Area of Focus: Student Achievement – Progression

About the Metric: Retention rates represent the percentage of a school’s first-time, first-year undergraduate students who are enrolled in the Fall and continue at that school the next Fall term. Fall-to-fall retention rates are analyzed at the institutional-level as well as at the program-level. Students who are not retained are less likely to complete the required coursework to earn a credential and graduate from the institution. This metric is published in the Online Factbook in accordance with SACSCOC Standard 8.1.

Definition: Calculates the percentage of first time entering, full-time undergraduate students who are enrolled at the end of the fall term and are retained in subsequent fall term at the time of the state census.

Target Outcome: The minimum threshold for fall-to-fall retention rates is the national average of the retention rates for first-time, first-year students at two-year public community colleges as reported by IPEDS.(Data Source:  IPEDS). The college set a goal to both exceed the national average retention rate and retain at least 70% of first-time, first-year students from fall-to-fall (target). 

First Time Entering, Full-Time Fall-to-Fall Retention Rates