by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding College of the Atlantic 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.
The freshmen retention rate applies to first-time / full-time students who come back for their second year.
With 85% students making it past their freshmen year, College of the Atlantic has freshmen retention rates above the national average.
Nationwide, the average first to second year retention rate is 70.57%.
When looking at just colleges and universities in Maine, the average is 71.23%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| College of the Atlantic | 85% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Maine | 71.23% |
How many of the estimated 61 students in the class of 2023 actually finished their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 53% of those students had graduated. By 2025, six years after starting their degree, 61% of the students had graduated and after eight years 61% 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 College of the Atlantic graduation rate 61%.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 53 | 53% |
| Six Years | 61 | 61% |
| Eight Years | 0 | 0% |
| Did Not Complete | 39 | 39% |
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 39 students or 39% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 39 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
22 transferred to another institution.
College of the Atlantic lost contact with the remaining 17 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 22 | 56.4% |
| Dropped Out | 17 | 43.6% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Black / African-American | 50% |
| Hispanic | 100% |
| International | 68% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 67% |
| Unknown | 75% |
| White | 70% |
Traditional first-time, full-time students under 25 tend to graduate in four years far more often than other students. Some schools serve mostly traditional students while others serve more 'non-traditional' students — part-timers or those returning after time away — who commonly take longer to finish.
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 College of the Atlantic are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
Looking at the individual cohorts below may tell you more than the overall graduation rate alone.
First-time / full-time students at College of the Atlantic represent 80.00% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the College of the Atlantic graduation rate was 58%, and by the eight year mark, 58% 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 | College of the Atlantic | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 51% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 58% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 58% | 47.82% |
34 first-time / full-time students or 42% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
22 transferred to another institution.
College of the Atlantic lost contact with the remaining 12 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 22 | 64.71% |
| Dropped Out | 12 | 35.29% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data for this cohort at College of the Atlantic.
Returning / full-time students at College of the Atlantic represent 19.00% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the College of the Atlantic graduation rate was 79%, and by the eight year mark, 79% 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 | College of the Atlantic | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 79% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 79% | 55.07% |
4 non first-time / part-time students or 21% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
0 transferred to another institution.
College of the Atlantic lost contact with the remaining 4 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 0 | 0.00% |
| Dropped Out | 4 | 100.00% |
Returning / part-time students at College of the Atlantic represent 1.00% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the College of the Atlantic graduation rate was 0%, and by the eight year mark, 0% 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 | College of the Atlantic | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 0% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 0% | 37.80% |
1 non first-time / part-time students or 100% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
0 transferred to another institution.
College of the Atlantic lost contact with the remaining 1 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 0 | 0.00% |
| Dropped Out | 1 | 100.00% |
