by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding FAU 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 82% students making it past their freshmen year, FAU 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 Florida, the average is 70.38%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| FAU | 82% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Florida | 70.38% |
There were approximately 5,032 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 31% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 59% of the students had graduated and after eight years 61% of this class completed their degree.
The official graduation rate of FAU is 59%. 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.
The typical FAU student takes 4.56 years to complete their bachelor's degree.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 3,773 | 44% |
| Six Years | 5,032 | 59% |
| Eight Years | 208 | 2% |
| Did Not Complete | 3,305 | 39% |
Approximately 3305 students or 39% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 3305 students who did not complete their degree?
22 are still enrolled.
1676 transferred to another institution.
FAU lost contact with the remaining 1541 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 22 | 0.7% |
| Transferred | 1676 | 50.7% |
| Dropped Out | 1,541 | 46.6% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaskan Native | 64% |
| Asian | 64% |
| Black / African-American | 58% |
| Hawaiian | 50% |
| Hispanic | 54% |
| International | 70% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 56% |
| Unknown | 14% |
| White | 55% |
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 FAU 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 Florida Atlantic University represent 39% of the students in the class of 2015, and 36.41% of FAU bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 31%, first-time students in the FAU class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the FAU graduation rate was 56%, and by the eight year mark, 59% 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 | FAU | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 31% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 56% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 59% | 47.82% |
1355 first-time / full-time students or 41% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
22 are still enrolled.
1081 transferred to another institution.
FAU lost contact with the remaining 240 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 22 | 1.62% |
| Transferred | 1081 | 79.78% |
| Dropped Out | 240 | 17.71% |
First-time / part-time students at Florida Atlantic University represent 2.20% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 32%, first-time, part-time students in the FAU class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 34%.
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 | FAU | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 10% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 32% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 34% | 23.72% |
122 first-time / part-time students or 66% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
6 are still enrolled.
44 transferred to another institution.
FAU lost contact with the remaining 72 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 6 | 4.92% |
| Transferred | 44 | 36.07% |
| Dropped Out | 72 | 59.02% |
2609 FAU students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 30.37% 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 70%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate higher than the national average for students in this category.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 71%.
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 | FAU | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 70% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 71% | 55.07% |
745 non first-time / part-time students or 29% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
12 are still enrolled.
272 transferred to another institution.
FAU lost contact with the remaining 461 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 12 | 1.61% |
| Transferred | 272 | 36.51% |
| Dropped Out | 461 | 61.88% |
2474 FAU students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 28.80% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 54%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate higher than the national average.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 56%.
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 | FAU | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 54% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 56% | 37.80% |
1083 non first-time / part-time students or 44% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
36 are still enrolled.
279 transferred to another institution.
FAU lost contact with the remaining 768 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 36 | 3.32% |
| Transferred | 279 | 25.76% |
| Dropped Out | 768 | 70.91% |
