INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH

Actuarial Science - Assessment Results
Alumni Survey Results
Assessments & Measures - Strategic Plan
Compliance With Established Standards
Financial Audits and Other Third-Party Examinations
Job Placement Rates
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
NCLEX-RN Results - Nursing
Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI)
Nuclear Medicine - Certification Examination Results
PRAXIS - Teacher Certification Results
Student Retention & Graduation Rates
U-CAN
University Accreditations
US News College Ranking

For More Information, Contact:

David R. Majka, Ed.D.
Vice Provost for Strategic Planning and Quality Assurance

majka@rmu.edu
412-397-5443 phone
412-397-6847 fax
Patrick Henry 311
Moon Campus

FACULTY/STAFF > DEPARTMENTS & OFFICES > INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH > STUDENT RETENTION & GRADUATION RATES
 Student Retention & Graduation Rates

Colleges pay lots of attention to the percentage of their new freshmen who return for their sophomore year as well as the percentage of each freshman cohort who eventually graduate.  These two metrics are reported to regulatory agencies as well to publishers of college guidebooks and college choice websites.  These two percentages are widely regarded as proxies for student satisfaction and achievement.

Retention and graduation rates can and do vary significantly between different colleges and even from year to year at one college depending upon many variables.  Incoming student quality indices such as SAT scores are highly correlated with retention rates; better students tend to stay with their studies and their original college.  Based upon analysis of benchmark data from peer colleges, RMU believes that it has retention and graduation rates that are very comparable with colleges of similar academic quality 

RMU actively tries to boost its retention and graduation rates.  The Center for Student Success and the Department of Athletics offer extensive tutoring and counseling services to students who need academic or personal help with various aspects of their college life.  The University also has a Committee for Student Success with membership from every area of its operations.  The Committee examines retention data and trends in order to pinpoint and address areas of strength and weakness.


Here is some recent retention, graduation and transfer-out rate data for RMU:

Freshman to Sophomore Retention - First Time, Full Time Freshmen

Reported in Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010  Fall 2011  Fall 2012  Fall 2013   Fall 2014
Cohort Beginning
 Fall 2006 Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010 Fall 2011 Fall 2012  Fall 2013
One Year Retention Rate 73% 74% 79% 73% 81%  76%  81%  83%


Four Year Graduation Rate - First Time, Full Time Freshmen

Reported in Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010  Fall 2011  Fall 2012  Fall 2013   Fall 2014
Cohort Beginning
 Fall 2003 Fall 2004 Fall 2005 Fall 2006 Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009  Fall 2010
Four Year Graduation Rate 34% 39% 40% 43% 41%  46%  39%  45%


Six Year Graduation Rate - First Time, Full Time Freshmen

Reported in Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010  Fall 2011  Fall 2012  Fall 2013   Fall 2014
Cohort Beginning
 Fall 2001 Fall 2002 Fall 2003 Fall 2004 Fall 2005 Fall 2006 Fall 2007  Fall 2008
Six Year Graduation Rate 51% 56% 58% 61% 59%  54%  56%  62%


Transfer Out Rate - First Time, Full Time Freshman

Reported in Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010  Fall 2011  Fall 2012  Fall 2013   Fall 2014
Cohort Beginning
 Fall 2001 Fall 2002 Fall 2003 Fall 2004 Fall 2005 Fall 2006 Fall 2007  Fall 2008
Original Cohort 531 477 552 678 685  649  664 645
Number Transferred Out  145  133  149  163  209  210  206  169
Transfer Out Rate  27% 28% 27% 24%  31%  32%  31%  26% 


RMU has made significant improvement in all three of these metrics over the past decade.  The freshman-to-sophomore retention  and six-year graduation rates reported for fall 2014 are the highest in history and the four-year graduation rate is the second highest recorded.