<p>When a college states it's graduation rate six years for 60%, for example, does that mean the other 40% graduate
in less than six years or more?</p>
<p>No way to know the answer to that question. </p>
<p>Usually the 6 year graduation rate includes all those who graduate in UP to six years.</p>
<p>Most colleges post their 4 year graduation rate in their common data set. Check that.</p>
<p>Sorry folks…this saved as a draft even though it posted just fine. I tried to delete, but the little X just disappeared!</p>
<p>In every chart I’ve ever seen, it means that “by six years” 60% have graduated, meaning that 40% have not. You can see who graduates in year 5 and 6 by looking at the four year grad rate; I’m not aware of any college which does not post its 4 year grad rate. </p>
<p>Six year graduation rate means graduating in six years or less from entry as frosh. This includes those who graduate in five, four, or fewer years from frosh entry.</p>
<p>Note that this is measured in calendar years. A student who takes eight semesters of school with eight gap semesters mixed in will take eight calendar years to graduate (and thus not count as having graduated in four, five, or six years) even though s/he will have attended school for only the equivalent of four years.</p>
<p>Also take into consideration the school.
If it is a commuter school, where many students may be older with families & working, they may take longer than six years to finish.
But dont rule it out, older students can add much to a class as they are often very motivated and have experiences that add to the discussion.
Small/expensive schools may also have a higher transfer rate because of limited majors or students wanting to limit expenses.</p>
<p>Usually, universities with large engineering programs will have lower 4-year graduation rates because most engineers require 9-11 semesters to graduate.</p>
<p>Alex…please site a reference to this. Both my husband and daughter are engineers. The engineering departments at their private universities had very HIGH 4 year graduation rates…and we’re amongst the largest departments at the schools.</p>
<p>I think the graduation rate after 200% normal time (8 years) is also available on IPEDS.</p>
<p>And remember, that grad rate is only for students who began their college careers at that particular institution. The rate doesn’t include transfers.</p>
<p>What I find interesting is to look at the difference between 4 and 6 years rates. One of the big state Us in my state has a 70% grad rate (6 year) but a 49% grad rate at 4 years. Means lots of students can’t (or aren’t) getting done in 4 years. Lots of small privates we visited do use “finish in 4” as a recruiting strategy. And sure enough, they’re 4 and 6 year rates aren’t that far apart</p>
<p>Thumper-do many students do co-ops? Many engineering students do co-ops that take a full semester to a year in time. Right their you are over 4 years.</p>
<p>SOME engineering programs have coops. ALL do not. And even those with coop options, the coop is optional. </p>
<p>My point is that one should NOT blame the engineering programs for the 6 year graduation rate. </p>
<p>Some schools actually limit students to eight full-time semesters, with possible exceptions for a second major or a few additional classes needed to graduate. </p>
<p>I would ask about the numbers of semesters typically spent taking classes rather than six year graduation rate, if large numbers of students at a school traditionally do co-ops. (If completing a co-op is a priority for an individual student, I would also ask about recent placement rates for students who desire co-ops. In some cases, high 4 year graduation rates could be a clue that students are not having success in finding co-ops, either because the placement office is not being effective or because demand has tanked.)</p>
<p>Missing from this discussion is the fact that at many institutions students often work part-time during the academic year. Many who do this might take only, say, 12 credit-hours per semester rather than the usual 15 or 16. Even if they are doing quite well academically, it takes longer to graduate that way. At my university, where students must complete 120 credit hours for graduation, this would normally imply 15 hours per semester over 8 semesters. But if they can only take 12 credit-hrs – because of the cost and the time competition from work – then it would take them 10 semesters, i.e., 5 years, to graduate. This is not because they have any kind of academic hardship but because of financial constraints. One alternative might be to take on more loans, and finish in 4 years rather than 5. And of course they can also take summer classes. But in many cases the need to work part-time would still be there. </p>
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