by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding Delaware County Community College 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 55% students making it past their freshmen year, Delaware County Community College 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 Pennsylvania, the average is 73.24%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Delaware County Community College | 55% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Pennsylvania | 73.24% |
There were approximately 1,279 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 20% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 17% of the students had graduated and after eight years 18% of this class completed their degree.
The official graduation rate of Delaware County Community College is 17%. 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 | 991 | 13% |
| Six Years | 1,279 | 17% |
| Eight Years | 124 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 6,341 | 82% |
Approximately 6341 students or 82% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 6341 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
3439 transferred to another institution.
Delaware County Community College lost contact with the remaining 2798 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 3439 | 54.2% |
| Dropped Out | 2,798 | 44.1% |
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 Delaware County Community College 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 Delaware County Community College represent 22% of the students in the class of 2015, and 33.07% of Delaware County Community College bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 20%, first-time students in the Delaware County Community College class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Delaware County Community College 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 | Delaware County Community College | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 20% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 25% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 27% | 47.82% |
1250 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.
519 transferred to another institution.
Delaware County Community College lost contact with the remaining 710 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 519 | 41.52% |
| Dropped Out | 710 | 56.80% |
First-time / part-time students at Delaware County Community College represent 24.95% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 10%, first-time, part-time students in the Delaware County Community College class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 12%.
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 | Delaware County Community College | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 6% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 10% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 12% | 23.72% |
1709 first-time / part-time students or 88% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
34 are still enrolled.
670 transferred to another institution.
Delaware County Community College lost contact with the remaining 1005 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 34 | 1.99% |
| Transferred | 670 | 39.20% |
| Dropped Out | 1,005 | 58.81% |
1113 Delaware County Community College students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 14.37% 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 29%, 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 31%.
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 | Delaware County Community College | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 29% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 31% | 55.07% |
772 non first-time / part-time students or 69% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
12 are still enrolled.
464 transferred to another institution.
Delaware County Community College lost contact with the remaining 296 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 12 | 1.55% |
| Transferred | 464 | 60.10% |
| Dropped Out | 296 | 38.34% |
2996 Delaware County Community College students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 38.69% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 12%, 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 13%.
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 | Delaware County Community College | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 12% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 13% | 37.80% |
2610 non first-time / part-time students or 87% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
37 are still enrolled.
1786 transferred to another institution.
Delaware County Community College lost contact with the remaining 787 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 37 | 1.42% |
| Transferred | 1786 | 68.43% |
| Dropped Out | 787 | 30.15% |
