% | 83% | 86% | 78% | 84% | 86% |
| Middlebury C | 1 | 1 | none | 90% | 92% | 90% | 94% | 94% | 91% | 93% |
| Hobart and William Smith Cs | 1 | 0 | none | 72% | 71% | 78% | 71% | 74% | 71% | 73% |
| Skidmore C | 1 | 4 | none | 75% | 80% | 85% | 78% | 80% | 82% | 81% |
| Berry C | 1 | 1 | less | 60% | 60% | 61% | 64% | 63% | 60% | 61% |
| Earlham C and Earlham Sch of Religion | 1 | 2 | none | 72% | 71% | 72% | 67% | 71% | 75% | 72% |
| Carroll C | 1 | -3 | none | 65% | 60% | 58% | 61% | 61% | 58% | 61% |
| Oberlin C | 1 | 3 | none | 77% | 83% | 79% | 83% | 85% | 82% | 84% |
| Bates C | 1 | 1 | none | 87% | 89% | 84% | 89% | 90% | 89% | 89% |
| Warren Wilson C | 1 | 2 | none | 42% | 45% | 46% | 49% | 53% | 45% | 46% |
| Furman U | 1 | 1 | none | 82% | 84% | 84% | 84% | 86% | 83% | 85% |
| Central C | 1 | 5 | none | 62% | 68% | 69% | 64% | 68% | 72% | 68% |
| Centre C | 1 | -1 | more | 76% | 81% | 80% | 79% | 81% | 73% | 82% |
| Guilford C | 1 | -5 | none | 67% | 56% | 68% | n/a | 60% | 58% | 57% |
| Sarah Lawrence C | 1 | 2 | none | 72% | 72% | 74% | 73% | 79% | 76% | 73% |
| Lake Forest C | 1 | 0 | more | 70% | 66% | 60% | 70% | 68% | 69% | 66% |
| Roanoke C | 1 | -1 | more | 68% | 61% | 61% | 65% | 65% | 65% | 61% |
| Bowdoin C | 1 | 0 | none | 90% | 90% | 89% | 94% | 92% | 88% | 91% |
| Swarthmore C | 0 | 1 | none | 92% | 92% | 91% | 93% | 92% | 94% | 92% |
| Washington and Lee U | 0 | 1 | none | 88% | 88% | 90% | 87% | 87% | 89% | 89% |
| Oglethorpe U | 0 | -4 | less | 62% | 61% | 56% | 60% | 61% | 53% | 62% |
| Bridgewater C | 0 | 6 | none | 55% | 59% | 65% | 68% | 65% | 66% | 59% |
| McDaniel C | 0 | 2 | none | 68% | 72% | 70% | 74% | 72% | 72% | 73% |
| Albertus Magnus C | 0 | 0 | none | 57% | 55% | 46% | 57% | 48% | 57% | 56% |
| Coe C | 0 | 0 | none | 67% | 70% | 65% | 73% | 71% | 67% | 70% |
| Lewis & Clark C | 0 | 3 | none | 64% | 71% | 67% | 71% | 70% | 71% | 71% |
| Grinnell C | 0 | 1 | none | 84% | 85% | 88% | 87% | 90% | 87% | 85% |
| Williams C | 0 | -1 | none | 96% | 96% | 96% | 96% | 96% | 95% | 96% |
| Hastings C | 0 | -1 | none | 65% | 64% | 62% | 62% | 63% | 62% | 64% |
| Saint John’s U | 0 | 0 | none | 80% | 83% | 81% | 79% | 82% | 80% | 83% |
| Tougaloo C | 0 | -2 | none | 49% | 47% | 49% | 42% | 43% | 46% | 47% |
| Wellesley C | 0 | 1 | none | 91% | 91% | 91% | 93% | 93% | 92% | 91% |
| Bucknell U | 0 | 1 | none | 88% | 89% | 89% | 90% | 89% | 89% | 88% |
| Kalamazoo C | 0 | 2 | more | 74% | 76% | 77% | 80% | 80% | 78% | 76% |
| Sierra Nevada C | -1 | 4 | more | 18% | 22% | 22% | 28% | 19% | 27% | 21% |
| Wheaton C (Ill.) | -1 | 0 | none | 86% | 86% | 84% | 86% | 89% | 86% | 86% |
| Eckerd C | -1 | -2 | less | 61% | 65% | 65% | 63% | 59% | 58% | 64% |
| Pitzer C | -1 | 2 | more | 65% | 71% | 71% | 70% | 76% | 71% | 69% |
| U of Puget Sound | -1 | 1 | more | 74% | 77% | 74% | 73% | 74% | 76% | 76% |
| Jarvis Christian C | -1 | 1 | less | 8% | 11% | 77% | 24% | 18% | 10% | 10% |
