by our College Data Analytics TeamMake an informed decision about your education by understanding VWU 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 74% students making it past their freshmen year, VWU 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 Virginia, the average is 69.66%.
| Retention Rate | |
|---|---|
| VWU | 74% |
| Nationwide | 70.57% |
| Virginia | 69.66% |
There were approximately 237 students in the class of 2023. How many of them actually completed their degree in a timely fashion?
Four years after beginning their degree, 41% of those students had graduated. By 2025, six years after starting their degree, 46% of the students had graduated and after eight years 47% 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 VWU graduation rate 46%.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 208 | 41% |
| Six Years | 237 | 46% |
| Eight Years | 1 | 1% |
| Did Not Complete | 272 | 53% |
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 272 students or 53% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 272 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
190 transferred to another institution.
VWU lost contact with the remaining 82 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 190 | 69.9% |
| Dropped Out | 82 | 30.1% |
| Race/Ethnicity | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaskan Native | 25% |
| Asian | 43% |
| Black / African-American | 40% |
| Hispanic | 40% |
| International | 67% |
| Multi-Ethnic | 40% |
| Unknown | 25% |
| White | 60% |
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.
The majority of students at VWU are considered 'traditional students' who are first-time attending full-time.
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 Virginia Wesleyan University represent 73.05% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the VWU graduation rate was 44%, 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 | VWU | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 37% | 37.92% |
| Six Years | 44% | 46.43% |
| Eight Years | 44% | 47.82% |
208 first-time / full-time students or 56% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
139 transferred to another institution.
VWU lost contact with the remaining 69 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 139 | 66.83% |
| Dropped Out | 69 | 33.17% |
We don’t have data for this cohort at Virginia Wesleyan University.
Returning / full-time students at Virginia Wesleyan University represent 25.39% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the VWU graduation rate was 55%, and by the eight year mark, 55% 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 | VWU | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 55% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 55% | 55.07% |
58 non first-time / part-time students or 45% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
48 transferred to another institution.
VWU lost contact with the remaining 10 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 48 | 82.76% |
| Dropped Out | 10 | 17.24% |
Returning / part-time students at Virginia Wesleyan University represent 1.56% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the VWU graduation rate was 25%, and by the eight year mark, 25% 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 | VWU | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 13% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 25% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 25% | 37.80% |
6 non first-time / part-time students or 75% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
0 are still enrolled.
3 transferred to another institution.
VWU lost contact with the remaining 3 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.00% |
| Transferred | 3 | 50.00% |
| Dropped Out | 3 | 50.00% |
