Twice as many graduate 4 year college in 8 years than in 4 years, similar results at 2 year colleges

According to new data released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), when the time period in which students were tracked for program completion was extended from within 100 percent of normal time to within 200 percent of normal time, graduation rates for undergraduates who were full-time, first-time students in 2010 increased from 18 percent to 36 percent at 2-year institutions and from 38 percent to 67 percent at less-than-2-year institutions.

Graduation Rates for Selected Cohorts, 2006-11; Student Financial Aid in Postsecondary Institutions, Academic Year 2013-14; and Admissions in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2014 presents findings from the winter 2014-15 data collection of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the NCES within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Other findings include:

•    Approximately 60 percent of full-time, first-time students at 4-year institutions in 2008 who were seeking a bachelor’s or equivalent degree completed a bachelor’s or equivalent degree within 6 years at the institution where they began their studies .

•    Among full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students awarded any grant aid, differences in average cost of attendance and net price of attendance for the 2013-14 academic year varied by institutional sector. For those attending public 4-year institutions, average cost was approximately $19,000 and net price was about $12,100; for those attending nonprofit 4-year institutions, average cost was roughly $37,300 and net price was about $21,400; and for those attending for-profit 4-year institutions, average cost was approximately $27,200 and net price was about $21,900.