| Saint Norbert C | -1 | -3 | none | 75% | 76% | 67% | 71% | 72% | 71% | 75% |
| Lambuth U | -1 | -2 | none | 40% | 42% | 43% | 38% | 43% | 38% | 40% |
| Johnson C. Smith U | -1 | 0 | more | 41% | 40% | 41% | 36% | 40% | 42% | 39% |
| Emory & Henry C | -2 | -4 | none | 60% | 57% | 51% | 52% | 58% | 54% | 55% |
| Simpson U | -2 | -1 | none | 50% | 46% | 40% | 46% | 50% | 50% | 44% |
| Millsaps C | -2 | -1 | none | 70% | 70% | 69% | 71% | 65% | 69% | 68% |
| Saint Vincent C | -2 | 0 | none | 69% | 75% | 67% | 70% | 72% | 71% | 73% |
| Washington and Jefferson C | -2 | -2 | none | 73% | 75% | 64% | 68% | 68% | 70% | 73% |
| Augustana C | -2 | 0 | none | 74% | 77% | 75% | 76% | 78% | 76% | 75% |
| Amherst C | -2 | -1 | none | 96% | 97% | 96% | 96% | 96% | 96% | 95% |
| Ursinus C | -2 | -2 | none | 78% | 78% | 78% | 75% | 78% | 75% | 76% |
| Alma C | -2 | 0 | none | 69% | 72% | 71% | 72% | 70% | 70% | 70% |
| Rhodes C | -2 | -1 | none | 73% | 74% | 83% | 80% | 81% | 73% | 72% |
| Hope C | -2 | 1 | less | 74% | 75% | 73% | 75% | 76% | 78% | 73% |
| Maryville C | -2 | -6 | none | 64% | 53% | 55% | 53% | 55% | 55% | 51% |
| Green Mountain C | -2 | -1 | more | 40% | 32% | 32% | 38% | 34% | 41% | 29% |
| Huntingdon C | -3 | 0 | none | 49% | 57% | 58% | 44% | 53% | 51% | 55% |
| Houghton C | -3 | 0 | none | 69% | 74% | 67% | 64% | 71% | 72% | 71% |
| Stonehill C | -3 | 2 | more | 78% | 85% | 82% | 83% | 85% | 85% | 82% |
| Clarke U | -3 | 3 | less | 62% | 67% | 56% | 59% | 67% | 71% | 64% |
| Virginia Wesleyan C | -3 | 1 | none | 37% | 47% | 42% | 37% | 43% | 42% | 44% |
| Georgetown C | -3 | 0 | n/a | 58% | 60% | 61% | 58% | 60% | 62% | 57% |
| Carson-Newman C | -3 | -4 | none | 57% | 56% | 63% | 58% | 61% | 52% | 53% |
| Huston-Tillotson U | -3 | -3 | none | 20% | 20% | 16% | 12% | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Knox C | -3 | -1 | more | 70% | 78% | 79% | 75% | 76% | 72% | 75% |
| Ohio Wesleyan U | -3 | -1 | none | 67% | 67% | 61% | 68% | 65% | 68% | 63% |
| Dillard U | -4 | 3 | more | 39% | 42% | 50% | 41% | 48% | 48% | 39% |
| Saint Mary’s C | -4 | -2 | none | 74% | 80% | 72% | 74% | 72% | 75% | 76% |
| Westminster C (Pa.) | -4 | -3 | none | 77% | 76% | 76% | 76% | 78% | 76% | 73% |
| Concordia C (N.Y.) | -4 | 7 | more | 35% | 47% | 44% | 40% | 55% | 53% | 43% |
| Mount Union C | -4 | -2 | none | 65% | 69% | 67% | 61% | 63% | 65% | 64% |
| Wabash C | -4 | 0 | more | 68% | 74% | 68% | 70% | 77% | 71% | 70% |
| Albright C | -4 | -6 | none | 67% | 68% | 58% | 57% | 58% | 60% | 64% |
| Meredith C | -4 | -5 | none | 67% | 71% | 68% | 67% | 63% | 62% | 66% |
| Franklin & Marshall C | -4 | -2 | none | 84% | 84% | 82% | 82% | 81% | 84% | 79% |
| Salem C | -5 | -9 | more | 65% | 58% | 51% | 52% | 52% | 52% | 53% |
| Wisconsin Lutheran C | -5 | -9 | none | 73% | 72% | 61% | 66% | 58% | 61% | 66% |
| Goucher C | -5 | -3 | none | 69% | 69% | 63% | 64% | 71% | 67% | 64% |
| Paine C | -6 | 1 | none | 23% | 31% | 30% | 28% | 30% | 31% | 25% |
