by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding how Capella University's retention and graduation rates impact you. First year retention rates let you know how many students come back for their sophomore year. Graduation rates tell you how long it takes to complete a degree at Capella University . Remember, every extra semester it takes to graduate will increase the cost of your degree.
You have to make it past freshman year in order to graduate. With only 56.0% of students staying on to become sophomores, Capella University has among the worst freshman retention rates in the country.
Nationwide, the average first year to second year retention rate is 69.0% . When looking at just colleges and universities in Minnesota , the average is 67.0% .
At Capella University , there were 6,513 bachelors degree candidates in the class of 2016 . By 2018 , six years after beginning their degree, 11.5% of these students had graduated. After an additional two years, 12.9% of this class eventually completed their degree.
We consider the "on-time" graduation rate for a bachelor's degree to be four years, but colleges typically report their graduation rates after six or even eight years.
This implies that 87.1% did not graduate within eight years. Of these 5,672 students, 70 were still working towards their degree, 3,589 had transferred to a different institution, and Capella University lost contact with the remaining 2,012 whom we assume dropped out.
First-time, full-time students under the age of 25 are much more likely to graduate in four years (on-time). Some schools cater mostly to traditional students while others cater to “non-traditional” students who may be attending part time and thus are likely to take longer to graduate.
Comparing the graduation rates of specific cohorts shown below will be more revealing than the overall statistics shared above.
None of the students in Capella University's class of 2016 were classified as as a "first-time" student attending classes "full-time".
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for first-time undergraduates attending classes full-time is: 35.8% after four years, 46.4% after six years, and 47.8% after eight years.
With a six year graduation rate of 0.2% , first-time students in the Capella University class of 2016 who attended classes part-time were among the least likely in the nation to graduate in a reasonable time. After eight years, the graduation rate was 0.3% .
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for first-time undergraduates attending classes part-time is: 21.6% after six years and 23.7% after eight years.
Of these 913 students, 3 were still working towards their degree, 236 had transferred to a different institution, and Capella University lost contact with the remaining 674 whom we assume dropped out.
With a six year graduation rate of 34.6% , returning students in the Capella University class of 2016 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate in a reasonable time. After eight years, the graduation rate was 36.1% .
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for returning undergraduates attending classes full-time is: 53.8% after six years and 55.1% after eight years.
Of these 85 students, 1 were still working towards their degree, 69 had transferred to a different institution, and Capella University lost contact with the remaining 15 whom we assume dropped out.
With a six year graduation rate of 12.8% , returning students in the Capella University class of 2016 who attended classes part-time were among the least likely in the nation to graduate in a reasonable time. After eight years, the graduation rate was 14.5% .
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for returning undergraduates attending classes part-time is: 36.0% after six years and 37.8% after eight years.
Of these 4,673 students, 66 were still working towards their degree, 3,284 had transferred to a different institution, and Capella University lost contact with the remaining 1,323 whom we assume dropped out.
