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Higher education retention rates
From Ballotpedia
| Higher education |
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| Tuition statistics |
| Financial aid statistics |
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Retention rates indicate the percentage of freshmen postsecondary students who enroll the following academic year as sophomores. According to the NCHEMS Information Center for Higher Education Policymaking and Analysis:[1]
| “ | Students are more likely to drop out of postsecondary education during the first year than any other time. If a state can implement policies that help to increase retention rates either within institutions or through transfer, the likelihood of students persisting to graduation is far greater.[1][2] | ” |
| —NCHEMS Information Center for Higher Education Policymaking and Analysis | ||
The national total retention rate for full-time students was 71 percent in fall 2013. For public four-year schools, the retention rate was 79 percent. The retention rate at private nonprofit four-year schools was 80 percent, and the retention rate at private for-profit four-year schools was 54 percent.[1]
Rhode Island had the highest total retention rate at 80 percent. Arizona, meanwhile, had the nation's lowest total retention rate 62 percent. The table below provides retention rates by state.[3]
Retention rates by state
2013
| Higher education retention rates, 2013-2014 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Total | Public | Private nonprofit | Private for-profit | ||||||
| 2-year | 4-year | 2-year | 4-year | 2-year | 4-year | |||||
| Alabama | 65% | 55% | 78% | 64% | 68% | 66% | 36% | |||
| Alaska | 68% | 94% | 73% | 47% | 65% | 82% | 43% | |||
| Arizona | 62% | 58% | 80% | N/A | 73% | 75% | 44% | |||
| Arkansas | 64% | 52% | 70% | 74% | 74% | 33% | 29% | |||
| California | 76% | 71% | 88% | 64% | 87% | 72% | 70% | |||
| Colorado | 69% | 55% | 77% | N/A | 81% | 71% | 41% | |||
| Connecticut | 74% | 61% | 84% | N/A | 83% | 79% | 39% | |||
| Delaware | 73% | 58% | 87% | 74% | 60% | N/A | N/A | |||
| Florida | 75% | 65% | 86% | 80% | 73% | 67% | 65% | |||
| Georgia | 68% | 53% | 78% | 52% | 77% | 59% | 41% | |||
| Hawaii | 67% | 62% | 76% | N/A | 67% | 58% | 52% | |||
| Idaho | 66% | 53% | 72% | N/A | 70% | 80% | 46% | |||
| Illinois | 70% | 62% | 77% | 68% | 79% | 70% | 48% | |||
| Indiana | 70% | 49% | 76% | 54% | 81% | 70% | 44% | |||
| Iowa | 66% | 55% | 86% | 80% | 78% | 72% | 40% | |||
| Kansas | 67% | 57% | 77% | 76% | 67% | 67% | 51% | |||
| Kentucky | 66% | 56% | 74% | 63% | 69% | 60% | 5% | |||
| Louisiana | 66% | 52% | 72% | 60% | 79% | 69% | 46% | |||
| Maine | 72% | 59% | 72% | 92% | 81% | 60% | 55% | |||
| Maryland | 71% | 60% | 83% | N/A | 84% | 67% | 44% | |||
| Massachusetts | 78% | 60% | 82% | 99% | 87% | 67% | 77% | |||
| Michigan | 70% | 55% | 83% | 62% | 68% | 76% | 49% | |||
| Minnesota | 71% | 56% | 79% | 67% | 85% | 78% | 52% | |||
| Mississippi | 66% | 60% | 78% | N/A | 68% | 59% | 43% | |||
| Missouri | 68% | 58% | 76% | 57% | 76% | 69% | 40% | |||
| Montana | 69% | 53% | 72% | 57% | 68% | 87% | N/A | |||
| Nebraska | 70% | 56% | 78% | 27% | 76% | 76% | 76% | |||
| Nevada | 74% | 66% | 78% | 87% | 74% | 70% | 56% | |||
| New Hampshire | 74% | 60% | 80% | 68% | 77% | N/A | 66% | |||
| New Jersey | 73% | 63% | 85% | 47% | 81% | 74% | 61% | |||
| New Mexico | 63% | 57% | 70% | N/A | 64% | 75% | 51% | |||
| New York | 75% | 62% | 83% | 52% | 84% | 53% | 67% | |||
| North Carolina | 69% | 57% | 83% | 44% | 73% | 66% | 45% | |||
| North Dakota | 70% | 57% | 75% | N/A | 65% | 82% | 0% | |||
| Ohio | 69% | 51% | 74% | 42% | 78% | 67% | 65% | |||
| Oklahoma | 65% | 56% | 71% | N/A | 73% | 67% | 71% | |||
