by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding Shorter 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.
The percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year is tracked as the freshmen retention rate.
With 63% students making it past their freshmen year, Shorter 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 Georgia, the average is 65.40%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| Shorter | 63% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Georgia | 65.40% |
How many of the estimated 474 students in the class of 2015 completed their degree within eight years?
After four years 32% of the cohort graduated. After six years 49% had completed their degree, and 50% after eight years.
The official graduation rate of Shorter is 49%. 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.
How long does it take to get a bachelor's degree at Shorter? The standard length of time for most students is 4.21 years.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 407 | 42% |
| Six Years | 474 | 49% |
| Eight Years | 9 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 481 | 50% |
Approximately 481 students or 50% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 481 students who did not complete their degree?
1 are still enrolled.
324 transferred to another institution.
Shorter lost contact with the remaining 155 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 0.2% |
| Transferred | 324 | 67.4% |
| Dropped Out | 155 | 32.2% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| Asian | 50% |
| Black / African-American | 32% |
| Hispanic | 67% |
| International | 44% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 45% |
| White | 47% |
First-time, full-time students, under the age of 25 are known as traditional students. These students are more likely to graduate in four years than so called 'non-traditional' students that includes part-time students, transfer students, or adult learners. Some schools cater to non-traditional students and it may affect their overall graduation rates.
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 Shorter are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
How does this school do graduating the type of student you are most concerned bout?
First-time / full-time students at Shorter University represent 50% of the students in the class of 2015, and 41.56% of Shorter bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 32%, first-time students in the Shorter class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the Shorter graduation rate was 41%, and by the eight year mark, 42% 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 | Shorter | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 32% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 41% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 42% | 47.82% |
280 first-time / full-time students or 58% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
216 transferred to another institution.
Shorter lost contact with the remaining 63 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 0.36% |
| Transferred | 216 | 77.14% |
| Dropped Out | 63 | 22.50% |
First-time / part-time students at Shorter University represent 0.52% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 40%, first-time, part-time students in the Shorter class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were more likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 40%.
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 | Shorter | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 20% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 40% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 40% | 23.72% |
3 first-time / part-time students or 60% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
3 transferred to another institution.
Shorter 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 | 3 | 100.00% |
| Dropped Out | 0 | 0.00% |
455 Shorter students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 46.96% 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 59%, 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 60%.
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 | Shorter | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 59% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 60% | 55.07% |
181 non first-time / part-time students or 40% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
96 transferred to another institution.
Shorter lost contact with the remaining 85 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 96 | 53.04% |
| Dropped Out | 85 | 46.96% |
26 Shorter students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 2.68% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 31%, 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 35%.
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 | Shorter | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 31% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 35% | 37.80% |
17 non first-time / part-time students or 65% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
9 transferred to another institution.
Shorter lost contact with the remaining 7 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 5.88% |
| Transferred | 9 | 52.94% |
| Dropped Out | 7 | 41.18% |
