Home > Research, Data & Reports > Degrees, Graduation Rates & Educational Attainment >
Graduation Rates
Graduation and retention rates of undergraduates in Minnesota's postsecondary institutions
While not all undergraduates intend to earn baccalaureate degrees, graduation is still a goal of most students entering four-year colleges and universities.
6-year graduation rates at Minnesota 4-year institutions, 2010
| Minnesota State Universities | 48% |
| University of Minnesota | 65% |
| Private Colleges and Universities | 72% |
| Total | 61% |
The graduation rate calculates the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time, degree-seeking students in 2004 who completed a bachelor's degree at the same institution.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Graduation Rate Survey
Graduation rates at four-year institutions have been inching up. The graduation rates vary considerably from institution to institution, as the number of students used to track the rate varies within each institution. The six-year graduation rates, in 2010, range from:
- 70 percent to 38 percent at the University of Minnesota system
- 55 percent to 26 percent at the state universities
- 93 percent to 31 percent at the private not-for-profit institutions
The University of Minnesota has made the greatest strides in improving their graduation rates.The six-year graduation rate for the combined campuses has increased from 44 percent in 1998 to 65 percent in 2010. The greatest increase occurred at the Twin Cities campus. The six-year rate increased from 47 percent in 1998 to 70 percent in 2010. The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus six-year graduation rates are now comparable to several Minnesota private not-for-profit institutions. A national analysis of graduation rates by The Chronicle of Higher Education showed the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities had the sixth highest gain in graduation rates of all public research institutions in the U.S. from 2003-2008. Nationally, while 65 percent of four-year institutions had graduation rate increases during this time period, 35 percent had declining rates.
2011 Bachelor's Degree Graduation Rates at Minnesota 4-Year Institutions
6-Year Bachelor's Degree Graduation Rates at Minnesota's 4-Year Institutions, 1998 to 2010
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Graduation Rate Survey
Students of color are not graduating at the same rates as white students. The graduation rates at Minnesota four-year institutions vary by race/ethnicity. While Asian students have higher rates than American Indian, Hispanic and Black students; white students have the highest college graduation rates.
6-Year Bachelor's Degree Graduation Rates at Minnesota's 4-Year Institutions, by Race/Ethnicity, 2002 and 2010
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Graduation Rate Survey
6-Year Graduation Rates at Minnesota 4-Year Institutions
Community and Technical College Graduation and Transfer Rates 2011
About graduation rates
The graduation rates reported here were developed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, to be used for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Graduation Rate Survey. These national standardized rates were devised so that graduation rates could be compared across institutions.
The graduation rate tracks a cohort of students (defined as new-entering, full-time, first-time, degree-seeking) from their time of initial enrollment in a four-year institution until they complete a bachelor's degree or less within 150% of normal time to program completion at the same institution. For a four-year bachelor's degree program this means students who graduate within six years are successful completers and are included in the rate. For a two-year institution students who graduate within three years are successful completers.
Graduation rates are influenced by a variety of factors. Students who transfer in or transfer out of an institution are not included in the graduation rate. Students who start full-time, and are included in the initial tracking cohort, may subsequently enroll part-time; prolonging their time to completion. In general, institutions which are more selective in whom they enroll have higher graduation rates than institutions that are not very selective.