| Oregon | 67% | 52% | 80% | 90% | 83% | 75% | 45% | |||
| Pennsylvania | 75% | 59% | 81% | 60% | 84% | 69% | 47% | |||
| Rhode Island | 80% | 64% | 80% | 92% | 87% | 71% | N/A | |||
| South Carolina | 65% | 51% | 79% | 53% | 69% | 67% | 63% | |||
| South Dakota | 72% | 68% | 72% | 33% | 72% | 86% | 77% | |||
| Tennessee | 67% | 58% | 73% | 66% | 77% | 65% | 47% | |||
| Texas | 66% | 57% | 76% | 65% | 77% | 71% | 54% | |||
| Utah | 69% | 58% | 67% | 74% | 83% | 80% | 76% | |||
| Vermont | 78% | 58% | 80% | N/A | 81% | N/A | 83% | |||
| Virginia | 74% | 63% | 87% | 100% | 72% | 59% | 58% | |||
| Washington | 75% | 60% | 84% | 78% | 86% | 73% | 63% | |||
| West Virginia | 68% | 47% | 69% | N/A | 61% | 62% | 83% | |||
| Wisconsin | 73% | 59% | 81% | 96% | 81% | 77% | 44% | |||
| Wyoming | 64% | 58% | 74% | N/A | 50% | 73% | N/A | |||
| United States | 71% | 60% | 79% | 62% | 80% | 68% | 54% | |||
| Source: CollegeInSight, "Explore All Data" | ||||||||||
2010
| Retention rates by state, 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Total retention rate | Total full-time retention rate | Total part-time retention rate |
| Alabama | 72.1% | 74.9% | 43.3% |
| Alaska | 63.3% | 70.2% | 38.7% |
| Arizona | 70% | 73.1% | 45.6% |
| Arkansas | 69.9% | 70.7% | 36.9% |
| California | 84% | 85.5% | 55.2% |
| Colorado | 75.5% | 76.8% | 50% |
| Connecticut | 81.9% | 82.6% | 44% |
| Delaware | 78.4% | 81% | 35.8% |
| Florida | 77.9% | 79.2% | 58.3% |
| Georgia | 73.2% | 75.9% | 40.8% |
| Hawaii | 70.8% | 72.7% | 46.7% |
| Idaho | 68.5% | 70.9% | 49% |
| Illinois | 76.8% | 78.1% | 43.2% |
| Indiana | 75.5% | 78% | 39.1% |
| Iowa | 81.2% | 81.3% | 63.8% |
| Kansas | 72.7% | 74.8% | 36.7% |
| Kentucky | 71.8% | 72.9% | 38.9% |
| Louisiana | 72.9% | 73.6% | 48.3% |
| Maine | 77.2% | 77.9% | 49.1% |
| Maryland | 80.5% | 83.5% | 36.9% |
| Massachusetts | 83.9% | 84.2% | 52.1% |
| Michigan | 79.8% | 81% | 43.8% |
| Minnesota | 77.8% | 80.1% | 38.2% |
| Mississippi | 75.9% | 76.3% | 37.9% |
| Missouri | 73.9% | 75.3% | 46.8% |
| Montana | 68.4% | 70.6% | 52.4% |
| Nebraska | 77.8% | 78.7% | 41.5% |
| Nevada | 73.8% | 76.3% | 41.1% |
| New Hampshire | 79.9% | 80.2% | 43.5% |
| New Jersey | 82.1% | 82.7% | 51% |
| New Mexico | 70.5% | 72% | 38.4% |
| New York | 81.6% | 82% | 52.3% |
| North Carolina | 78.2% | 79.3% | 39% |
| North Dakota | 73.6% | 74.2% | 44.3% |
| Ohio | 74.7% | 76.2% | 38.8% |
| Oklahoma | 69.1% | 70.7% | 46.6% |
| Oregon | 78.9% | 80% | 48.2% |
| Pennsylvania | 80.8% | 82.3% | 37.1% |
| Rhode Island | 81.6% | 81.9% | 38.5% |
| South Carolina | 73.9% | 75.2% | 33.9% |
| South Dakota | 68.2% | 72.5% | 39.1% |
| Tennessee | 72.9% | 74% | 42.8% |
| Texas | 73.3% | 74.5% | 51.8% |
| Utah | 73.3% | 76.2% | 48.8% |
| Vermont | 79.5% | 79.7% | 43.3% |
| Virginia | 78.6% | 80.8% | 44.2% |
| Washington | 80.3% | 81.9% | 48.3% |
| West Virginia | 68.3% | 69.5% | 39.1% |
| Wisconsin | 79.4% | 80.2% | 43% |
| Wyoming | 72.7% | 73.2% | 27.8% |
| U.S. | 77.1% | 78.7% | 44.6% |
| Source: NCHEMS Information Center for Higher Education Policymaking and Analysis, "Retention Rates - First-Time College Freshmen Returning Their Second Year," accessed December 15, 2014 | |||
See also
- Higher education by state
- Higher education tuition statistics
- Higher education enrollment statistics
- Higher education financial aid statistics
- Higher education graduation rates
- Higher education funding
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 NCHEMS Information Center for Higher Education Policymaking and Analysis, "Retention Rates - First-Time College Freshmen Returning Their Second Year," accessed December 15, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ CollegeInSight, "Explore All Data," accessed July 12, 2016
