New Entering Student Graduation / Retention

Official New Entering Freshman/Transfer Student Graduation and Retention rate data are available by student entry year since 2002 in customizable graduation/retention periods from one to ten years. Reports from Fall 1992 to Fall 2010 are available on our historical data page.

Data Sources
  • University of Minnesota, Data Warehouse - Graduation/Retention Rates snapshot data
  • AAUDE Data Warehouse - IPEDS Graduation Rates

Report Update Cadence:

  • Once a year, typically early November
Notes

This report summarizes graduation and retention rates for UMN campuses and graduation rates among UMN campus peer groups (e.g., Big 10, etc).  

Detailed notes:

  • This report only includes undergraduate new high school students (NHS) and new transfer students (NAS).
  • All status values -- graduated, enrolled, and not enrolled -- are mutually exclusive.
  • The NHS cohorts used in this report represent first-time/full-time new entering freshmen as defined by each campus. The NAS cohorts used in this report represent new entering transfer students as defined by each campus. For the Twin Cities, Duluth, Morris, and Rochester, these definitions match those used for official IPEDS reporting which exclude students who completed any college level coursework after graduating from high school (except for summer of the same year). For Crookston, the cohorts prior to Fall 2019 may include students who completed between 1 and 19 college-level semester credits after high school, but exclude students who did not declare they were seeking a bachelor’s degree as of their entry term. In addition, zero credit remedial courses are used in determining full time status.
  • Graduation status values represent cumulative bachelor's degree recipients at the UMN from the fall term of entry through the summer term of the selected grad/retention period. For example, if a student entered in fall 2016 and received a bachelor's degree any time from fall 2016 through summer 2020, they would be counted initially as graduated in the four years after entry table and for all subsequent years.
  • In the “Overview” dashboard, a student is counted as retained if they remain enrolled at the UMN as of the fall term after some number of years (1yr, 2yr, etc) have elapsed since their fall term of entry, OR if they have earned a bachelor’s degree at the UMN on/after their fall term of entry and before the fall term referenced previously for enrollment status.  For example: The 3yr retention rate for students entering Fall 2016 includes those still enrolled at the UMN as of Fall 2019 as well as those earning a bachelor’s degree at some point prior to Fall 2019.
  • Enrollment status reflects enrollments as of the end of the 2nd week of the fall term immediately following the selected grad/retention period. For example, if a student entered in fall 2016 and had not received a degree through summer 2020 and was enrolled for classes in fall 2020, he or she would be counted as enrolled in the four years after entry table, indicating the student returned for the start of his or her fifth year.
  • The Peer Comparisons dashboard summarizes 4- and 6-year graduation rates for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students for a variety of groupings of UMN campuses and their peer institutions, based on IPEDS methodology.  The 4- and 6-year graduation rates are for students pursuing Bachelor’s degrees (or equivalent), minus cohort exclusions.  The entry start year options and ranges between the Peer Comparisons and the Overview reports differ because IPEDS uses the most recently-completed 6 year window (even if a 4 year rate is selected). 
  • IPEDS graduation rates reflect Bachelor’s degrees earned by undergraduates from their entry campus only.  The UMN graduation rates in the “Overview” and “Data Table” dashboards include degrees earned by undergraduates from any UMN campus.
Glossary

IPEDS definitions used in the “Peer Comparisons” dashboard are available in the IPEDS glossary.

Entry campus
The University of Minnesota campus that was present on the student's record upon undergraduate entry into the University system, i.e., Crookston, Duluth, Morris, Rochester, or Twin Cities.

Entry college
The primary academic program that was present on the student's record upon undergraduate entry into the University system. Example: College of Liberal Arts

Entry registration status
The initial admit type that was present on the student's record upon undergraduate entry into the University system. Two values are possible: 'New freshman' and 'New transfer'.

Entry start year
The year of the Fall entry term that was present on the student's record upon undergraduate entry into the University system. Example: 2021

Home location
Geographic grouping based on home address. Examples: TC Metro, Greater MN, Other US.

Legal Sex
The designation of sex on legal documents. An individual’s sex might differ from their sex assigned at birth (if, for example, legal steps have been taken to change the individual’s sex) and/or from their gender identity.

Race/ethnicity group
An aggregation of the Institutional/Nonresident Alien calculation of ethnicity. A person’s ethnicity for official reporting is based on a set of criteria in order to report a single ethnicity for each individual. Individuals with “Alien” or “Alien Temporary” citizenship status are listed as “Nonresident Alien”, regardless of their self-identified ethnicity.  In aggregate format, “BIPOC” includes the following race and ethnicity categories: American Indian, Asian, Black, Hawaiian, and Hispanic.

Race/ethnicity group (IPEDS)
An aggregation of the IPEDS definition of race and ethnicity. A person’s race/ethnicity for official IPEDS reporting is based on a set of criteria in order to report a single value for each individual, separating those with “Alien” or “Alien Temporary” citizenship status and those with multiple ethnicities into separate categories.  In aggregate format, “BIPOC” includes the following race and ethnicity categories: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Two or more races.

Retn/grad period
The number of years elapsed from the entry start year, which is used to determine the status of a student cohort in terms of enrollment / degrees earned. Example: Given entry start year of 2016, the status of the 2016 student cohort after four years can be found by setting the Retn/grad period to "4yr".

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