The Persistence and Retention report series examines first-year persistence and retention rates for beginning postsecondary students. Persistence rate is measured by the percentage of students who return to college at any institution for their second year, while retention rate is by the percentage of students who return to the same institution.…

Among all students who enrolled in college for the first time in fall 2017, 73.8 percent persisted at any U.S. institution in fall 2018, while 61.7 percent were retained at their starting institution. This brief report presents the following statistics on first-year persistence and retention for the Fall 2017 Cohort: (1) First-Year Persistence and…

This First Look report presents selected findings from the 2012/17 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:12/17), a nationally representative survey of undergraduates who entered postsecondary education for the first time in the 2011-12 academic year. BPS:12/17 covers the experiences of these first-time beginning postsecondary…

As a supplement to "Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rates," the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center's fourth publication in the Signature Report series, this report focuses on six-year student success outcomes and college completion rates by state. Results are presented in three sections that show…

One of the most significance social challenges facing the United States is increasing the number of students entering postsecondary education and having them persist to degree completion. To accomplish this undertaking, more first-generation college students must matriculate and find academic success. Considerable research exists concerning the…

College completion, earning a degree or certificate, is considered to be a key college success outcome, supported by every educational policymaker. Yet, institutions and policymakers in the U.S. know surprisingly little about the rates of completion for students who follow all but the most traditional of postsecondary pathways. This is because…

In spring 1982, a study was conducted to determine the persistence of Howard Community College (HCC) students from fall 1981 to spring 1982 and the relationship of students' attendance status, sex, and age to retention rates. Selected study findings include the following: (1) the overall retention rate for spring 1982 was 61.1% including Special…

A study was conducted of the persistence rates of new full-time students at San Jose Community College (SJCC) and Evergreen Valley College (EVC), California, for fall 1988 through spring 1990. Persistence was examined by ethnicity, gender, and age. Study findings included the following: (1) less than 7% of the colleges' students were new full-time…

A study was conducted to compare the academic persistence, performance, and degree attainment of three groups of students who were enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program at Arizona State University, the University of Arizona or Northern Arizona University between 1976 and 1980. The study groups were defined in terms of the students'…

A study was conducted using enrollment and program completion data for fiscal years (FY's) 1984 through 1987 to analyze female student participation at the Illinois public community colleges. Study findings included the following: (1) female students comprised 57.7% of the colleges' enrollments over the 4 years of the study, representing 51% of…

A longitudinal study was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) to observe the performance and achievements of students entering the college each fall from 1977 through 1988. Academic and personal data from transcripts were analyzed for randomly selected samples of 200 full- and 200 part-time students from each fall's entering class.…

A longitudinal study was conducted at William Rainey Harper College, in Palatine, Illinois, to observe the performance and achievement of all credit students entering the college from fall 1979 through fall 1989. Academic records were analyzed for 14,908 full-time and 30,082 part-time students. Study findings included the following: (1) over the…

Data from the seven Hawaii community colleges were examined to determine the persistence patterns of students entering the system in Fall 1974, Fall 1975, and Fall 1976 after six semesters. Students were classified as: (1) non-persisters, i.e., those who attended one semester only; (2) moderate persisters, i.e., those who attended two or more…