by our College Data Analytics TeamHow long does it take to earn a degree at Rend Lake College? Find out how many students return after their freshman year, how long it takes to graduate, and what happens to the students who don't.
Freshmen retention rate refers to the percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year.
With 63% students making it past their freshmen year, Rend Lake 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 Illinois, the average is 72.64%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Rend Lake College | 63% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Illinois | 72.64% |
There were approximately 905 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 54% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 51% of the students had graduated and after eight years 52% of this class completed their degree.
The official graduation rate of Rend Lake College is 51%. 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 | 838 | 47% |
| Six Years | 905 | 51% |
| Eight Years | 14 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 850 | 48% |
Approximately 850 students or 48% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 850 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
243 transferred to another institution.
Rend Lake College lost contact with the remaining 597 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 243 | 28.6% |
| Dropped Out | 597 | 70.2% |
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 Rend Lake 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 Rend Lake College represent 67% of the students in the class of 2015, and 74.92% of Rend Lake College bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 54%, first-time students in the Rend Lake College class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Rend Lake College graduation rate was 57%, and by the eight year mark, 58% 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 | Rend Lake College | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 54% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 57% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 58% | 47.82% |
495 first-time / full-time students or 42% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
144 transferred to another institution.
Rend Lake College lost contact with the remaining 343 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 144 | 29.09% |
| Dropped Out | 343 | 69.29% |
First-time / part-time students at Rend Lake College represent 24.02% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 42%, first-time, part-time students in the Rend Lake College class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 42%.
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 | Rend Lake College | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 37% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 42% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 42% | 23.72% |
246 first-time / part-time students or 58% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
2 are still enrolled.
47 transferred to another institution.
Rend Lake College lost contact with the remaining 197 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 2 | 0.81% |
| Transferred | 47 | 19.11% |
| Dropped Out | 197 | 80.08% |
94 Rend Lake College students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 5.31% 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 40%, 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 43%.
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 | Rend Lake College | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 40% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 43% | 55.07% |
54 non first-time / part-time students or 57% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
31 transferred to another institution.
Rend Lake College lost contact with the remaining 23 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 31 | 57.41% |
| Dropped Out | 23 | 42.59% |
66 Rend Lake College students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 3.73% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 17%, 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 17%.
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 | Rend Lake College | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 17% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 17% | 37.80% |
55 non first-time / part-time students or 83% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
21 transferred to another institution.
Rend Lake College lost contact with the remaining 34 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 21 | 38.18% |
| Dropped Out | 34 | 61.82% |
