by our College Data Analytics TeamHow many USW first-year students return for their second year? How many graduate and how long does it take them? On this page we'll explore USW retention rates, graduation rates, drop out rates and more.
Freshmen retention rate refers to the percentage of first-time / full-time students who return for their second year.
With 74% students making it past their freshmen year, USW 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 New Mexico, the average is 62.90%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| USW | 74% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| New Mexico | 62.90% |
There were approximately 36 students in the class of 2015. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 8% of those students had graduated. By 2017, six years after starting their degree, 24% of the students had graduated and after eight years 25% 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 USW graduation rate 24%.
The average USW student takes 4.33 years to graduate with their bachelors.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 21 | 14% |
| Six Years | 36 | 24% |
| Eight Years | 2 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 114 | 75% |
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 USW 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 University of the Southwest represent 56% of the students in the class of 2015, and 44.44% of USW bachelor's degree graduations.
With a four-year graduation rate of 8%, first-time students in the USW class of 2015 who attended classes full-time were less likely than average to graduate on time.
After six years, the USW graduation rate was 19%, and by the eight year mark, 20% 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 | USW | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 8% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 19% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 20% | 47.82% |
68 first-time / full-time students or 80% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
3 are still enrolled.
0 transferred to another institution.
USW lost contact with the remaining 68 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Full-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 3 | 4.41% |
| Transferred | 0 | 0.00% |
| Dropped Out | 68 | 100.00% |
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on USW first-time, part-time students.
59 USW students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 38.82% 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 29%, 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 31%.
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 | USW | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 29% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 31% | 55.07% |
41 non first-time / part-time students or 69% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
2 are still enrolled.
0 transferred to another institution.
USW lost contact with the remaining 39 who we assumed dropped out.
| First-Time / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 2 | 4.88% |
| Transferred | 0 | 0.00% |
| Dropped Out | 39 | 95.12% |
8 USW students were classified as full-time / not first-time. This represents 5.26% of the students in the class of 2015.
With a six year graduation rate of 38%, returning students in the class of 2015 and attended classes full-time had a graduation rate higher than the national average.
After eight years, the graduation rate was 38%.
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 | USW | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 38% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 38% | 37.80% |
5 non first-time / part-time students or 62% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
0 transferred to another institution.
USW lost contact with the remaining 5 who we assumed dropped out.
| Returning / Part-Time Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 0 | 0.00% |
| Dropped Out | 5 | 100.00% |
