The report is designed to help institutions understand first-year college persistence and retention patterns and identify disparities between different students, institutions, or states in this important early success indicator.
Overall postsecondary enrollments declined 2.5 percent in fall 2020, nearly twice the rate of enrollment decline reported in fall 2019. Undergraduate enrollment was the primary driver for this decline, decreasing 3.6 percent or over 560,200 students from 2019.
In fall 2019, overall postsecondary enrollments decreased 1.3 percent or more than 231,000 students from the previous fall to 17.9 million students.
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 fifth annual report on national college completion rates offers a look at the six-year outcomes for students who began postsecondary education in fall 2010, toward the end of the Great Recession. It looks at the various pathways students took toward degree completion, as well as the completion rates through May 2016 for the different student types who followed each pathway.
Of all students who started college in fall 2016, 73.9 percent persisted at any U.S. institution in fall 2017, while 61.6 percent were retained at their starting institution.
Of all students who started college in fall 2015, 73.4 percent persisted at any U.S. institution in fall 2016, while 61.1 percent were retained at their starting institution. The persistence rate is the percentage of students who return to college at any institution for their second year, while the retention rate is the percentage of students who return to the same institution.
Key community college metrics are provided for three areas — college access and persistence, transfer and mobility, and certificate and degree completion — which are important indicators of community college progress.
Of all students who started college in fall 2014, 72.1 percent persisted at any U.S. institution in fall 2015, while 60.6 percent were retained at their starting institution.
The overall persistence rate for students who entered college in Fall 2013 was 1.0 percentage points higher than that of students who entered college in Fall 2012, while the retention rate increased by 1.1 percentage points.
Of all associate degrees earned in 2008-09 that were reported to the National Student Clearinghouse, 488,046 were found to be the first postsecondary credential earned by a student. Forty-one percent of these students went on to earn a bachelor’s degree within six years.
National Student Clearinghouse Research Center Snapshot Report on college student’s persistence rates by percentage of college students staying in school and how persistence varied by type of institution for 2010.
