by our College Data Analytics TeamAre students coming back to BTC after their first year? Are BTC students graduating in a timely manner? What happens to the students who don't graduate? Get all your questions answered here.
The percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year is tracked as the freshmen retention rate.
With 64% students making it past their freshmen year, BTC 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 Wisconsin, the average is 74.47%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| BTC | 64% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Wisconsin | 74.47% |
Of the 231 students in the class of 2015, how many completed their degree on time?
After four years 36% of the cohort graduated. After six years 36% had completed their degree, and 38% after eight years.
The official graduation rate of BTC is 36%. This is the percentage of students who completed their degree within 150% of the published time. That means six years for a standard bachelor's degree program.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 212 | 33% |
| Six Years | 231 | 36% |
| Eight Years | 9 | 2% |
| Did Not Complete | 394 | 62% |
Approximately 394 students or 62% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 394 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
8 transferred to another institution.
BTC lost contact with the remaining 385 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 8 | 2.0% |
| Dropped Out | 385 | 97.7% |
First-time, full-time students, under the age of 25 are known as traditional students. These students are more likely to graduate in four years than so called 'non-traditional' students that includes part-time students, transfer students, or adult learners. Some schools cater to non-traditional students and it may affect their overall graduation rates.
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 BTC are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
How does this school do graduating the type of student you are most concerned bout?
First-time / full-time students at Blackhawk Technical College represent 54% of the students in the class of 2015, and 57.14% of BTC bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 36%, first-time students in the BTC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the BTC graduation rate was 39%, and by the eight year mark, 40% 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 | BTC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 36% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 39% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 40% | 47.82% |
206 first-time / full-time students or 60% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
2 transferred to another institution.
BTC lost contact with the remaining 204 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 2 | 0.97% |
| Dropped Out | 204 | 99.03% |
First-time / part-time students at Blackhawk Technical College represent 46.06% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 34%, first-time, part-time students in the BTC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 36%.
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 | BTC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 30% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 34% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 36% | 23.72% |
188 first-time / part-time students or 64% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
6 transferred to another institution.
BTC lost contact with the remaining 181 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 0.53% |
| Transferred | 6 | 3.19% |
| Dropped Out | 181 | 96.28% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on BTC returning, part-time students.
