Postsecondary Graduation Rates, Outcome Measures, Student Financial Aid, and Admissions

About 19 percent of first-time full-time students who enrolled in 2-year institutions in 2013 graduated within two years (100 percent of normal time), according to new postsecondary data. However, that rate jumped to 37 percent when the time for graduation was extended to four years (200 percent of normal time). The National Center for Education Statistics released a First Look report today (December 4) that contains data on Graduation Rates for Selected Cohorts, 2009-14; Outcome Measures for cohort year 2009-10; Student Financial Aid in Postsecondary Institutions, Academic Year 2016-17; and Admissions in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2017. The findings are from the winter data collection of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Other findings include: Approximately 60 percent of full-time, first-time students enrolled in 2011 at 4-year institutions 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 students who enrolled in 2013 at less-than 2-year institutions, 46 percent graduated within 100 percent of the normal time. When that time span was extended to within 200 percent, the graduation rate rose to 70 percent; 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 2016-17 academic year varied by institutional sector. For those attending public 4-year institutions, average cost was approximately $19,800 and net price was about $12,600; for those attending nonprofit 4-year institutions, average cost was roughly $40,600 and net price was about $22,800; and for those attending for-profit 4-year institutions, average cost was approximately $27,900 and net price was about $21,700; For cohort year 2009-10, the percentage of undergraduate students enrolled full-time—but not for the first time—who completed an award at the same institution differed from the percentage of full-time, first-time undergraduate students who completed an award at the same institution, by institutional control and level. For example, at 4-year for-profit institutions, approximately 41 percent of full-time, non-first-time students completed an award compared with 28 percent of full-time, first-time students. The 2,013 Title IV institutions that do not have an open admission policy received approximately 10.7 million applications for fall 2017 admission. About 6.0 million of these applications resulted in admission, and around 1.6 million students enrolled.