| Hollins U | -6 | -1 | none | 65% | 65% | 61% | 61% | 70% | 69% | 59% |
| Cedar Crest C | -6 | -3 | none | 59% | 64% | 57% | 54% | 63% | 58% | 58% |
| Bennington C | -6 | -10 | none | 71% | 67% | 66% | 60% | 59% | 57% | 61% |
| Sewanee: the U of the South | -6 | -2 | none | 76% | 83% | 79% | 82% | 77% | 78% | 77% |
| Hartwick C | -6 | -2 | none | 58% | 61% | 54% | 55% | 55% | 61% | 55% |
| Luther C | -6 | -6 | none | 79% | 79% | 76% | 75% | 75% | 74% | 72% |
| Wartburg C | -8 | -5 | none | 70% | 72% | 64% | 67% | 64% | 67% | 64% |
| Wittenberg U | -8 | -8 | none | 70% | 71% | 65% | 65% | 66% | 61% | 63% |
| Hanover C | -8 | -10 | less | 71% | 67% | 71% | 69% | 66% | 59% | 59% |
| Kentucky Wesleyan C | -9 | -4 | none | 31% | 49% | 50% | 46% | 42% | 32% | 40% |
| Bryn Athyn C of the New Church * | -9 | -33 | n/a | 88% | 25% | 16% | 24% | 22% | 30% | 16% |
| Willamette U | -10 | -4 | none | 78% | 80% | 71% | 74% | 76% | 80% | 71% |
| Birmingham-Southern C | -10 | -7 | none | 75% | 76% | 70% | 69% | 69% | 71% | 66% |
| Peace C | -11 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 40% | 44% | 48% | 37% | 37% | 29% |
| Thomas Aquinas C | -11 | -3 | more | 74% | 80% | 75% | 82% | 88% | 80% | 70% |
| Thomas More C of Liberal Arts * | -11 | 0 | more | 50% | 38% | 45% | 59% | 81% | 62% | 26% |
| Wells C | -14 | -13 | none | 62% | 69% | 67% | 58% | 49% | 51% | 55% |
| Burlington C * | -15 | -1 | n/a | 14% | 33% | 8% | 33% | 28% | 26% | 19% |
| Ferrum C | -15 | -4 | none | 28% | 45% | 33% | 34% | 29% | 35% | 31% |
| Pine Manor C | -17 | n/a | none | n/a | 47% | 40% | 39% | 39% | 53% | 30% |
| Bennett C for Women | -18 | -31 | none | 80% | 56% | 37% | 37% | 33% | 35% | 38% |
| St. John’s C (N.M.) | -20 | -8 | none | 52% | 66% | 54% | 55% | 57% | 56% | 46% |
| C of the Atlantic | -20 | -17 | less | 68% | 82% | 47% | 62% | 65% | 54% | 62% |
| Randolph-Macon C | -21 | -20 | none | 71% | 87% | 58% | 65% | 60% | 52% | 65% |
| Fisk U | -25 | -17 | less | 62% | 78% | 64% | 58% | 57% | 53% | 53% |
| Beacon C * | -25 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 83% | 75% | n/a | 77% | 69% | 58% |
| Texas Lutheran U | -32 | -16 | none | 56% | 54% | 45% | 42% | 55% | 55% | 22% |
| Magdalen C * | -34 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 75% | 61% | 52% | 36% | n/a | 41% |
| Concordia C, Moorhead | 0 | 0 | more | 69% | 66% | 65% | 63% | 70% | 69% | 66% |
| Evangel U | -61 | -54 | less | 91% | 100% | 53% | 62% | 52% | 44% | 39% |
* Institution enrolled relatively few students (50 or fewer in 2002) who met the federal government’s criteria (like full-time attendance) to be counted in the graduation rate for the six-year period ending in 2008. In some cases, those students may represent a small minority of all students enrolled at the institution. A college’s graduation rates can rise or fall significantly over time because of small year-to-year variations in the number of such students who enroll and complete degrees.
