by our College Data Analytics TeamAre students coming back to NLU after their first year? Are NLU students graduating in a timely manner? What happens to the students who don't graduate? Get all your questions answered here.
Freshmen retention rate refers to the percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year.
With 60% students making it past their freshmen year, NLU 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 Illinois, the average is 72.64%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| NLU | 60% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Illinois | 72.64% |
There were approximately 402 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
After four years 15% of the cohort graduated. After six years 54% had completed their degree, and 58% after eight years.
The official graduation rate of NLU is 54%. 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 average NLU student takes 4.83 years to graduate with their bachelors.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 347 | 47% |
| Six Years | 402 | 54% |
| Eight Years | 28 | 4% |
| Did Not Complete | 311 | 42% |
Approximately 311 students or 42% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 311 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
73 transferred to another institution.
NLU lost contact with the remaining 232 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 73 | 23.5% |
| Dropped Out | 232 | 74.6% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Black / African-American | 50% |
| Hispanic | 17% |
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 NLU 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 National Louis University represent 7% of the students in the class of 2015, and 3.98% of NLU bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 15%, first-time students in the NLU class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the NLU graduation rate was 31%, and by the eight year mark, 33% 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 | NLU | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 15% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 31% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 33% | 47.82% |
35 first-time / full-time students or 67% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
8 transferred to another institution.
NLU lost contact with the remaining 24 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 8 | 22.86% |
| Dropped Out | 24 | 68.57% |
First-time / part-time students at National Louis University represent 3.64% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 15%, first-time, part-time students in the NLU class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 19%.
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 | NLU | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 11% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 15% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 19% | 23.72% |
22 first-time / part-time students or 81% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
5 transferred to another institution.
NLU lost contact with the remaining 17 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 5 | 22.73% |
| Dropped Out | 17 | 77.27% |
395 NLU students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 53.31% 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 64%, 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 68%.
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 | NLU | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 64% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 68% | 55.07% |
127 non first-time / part-time students or 32% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
29 transferred to another institution.
NLU lost contact with the remaining 97 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 0.79% |
| Transferred | 29 | 22.83% |
| Dropped Out | 97 | 76.38% |
267 NLU students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 36.03% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 49%, 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 52%.
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 | NLU | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 49% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 52% | 37.80% |
127 non first-time / part-time students or 48% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
2 are still enrolled.
31 transferred to another institution.
NLU lost contact with the remaining 94 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 2 | 1.57% |
| Transferred | 31 | 24.41% |
| Dropped Out | 94 | 74.02% |
