by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding North Park 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 62% students making it past their freshmen year, North Park has freshmen retention rates below 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 | |
|---|---|
| North Park | 62% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Illinois | 72.64% |
There were approximately 420 students in the class of 2023. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 52% of those students had graduated. By 2025, six years after starting their degree, 60% of the students had graduated and after eight years 62% 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 North Park graduation rate 60%.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 360 | 52% |
| Six Years | 420 | 60% |
| Eight Years | 10 | 2% |
| Did Not Complete | 266 | 38% |
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 266 students or 38% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 266 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
176 transferred to another institution.
North Park lost contact with the remaining 89 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 176 | 66.2% |
| Dropped Out | 89 | 33.5% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Asian | 63% |
| Black / African-American | 31% |
| Hawaiian | 25% |
| Hispanic | 51% |
| International | 55% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 46% |
| Unknown | 62% |
| White | 67% |
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 North Park are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
Comparing the graduation rates of the specific cohorts below can be more revealing than the overall graduation rates.
First-time / full-time students at North Park University represent 56.08% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the North Park graduation rate was 53%, and by the eight year mark, 55% 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 | North Park | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 39% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 53% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 55% | 47.82% |
176 first-time / full-time students or 45% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
125 transferred to another institution.
North Park lost contact with the remaining 50 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 0.57% |
| Transferred | 125 | 71.02% |
| Dropped Out | 50 | 28.41% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data for this cohort at North Park University.
Returning / full-time students at North Park University represent 33.33% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the North Park graduation rate was 71%, and by the eight year mark, 72% 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 | North Park | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 71% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 72% | 55.07% |
65 non first-time / part-time students or 28% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
37 transferred to another institution.
North Park lost contact with the remaining 28 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 37 | 56.92% |
| Dropped Out | 28 | 43.08% |
Returning / part-time students at North Park University represent 10.59% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the North Park graduation rate was 64%, and by the eight year mark, 66% 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 | North Park | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 62% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 64% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 66% | 37.80% |
25 non first-time / part-time students or 34% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
14 transferred to another institution.
North Park lost contact with the remaining 11 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 14 | 56.00% |
| Dropped Out | 11 | 44.00% |