The entry for Concordia College at Moorhead was updated on December 20, 2010, to include revised data submitted by the university to the U.S. Education Department
About These Data
The Chronicle analyzed changes in graduation rates reported by more than 1,000, four-year public and private nonprofit colleges and universities. We examined only institutions classified as research, master’s, or Baccalaureate Colleges—Arts & Sciences by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2005.
These rates, which colleges report annually to the U.S. Education Department, are calculated as the percentage of all first-time, full-time students entering in the fall seeking bachelor’s degrees who completed bachelor’s degrees within six years. At some institutions, this definition excludes a significant number of students, for example, those enrolled part time.
The column labels showing a single year -- 2002 through 2008 -- refer to the final year of six-year periods. The six-year period ending in 2008 was the most recent for which comprehensive data were available from the Education Department when The Chronicle published these tables. The six-year period ending in 2002 was the first for which all colleges participating in federal-aid programs were required to report the data to the Education Department. Figures are rounded.
In these tables, we compare rates for the six years ending in 2008 against rates from five years earlier, in 2003.
A college’s graduation rate sometimes spikes up or down in a particular year. To account for such fluctuations, The Chronicle also averaged the graduation rates for 2002 and 2003 and compared those sums with the averages of the 2007 and 2008 rates. That approach yielded results similar to those shown when only 2003 and 2008 were compared.
Colleges typically describe their graduation rates using a similar but slightly different set of data, which includes students who completed any degree program, such as associate degrees. The Education Department recommends examining only students seeking bachelor’s degrees when comparing four-year institutions because it facilitates consistent comparisons and because producing bachelor’s recipients is a core mission of those institutions.
The Chronicle’s analysis recognizes that a college’s graduation rate may rise if its admissions become more selective. Greater selectivity typically brings more academically prepared students, who in turn are more likely to complete degrees within six years. Conversely, graduation rates can slip when institutions become less selective. We labeled institutions that became more or less selective during the period covered by these graduation rates. The source was Barron’s Profile of American Colleges, which assigns colleges among seven tiers of selectivity. We recorded whether a college changed tiers from 1996-7 to 2001-2.
Other changes in student demographics could also have increased how each institution’s rate changed over time, and this analysis did not further account for those effects.
