by our College Data Analytics TeamAre students coming back to Sewanee after their first year? Are Sewanee 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 87% students making it past their freshmen year, Sewanee 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 Tennessee, the average is 71.48%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Sewanee | 87% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Tennessee | 71.48% |
Of the 349 students in the class of 2015, how many completed their degree on time?
Four years after beginning their degree, 73% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 78% of the students had graduated and after eight years 78% of this class completed their degree.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, a student is considered to have graduated on time if they complete their degree within six years, making the official Sewanee graduation rate 78%.
The typical Sewanee student takes 4.11 years to complete their bachelor's degree.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 327 | 73% |
| Six Years | 349 | 78% |
| Eight Years | 3 | 0% |
| Did Not Complete | 97 | 22% |
Approximately 97 students or 22% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 97 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
94 transferred to another institution.
Sewanee lost contact with the remaining 3 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 94 | 96.9% |
| Dropped Out | 3 | 3.1% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Asian | 86% |
| Black / African-American | 75% |
| Hispanic | 83% |
| International | 79% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 81% |
| White | 80% |
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 Sewanee 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 Sewanee - The University of the South represent 96% of the students in the class of 2015, and 95.99% of Sewanee bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 73%, first-time students in the Sewanee class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Sewanee graduation rate was 77%, and by the eight year mark, 78% 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 | Sewanee | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 73% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 77% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 78% | 47.82% |
95 first-time / full-time students or 22% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
92 transferred to another institution.
Sewanee lost contact with the remaining 3 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 92 | 96.84% |
| Dropped Out | 3 | 3.16% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Sewanee first-time, part-time students.
16 Sewanee students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 3.56% 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 88%, 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 88%.
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 | Sewanee | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 88% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 88% | 55.07% |
2 non first-time / part-time students or 12% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
2 transferred to another institution.
Sewanee lost contact with the remaining 0 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 2 | 100.00% |
| Dropped Out | 0 | 0.00% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on Sewanee returning, part-time students.
