by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding BRCC 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 65% students making it past their freshmen year, BRCC has freshmen retention rates below the national average.
Nationwide, the average first to second year retention rate is 70.57%.
When looking at just colleges and universities in Virginia, the average is 69.66%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| BRCC | 65% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Virginia | 69.66% |
Of the 420 students in the class of 2023, how many completed their degree on time?
Four years after beginning their degree, 27% of those students had graduated. By 2025, six years after starting their degree, 30% of the students had graduated and after eight years 32% of this class completed their degree.
Any student who completes their bachelor's degree within six years is considered to have graduated on time, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. This makes the offical BRCC graduation rate 30%.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 376 | 27% |
| Six Years | 420 | 30% |
| Eight Years | 19 | 2% |
| Did Not Complete | 940 | 68% |
The non-completers rate is anyone who is not still enrolled at the institution after eight years. Both transfer students and drop-outs could be included in this group.
Approximately 940 students or 68% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 940 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
210 transferred to another institution.
BRCC lost contact with the remaining 712 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 210 | 22.3% |
| Dropped Out | 712 | 75.7% |
First-time, full-time students under the age of 25 are much more likely to graduate in four years. Some schools cater to mostly traditional students while others cater to 'non-traditional' students. So called 'non-traditional' students include part-time students or those who may be returning after an absense. It is common for part-time and/or adult students to take longer to graduate.
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.
A meaningful share of students at BRCC are considered 'non-traditional students' who are not first-time, full-time, and under 25.
Examining the graduation rates of the specific cohorts shown below may be more revealing than looking at the overall graduaton rates.
First-time / full-time students at Blue Ridge Community College represent 35.46% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the BRCC graduation rate was 44%, and by the eight year mark, 46% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for this group is 37.92% after four years, 46.43% after six years, and 47.82% after eight years.
| Completions | BRCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 41% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 44% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 46% | 47.82% |
264 first-time / full-time students or 54% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
9 are still enrolled.
74 transferred to another institution.
BRCC lost contact with the remaining 181 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 9 | 3.41% |
| Transferred | 74 | 28.03% |
| Dropped Out | 181 | 68.56% |
First-time / part-time students at Blue Ridge Community College represent 30.67% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the BRCC graduation rate was 18%, and by the eight year mark, 20% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for this group is 14.37% after four years, 21.59% after six years, and 23.72% after eight years.
| Completions | BRCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 14% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 18% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 20% | 23.72% |
337 first-time / part-time students or 80% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
5 are still enrolled.
50 transferred to another institution.
BRCC lost contact with the remaining 282 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 5 | 1.48% |
| Transferred | 50 | 14.84% |
| Dropped Out | 282 | 83.68% |
Returning / full-time students at Blue Ridge Community College represent 11.09% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the BRCC graduation rate was 44%, and by the eight year mark, 44% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for this group is 53.83% after six years, and 55.07% after eight years.
| Completions | BRCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 44% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 44% | 55.07% |
86 non first-time / part-time students or 56% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
26 transferred to another institution.
BRCC lost contact with the remaining 60 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 26 | 30.23% |
| Dropped Out | 60 | 69.77% |
Returning / part-time students at Blue Ridge Community College represent 22.77% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the BRCC graduation rate was 19%, and by the eight year mark, 19% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for this group is 30.46% after four years, 36.03% after six years, and 37.80% after eight years.
| Completions | BRCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 16% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 19% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 19% | 37.80% |
253 non first-time / part-time students or 81% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
4 are still enrolled.
60 transferred to another institution.
BRCC lost contact with the remaining 189 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 4 | 1.58% |
| Transferred | 60 | 23.72% |
| Dropped Out | 189 | 74.70% |
