by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding AWC retention and graduation rates. First year retention rates let you know how many first-time, full-time students students come back for their second year. Graduation rates tell you how many students complete their degree and how long it takes.
Freshmen retention rate refers to the percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year.
With 61% students making it past their freshmen year, AWC has freshmen retention rates similar to the national average.
Nationwide, the average first to second year retention rate is 70.57%.
When looking at just colleges and universities in Arizona, the average is 67.94%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| AWC | 61% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Arizona | 67.94% |
Of the 763 students in the class of 2015, how many completed their degree on time?
Four years after beginning their degree, 22% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 20% of the students had graduated and after eight years 22% of this class completed their degree.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, a student is considered to have graduated on time if they complete their degree within six years, making the official AWC graduation rate 20%.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 646 | 17% |
| Six Years | 763 | 20% |
| Eight Years | 67 | 2% |
| Did Not Complete | 2,904 | 78% |
Approximately 2904 students or 78% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 2904 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
693 transferred to another institution.
AWC lost contact with the remaining 2130 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 693 | 23.9% |
| Dropped Out | 2,130 | 73.3% |
Some schools have mainly first-time, full-time students, while others cater to part-time students, transfer students, or adult learners. For a variety of reasons first-time, full-time students under the age of 25 are usually more likely to graduate in four years.
Traditional Students:
First-time, full-time students under the age of 25.
Non-Traditional Students:
Any student that is not first-time, full-time, and under the age of 25.
The majority of students at AWC are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
Comparing the graduation rates of specific cohorts shown below will be more revealing than the overall statistics shared above.
First-time / full-time students at Arizona Western College represent 38% of the students in the class of 2015, and 46.40% of AWC bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 22%, first-time students in the AWC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the AWC graduation rate was 25%, and by the eight year mark, 27% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for first-time undergraduates attending classes full-time is 37.92% after four years, 46.43% after six years, and 47.82% after eight years.
| First-Time / Full-Time Completions | AWC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 22% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 25% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 27% | 47.82% |
1047 first-time / full-time students or 73% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
293 transferred to another institution.
AWC lost contact with the remaining 728 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 293 | 27.98% |
| Dropped Out | 728 | 69.53% |
First-time / part-time students at Arizona Western College represent 53.32% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 15%, first-time, part-time students in the AWC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 17%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for first-time undergraduates attending classes part-time is: 14.37% after four years, 21.59% after six years, 23.72% after eight years.
| First-Time / Part-Time Completions | AWC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 12% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 15% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 17% | 23.72% |
1661 first-time / part-time students or 83% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
53 are still enrolled.
320 transferred to another institution.
AWC lost contact with the remaining 1288 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 53 | 3.19% |
| Transferred | 320 | 19.27% |
| Dropped Out | 1,288 | 77.54% |
146 AWC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 3.91% of the students in the class of 2015.
Non first-time students could include transfer students or adults who have returned to school after an absense.
With a six year graduation rate of 41%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate lower than the national average for students in this category.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 43%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for non first-time undergraduates attending classes full-time is: 49.57% after four years, 53.83% after six years, and 55.07% after eight years.
| Returning / Full-Time Completions | AWC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 41% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 43% | 55.07% |
83 non first-time / part-time students or 57% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
41 transferred to another institution.
AWC lost contact with the remaining 41 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 1.20% |
| Transferred | 41 | 49.40% |
| Dropped Out | 41 | 49.40% |
169 AWC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 4.53% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 33%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate lower than the national average.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 33%.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for non first-time undergraduates attending classes part-time is: 36.03% after six years, 36.03% after eight years.
| Returning / Part-Time Completions | AWC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 33% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 33% | 37.80% |
113 non first-time / part-time students or 67% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
39 transferred to another institution.
AWC lost contact with the remaining 73 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 0.88% |
| Transferred | 39 | 34.51% |
| Dropped Out | 73 | 64.60% |
