by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding SCC 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 80% students making it past their freshmen year, SCC has freshmen retention rates above the national average.
Nationwide, the average first to second year retention rate is 70.57%.
When looking at just colleges and universities in North Carolina, the average is 66.53%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| SCC | 80% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| North Carolina | 66.53% |
There were approximately 351 students in the class of 2023. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 35% of those students had graduated. By 2025, six years after starting their degree, 38% of the students had graduated and after eight years 39% 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 SCC graduation rate 38%.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 325 | 35% |
| Six Years | 351 | 38% |
| Eight Years | 14 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 564 | 61% |
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 564 students or 61% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 564 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
273 transferred to another institution.
SCC lost contact with the remaining 280 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 273 | 48.4% |
| Dropped Out | 280 | 49.6% |
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.
A meaningful share of students at SCC are considered 'non-traditional students' who are not first-time, full-time, and under 25.
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 Sandhills Community College represent 45.75% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the SCC graduation rate was 42%, and by the eight year mark, 44% 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 | SCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 38% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 42% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 44% | 47.82% |
238 first-time / full-time students or 56% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
5 are still enrolled.
107 transferred to another institution.
SCC lost contact with the remaining 126 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 5 | 2.10% |
| Transferred | 107 | 44.96% |
| Dropped Out | 126 | 52.94% |
First-time / part-time students at Sandhills Community College represent 22.71% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the SCC graduation rate was 23%, and by the eight year mark, 25% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for this group is 14.37% after four years, 21.59% after six years, and 23.72% after eight years.
| Completions | SCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 21% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 23% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 25% | 23.72% |
159 first-time / part-time students or 75% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
5 are still enrolled.
69 transferred to another institution.
SCC lost contact with the remaining 85 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 5 | 3.14% |
| Transferred | 69 | 43.40% |
| Dropped Out | 85 | 53.46% |
Returning / full-time students at Sandhills Community College represent 14.21% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the SCC graduation rate was 48%, and by the eight year mark, 48% 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 | SCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 48% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 48% | 55.07% |
68 non first-time / part-time students or 52% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
40 transferred to another institution.
SCC lost contact with the remaining 27 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 1.47% |
| Transferred | 40 | 58.82% |
| Dropped Out | 27 | 39.71% |
Returning / part-time students at Sandhills Community College represent 17.33% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the SCC graduation rate was 39%, and by the eight year mark, 39% 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 | SCC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 35% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 39% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 39% | 37.80% |
99 non first-time / part-time students or 61% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
57 transferred to another institution.
SCC lost contact with the remaining 42 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 57 | 57.58% |
| Dropped Out | 42 | 42.42% |
