by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding GHC 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 67% students making it past their freshmen year, GHC 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 Georgia, the average is 65.40%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| GHC | 67% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Georgia | 65.40% |
There were approximately 499 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 13% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 18% of the students had graduated and after eight years 19% of this class completed their degree.
The official graduation rate of GHC is 18%. 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 | 406 | 15% |
| Six Years | 499 | 18% |
| Eight Years | 27 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 2,273 | 81% |
Approximately 2273 students or 81% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 2273 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
1322 transferred to another institution.
GHC lost contact with the remaining 914 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 1322 | 58.2% |
| Dropped Out | 914 | 40.2% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Black / African-American | 7% |
| Hispanic | 18% |
| International | 25% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 10% |
| White | 14% |
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.
The majority of students at GHC are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
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 Georgia Highlands College represent 47% of the students in the class of 2015, and 44.29% of GHC bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 13%, first-time students in the GHC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the GHC graduation rate was 17%, and by the eight year mark, 18% 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 | GHC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 13% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 17% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 18% | 47.82% |
1068 first-time / full-time students or 82% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
638 transferred to another institution.
GHC lost contact with the remaining 407 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 638 | 59.74% |
| Dropped Out | 407 | 38.11% |
First-time / part-time students at Georgia Highlands College represent 15.58% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 11%, first-time, part-time students in the GHC 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 | GHC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 7% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 11% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 12% | 23.72% |
385 first-time / part-time students or 88% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
6 are still enrolled.
183 transferred to another institution.
GHC lost contact with the remaining 196 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 6 | 1.56% |
| Transferred | 183 | 47.53% |
| Dropped Out | 196 | 50.91% |
540 GHC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 19.29% 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 21%, 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 22%.
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 | GHC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 21% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 22% | 55.07% |
419 non first-time / part-time students or 78% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
5 are still enrolled.
261 transferred to another institution.
GHC lost contact with the remaining 153 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 5 | 1.19% |
| Transferred | 261 | 62.29% |
| Dropped Out | 153 | 36.52% |
521 GHC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 18.61% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 22%, 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 23%.
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 | GHC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 22% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 23% | 37.80% |
401 non first-time / part-time students or 77% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
3 are still enrolled.
240 transferred to another institution.
GHC lost contact with the remaining 158 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 3 | 0.75% |
| Transferred | 240 | 59.85% |
| Dropped Out | 158 | 39.40% |
