Student Retention, Persistence and Graduation

Retention Rates
Fall-to-Spring Retention Rate (term-to-term, 10 years combined)

  • 80% of Bachelor’s-seeking students entering in the fall semester returned the following spring
  • 78% of Associate-seeking students entering in the fall semester returned the following spring

Fall-to-Fall Retention Rate (1 year, 10 years combined)

  • 57% of Bachelor’s-seeking students in the fall semester returned the following fall
  • 54% of Associate-seeking students in the fall semester returned the following fall

Graduation Rates
Fall 2013 Total Entering Cohort (Bachelor’s, Associates and Certificate Students; First-time and Transfer Students; Full-time and Part-time Students)

  • 22.5% of Bachelor’s-seeking students graduated within 6 years (150% of normal time)
  • 16.9% of Associate-seeking students graduated within 3 years (150% of normal time)

Fall 2013 First-time, Full-time entering Cohort (IPEDS)

  • Overall Graduation Rate (Bachelor’s, Associates and Certificate Students)
    • 13% of all F’12 First-time, Full-time Degree/Certificate-seeking students completed a degree within 150% of normal time.
  • Bachelor’s Graduation Rate
    • 13% of all F’13 First-time, Full-time Bachelor’s-seeking students completed a bachelor’s degree within 150% of normal time.
  • Overall Transfer-out Rate
    • 24% of all F’13 First-time, Full-time Degree/Certificate-seeking Students transferred to another institution within 150% of normal time.

2018-19 Degrees Awarded

  • 87% of the Bachelor’s/Post-Bachelor’s awarded last year were earned within 6 years (150% of normal time)
  • 65% of Associates awarded last year were earned within 3 years (150% of normal time)

The Student Achievement Measure

The Student Achievement Measure (SAM) tracks student progress and completion across higher education. Also, SAM includes a larger percentage of students than the traditional federal graduation rate of only first-time, full-time students at UMA. The first-time, full-time student cohort traditionally only accounts for about 23% of all incoming students in a fall semester.

National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

NSSE collects information at hundreds of four-year colleges and universities about first-year and senior students’ participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development.

Student Course Completion Rates

  • 79% average course completion rate (Grades A thru C-, Pass, Audit / All Grades) for all degree/certificate and non-degree-seeking enrolled students in 2017-18 (Fall ’17, Spring-Summer ’18)

Statistics updated June, 2020
UMA Office of Institutional Research and Assessment