by our College Data Analytics TeamAre students coming back to SMC after their first year? Are SMC 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 53% students making it past their freshmen year, SMC 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 Michigan, the average is 70.80%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| SMC | 53% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Michigan | 70.80% |
There were approximately 260 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 25% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 21% of the students had graduated and after eight years 22% 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 SMC graduation rate 21%.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 220 | 18% |
| Six Years | 260 | 21% |
| Eight Years | 13 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 960 | 78% |
Approximately 960 students or 78% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 960 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
397 transferred to another institution.
SMC lost contact with the remaining 554 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 397 | 41.4% |
| Dropped Out | 554 | 57.7% |
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 SMC 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 Southwestern Michigan College represent 43% of the students in the class of 2015, and 54.23% of SMC bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 25%, first-time students in the SMC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the SMC graduation rate was 26%, and by the eight year mark, 28% 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 | SMC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 25% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 26% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 28% | 47.82% |
384 first-time / full-time students or 72% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
169 transferred to another institution.
SMC lost contact with the remaining 213 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 169 | 44.01% |
| Dropped Out | 213 | 55.47% |
First-time / part-time students at Southwestern Michigan College represent 23.20% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six-year graduation rate of 10%, first-time, part-time students in the SMC class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 11%.
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 | SMC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 6% | 14.37% |
| Six Years | 10% | 21.59% |
| Eight Years | 11% | 23.72% |
255 first-time / part-time students or 89% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
3 are still enrolled.
70 transferred to another institution.
SMC lost contact with the remaining 182 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 3 | 1.18% |
| Transferred | 70 | 27.45% |
| Dropped Out | 182 | 71.37% |
170 SMC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 13.74% 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 22%, 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 24%.
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 | SMC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 22% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 24% | 55.07% |
129 non first-time / part-time students or 76% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
74 transferred to another institution.
SMC lost contact with the remaining 54 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 0.78% |
| Transferred | 74 | 57.36% |
| Dropped Out | 54 | 41.86% |
245 SMC students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 19.81% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 21%, 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 22%.
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 | SMC | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 21% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 22% | 37.80% |
192 non first-time / part-time students or 78% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
3 are still enrolled.
84 transferred to another institution.
SMC lost contact with the remaining 105 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 3 | 1.56% |
| Transferred | 84 | 43.75% |
| Dropped Out | 105 | 54.69% |
