The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center notes a steady drop in the percentage of gains being made by institutions from the 2014 cohort.
A new report released by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows the continued leveling off of six-year and eight-year completion rates for students entering colleges and universities, while highlighting a ‘pleateau’ for traditional-age students and especially for underserved groups at community colleges.
The 0.3% increase year over year from the 2013 cohort to 2014 was the lowest in the past five years, according to the Clearinghouse’s Completing College: National and State Reports. Though gains continue to be made, they are not nearly as robust as those even as recently as the 2012 cohort, which showed a 2.2% increase in completion.
The Clearinghouse noted that because the study was done in June 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic likely has had no effect on those rates, which track all students who enter college each year. Overall, the number of students finishing six-year programs is at 60.1%.