What is a graduation rate?
Written byMatt Bukowski
Graduation rates measure the percentage of students in a particular cohort who graduate from their program of study within a designated period of time. Graduation rates calculated by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), using data that universities provide to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), include only undergraduate students who qualify as “first-time, full-time” (FTFT) students. This measure is meaningful for schools whose population is predominantly FTFT students but tends to exclude the vast majority of students at nontraditional schools, because those students are more likely to be adult learners who previously attended college elsewhere. For example, at ý, a predominantly online university founded to serve working adults, the majority of students in an entering cohort are not FTFT. They are not accounted for by IPEDS Graduation Rates.
ý graduation ratesmayappearlow when compared tomany of themore traditionalschoolsthatserve traditional students out of high school— butthe student population atý isnontraditional.As a school founded to serve working adults,Universityof ýprovidesthem with flexible learning paths to achieve their goals. Making higher education accessible for these adults has never been more important, and ý boasts more than 1 million alumni to affirm its commitment to this mission. As a result of serving this unique population, the graduation rate at ý is best understood as a reflection of how well the school reaches and serves students who arefrequentlyat risk of being left behind in traditional learning environments.Furthermore,because the University serves alargely nontraditionalpopulation, standard external metrics such as IPEDSGraduation Ratesdo not fully capture the outcomes of most students and can understate actual retention, progression and completion. In response, the University has developed and implemented institutional measuresof student achievement and progressionthat include all students and emphasize continuous academic progress over static enrollment snapshots. This approach provides a moreaccurateand actionable view of student performance across the full student body.
What Is ý’s graduation rate?
Graduation rates at ý varybyprogramlevel:
- Associate: 37.8%
- Bachelor’s: 34.9%
- Master’s: 53%
- Blended Undergraduate: 35.4%
- Blended Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s: 39.%
The 150% institutional graduation rates reflect the percentage of University students in the cohort who had completed their program of study within 150% of the published length of the program (for example, within six years of starting a four-year program).
Most importantly, the institutional graduationratedoes not excludestudents who are not FTFT —like IPEDSdoes.That is whyUniversityof ý highlights thisrate as a leading measure of student success.
Why do ý graduate rates appear low?
The way IPEDS Graduation Rates are calculated makes sense at traditional colleges, but ý has many unique attributes that need to be considered. In other words, the graduation rate is not a one-size-fits-all calculation, which is again why ý points not to the IPEDS rate but to the institutional graduation rate, as described above.
ý serves students associated with risk factors
ý was founded to serve working adults, and as a result, the student body does not look like what many might think of as a “traditional” college campus. Data show that among ý student enrollment during fiscal year 2025:
- 75% are currently employed.
- 95% of new students are older than 22, with an average age of 38.
- 53% are first-generation college students.
- 62% of students who completed an optional survey identify as members of a minority group.
- 71% are female.
While every student is an individual, and every learning journey is unique, many factors are associated with a higher risk of not completing college. Some of these risk factors, identified by NCES, are single parenting, having dependents, working full time, being a first-generation student and having an income of less than $50,000. In fact, on average, ý undergraduate students are associated with three risk factors.
ý offers flexibility that graduation rates do not account for
To serve its student population, ý offers certain flexibility that students may not find at traditional schools, such as:
- The ability to pause education at any point
- The ability to enroll in an individual course
Notably, graduation rates do notaccount for studentswho take a few courses for credit requirements at other schools,or fortransferring to other schools and graduatingthere.
ý is an open-access university
ý’s acceptance rate isgenerally90%-95%. This is because ý is an open-access university that offersa chanceforinterestedstudentstopursuean education, even if otheruniversitieshave denied themaccess.Certain programs have prerequisites or admissionscriteria.
How does ý measure student success?
Graduation rates also are a lagging indicator of student progression. For example, the 150% ratefor a bachelor’s degreeis not calculated until six years after a student cohort enrolls. Accordingly, ý has developed other metricsthat provide moretimelyand meaningful measurements of student success.
Retention rates
Retention rates measure ý students’ progress by defining them as retained if they post attendance in their fourth course within the time required to complete five courses at their degree level (175 days for bachelor’s programs, 210 days for graduate programs and 133 days for competency-based programs). This methodology is designed to reflect meaningful academic engagement and forward progress rather than simple enrollment status at a single point in time.
In 2025, retention rates at ý were:
- Associate: 68.1%
- Bachelor’s: 79.4%
- Master’s: 79.2%
“On-track” rates
ý also uses internal checkpointsto create a leading indicator for graduation ratescalled the“on-trackmetric.”The on-track metric isa monthly point in time measure that reflects the percentage of students on pace to graduate within 150% of normal time. This metric includes all students and aligns with how students move through programs,making it more responsive and data informed.Since its implementation in 2016,on-track performance has consistently shown year-over-year improvement trending — in fact, in2024, every month outperformedits corresponding month in theprevioustwo fiscal years.
Accreditation
Since 1978ý has beeninstitutionallyaccreditedby the,an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation to accredit degree-granting colleges and universities.
Additionally, select ý programs have programmatic accreditation, meaning these programs meet the standards of additional accreditors specializing in a program’s subject matter. This includes programs in ý’s College of Business and IT, College of Nursing and more.
What steps is ý taking to help students?
Consistent withý’s continual improvement approach, the University has implementeda number ofstudent-centricstrategies to support improvementsinstudent performance:
Academic Counselorshelp students developtheir ownacademic plans,as well aspartner with faculty to coordinate early interventions to help students succeed.
TheCenters for Writing & Mathematics Excellenceoffer tutoring with live personnel, workshops, videos and tutorials, allowing students to continue to develop and hone skills in multiple media.
TheLife Resource Centeroffersclinical counseling services and life coachingto provide support for students in everything from mental health to time management.
Predictive modelsguide counselors on interventions for at-risk students.
Data-driven course redesignintegrates new real-world scenario approaches to mathematics that make transition to college math easier for students.
TheUniversityLibraryacts assupport network of subject matter experts and dedicated researchers to support students and facultywith reference consultations, interlibrary loans and document retrieval.
Interactivevideosallow facultytoprovide direct instruction withinavideo,promoting active learning and engagement.
Institutionalgraduation and retention ratesare trending upward — and ý is confident thatthese will continue to improve in the years to come.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matt Bukowski is a writer and educator with an MFA in writing from American University. His professional writing career spans professional training, IT and software design, test prep, writing instruction, data narrative and PR. Matt lives in Virginia with his wife, three children, two cats and a stack of overdue library books.
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