The national six-year college completion rate held steady at roughly 61% this year, the fourth consecutive year the completion rate has been maintained at essentially the same level.
According to the latest National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s Yearly Progress and Completion report, 61.1% of the more than 2.3 million students who started college in the fall of 2019 had earned a credential (an undergraduate certificate, associate’s degree, or bachelor’s degree) within six years. Another 9.0% of students in that cohort were still enrolled in college, and 29.8% were no longer enrolled. The vast majority of six-year completers (84.6%) earned their first credential from the institution where they began college.
This report also found that dual enrollment conveyed a substantial advantage when it came to credential/degree completion. By the end of their sixth year, 71.1% of students with prior dual enrollment experience had earned a college credential compared to 57.2% of students without prior dual enrollment.
“Students who started in fall 2019 faced the challenges of the pandemic beginning in their second semester, so the fact that their completion rates remain at recent highs underscores the remarkable strength of our higher education ecosystem. This stability is built on the day‑to‑day efforts of students and institutions to maintain progress toward credentials in a changing environment,” said Doug Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, in a news release.
Higher Education Sector
Six-year completion rates varied considerably among the major higher education sectors. The highest rate was for students who began college at a private, nonprofit four-year institution (74.6%), followed by those beginning at public four-year schools (70.9%). Completion rates dropped off sharply for students who began at a public two-year school (43.9%) or a private, for-profit institution (35.9%).
Student Characteristics
Several student variables — such as enrollment status, income level, age and racial-ethnic background — were associated with differences in completion rates.
Over two-thirds of students who began college as full-time students (67.1%) earned a credential within six years, compared to only 34.1% of those beginning as part-timers. Among full-time starters, 25.1% had dropped out of college by year six, a significantly lower rate than for students who started college on a part-time basis (51.7%).
Students who came from more economically affluent neighborhoods had much higher completion rates than those from lower income backgrounds. Only 50.1% of the 2019 starters from the lowest neighborhood income quintile completed a credential by year six versus 75.9% of those from the highest 20% of neighborhood income levels.
Student age. The six-year completion rates for students 25 and older (36.6%) or 21-24 years of age (35.6%) was substantially lower than the completion rates for students who started college at 20 years of age or younger (63.8%).
Student gender. As in years past, the overall completion rate for female students (64.3%) outpaced that of males (58.1%).
Student Race/Ethnicity. Asian students achieved the highest six-year credential completion rate at 75.7%. They were followed by white students (69.0%), students indentifying with two or more races (59.5%), Hispanics (50.5%), Native Americans (45.2%) and Black students (44.0%).
State Differences
Nine states or jurisdictions saw completion rates of 70% or higher, led by the District of Columbia at 80.6%. The others were Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin. Only three states had completion rates below 50% — New Mexico (48.9%), Nevada (46.3%) and Alaska (35.1%).
About the National Student Clearinghouse Research Centerew
The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center is the research arm of the National Student Clearinghouse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization formed in 1993. It collaborates with higher education institutions, states, school districts, high schools, and educational organizations to gather accurate longitudinal data that can be used to guide educational policy decisions. NSCRC analyzes data from 3,600 postsecondary institutions, which represented 97% of the nation’s postsecondary enrollment in Title IV degree-granting institutions in the U.S., as of 2020.