by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield 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 67% students making it past their freshmen year, San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield 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 California, the average is 73.07%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield | 67% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| California | 73.07% |
Of the 286 students in the class of 2023, how many completed their degree on time?
Four years after beginning their degree, 58% of those students had graduated. By 2025, six years after starting their degree, 58% of the students had graduated and after eight years 59% 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 San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield graduation rate 58%.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 284 | 58% |
| Six Years | 286 | 58% |
| Eight Years | 1 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 203 | 41% |
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 203 students or 41% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 203 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
24 transferred to another institution.
San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield lost contact with the remaining 176 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 24 | 11.8% |
| Dropped Out | 176 | 86.7% |
Traditional first-time, full-time students under 25 tend to graduate in four years far more often than other students. Some schools serve mostly traditional students while others serve more 'non-traditional' students — part-timers or those returning after time away — who commonly take longer to finish.
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 San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield 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 San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield represent 56.12% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield graduation rate was 58%, and by the eight year mark, 58% 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 | San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 57% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 58% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 58% | 47.82% |
115 first-time / full-time students or 42% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
3 are still enrolled.
13 transferred to another institution.
San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield lost contact with the remaining 99 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 3 | 2.61% |
| Transferred | 13 | 11.30% |
| Dropped Out | 99 | 86.09% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data for this cohort at San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield.
Returning / full-time students at San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield represent 43.88% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield graduation rate was 59%, and by the eight year mark, 59% 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 | San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 59% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 59% | 55.07% |
88 non first-time / part-time students or 41% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
11 transferred to another institution.
San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield lost contact with the remaining 77 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 11 | 12.50% |
| Dropped Out | 77 | 87.50% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data for this cohort at San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield.
