Question:
What are the graduation rates for students obtaining a bachelor's degree?
Response:
Approximately 58 percent of first-time, full-time students who began seeking a bachelor's degree at a 4-year institution in fall 2004 completed a bachelor's degree at that institution within 6 years or 150 percent of normal completion time to degree. In comparison, 55 percent of first-time, full-time students who began seeking a bachelor's degree in fall 1996 earned a bachelor's degree within 6 years at that institution.
Completion rates for bachelor's degree seeking students who enrolled at a 4-year institution in fall 2004 varied by institutional control. Students at private nonprofit institutions had the highest graduation rates, followed by students at public institutions and private for-profit institutions. For example, the 6-year graduation rate at private nonprofit institutions was 65 percent, compared with 56 percent at public institutions and 28 percent at private for-profit institutions.At both public and private nonprofit 4-year institutions, the 6-year graduation rates of first-time, full-time female students who sought a bachelor's degree in fall 2004 were higher than those of males. At public institutions, about 58 percent of females seeking a bachelor's degree graduated within 6 years, compared with 53 percent of males; at private nonprofit institutions, 67 percent of females graduated within 6 years, compared with 63 percent of males. However, at private for-profit institutions, the 6-year graduation rate was higher for males (30 percent) than for females (27 percent).
Completion rates for first-time, full-time students who sought a bachelor's degree in fall 2004 also varied by race/ ethnicity. Asian/Pacific Islander students had the highest 6-year graduation rate (69 percent), followed by White students (62 percent), Hispanic students (50 percent), and Black and American Indian/Alaska Native students (39 percent each.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). The Condition of Education 2011 (NCES 2012-045), Indicator 45.
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