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Graduate Outcomes

Here are Randolph College’s goals for student achievement, along with information on the success of Randolph in achieving those goals.

Goal: Randolph College graduates will complete their degrees in a timely fashion.

Measure: Percentage of first-time, first-year students graduating from Randolph College who graduate within four years of entering.

Target: A rolling five-year average of 85% of students who enter the College as first-time, first-year students and who go on to graduate will complete their degrees in four years.

Aspirational Target: A rolling five-year average of 90% of students who enter the College as first-time, first-year students and who go on to graduate will complete their degrees in four years.

Results: Of the students who enter Randolph College as first-time, first-year students and who graduate from the College, 90% do so within four years (five-year average). This figure meets both the baseline and aspirational targets. (Targets will remain as they are for the time being as we continue to monitor trends.)

Cohort Entered Fall… % of FTFY Graduates
Who Graduated
Within Four Years
2011 91%
2012 90%
2013 87%
2014 93%
2015 88%
Five-Year Avg. 90%

Note: In calculating four-year graduates as a percentage of all graduates, the latter number is finalized when Randolph College reports six-year graduation rates to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Therefore, the most recent percentage is that of the incoming class that matriculated about six years ago (and has been reported to IPEDS).

Goal: Randolph College students will persist and graduate.

Measure: Percentage of students who earn a Randolph College degree within eight years of entering.

Note: This metric, while seemingly very broad in time frame, is a standard measure used in reporting to the federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System [IPEDS]. Known as the “eight-year outcome,” it includes all new, degree-seeking students: first-time, transfer, full-time, and part-time students. The eight-year window allows for the additional time sometimes taken by part-time students.

Target: A rolling five-year average of 55% of Randolph College students will earn a Randolph College degree within eight years of entering. The same will hold for the three-year average* of a sub-cohort of Pell-eligible first-time, first-year students in the cohort.

Aspirational Target: A rolling five-year average of 60% of Randolph College students will earn a Randolph College degree within eight years of entering.  The same will hold for the three-year average* of a sub-cohort of Pell-eligible first-time, first-year students in the cohort.

Results:  New Randolph students earn degrees within eight years at a rate of 60%.This figure meets both the baseline and aspirational targets. (Targets will remain as they are for the time being as we continue to monitor trends.) At 53%, the Pell-eligible sub-cohort remains below the baseline target. The College continues to monitor trends and take action to improve persistence to graduation in students of financial need.

Cohort Entered Fall… % of Cohort Who
Earned a Randolph Degree
Within Eight 
Years
% for Pell-Eligible
Sub-Cohort
2009 69% 52%
2010 61% 53%
2011 61% 56%
2012 59% 50%
2013 52% 52%
Five-Year Avg. 60% 53%

Note: Eight-year graduation rates are finalized when Randolph College reports them to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Therefore, the most recent percentage is that of the incoming class that matriculated about eight years ago (and has been reported to IPEDS).

Goal: Randolph College students with financial need will persist and graduate.

Measure: Six-year graduation rates for first-time, first-year students who are eligible for Pell grants.

Note: This metric, while seemingly very broad in time frame, is a standard measure used in reporting to the federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System [IPEDS]. Known as the “six-year graduation rate,” it includes all first-time, first-year, degree-seeking students. The six-year window allows for the additional time sometimes taken by degree-seeking students.

Target: A rolling five-year average of 50% of Randolph College first-time, first-year students who are eligible for Pell grants will remain at the college and graduate within six years.

Aspirational Target: A rolling five-year average of 55% of Randolph College first-time, first-year students who are eligible for Pell grants will remain at the college and graduate within six years.

Results: Entering first-time, first-year Randolph College students who are eligible for Pell grants graduate at a rate of 48% (four-year average), falling short of both the baseline and aspirational targets. The College continues to monitor trends and take action to improve persistence to graduation in students of financial need.

Cohort Entered Fall… 6-Year
Graduation
Rate
2010 53%
2011 56%
2012 50%
2013 42%
2014 40%
Four-Year Avg. 48%

Note: Six-year graduation rates are finalized when Randolph College reports them to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Therefore, the most recent percentage is that of the incoming class that matriculated about six years ago (and has been reported to IPEDS).

Goal: Randolph College students of color will persist and graduate.

Measure: Six-year graduation rates for first-time, first-year students of color.*

*Students of color are defined here as students who are reported as having a race/ethnicity other than “white non-Hispanic,” “non-resident alien,” or “race/ethnicity unknown” with respect to the categories used by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

Target: A rolling five-year average of 50% of Randolph College first-time, first-year students of color will remain at the college and graduate within six years.

Aspirational Target: A rolling five-year average of 55% of Randolph College first-time, first-year students of color will remain at the college and graduate within six years.

Results: Entering first-time, first-year Randolph College students of color graduate at a rate of 49% (five-year average), falling short of both the baseline and aspirational targets. The College continues to monitor trends and take action to improve persistence to graduation in students of color.

Cohort Entered Fall… Retention Rate
2010 48%
2011 53%
2012 56%
2013 39%
2014 48%
Five-Year Avg. 49%

Note: Six-year graduation rates are finalized when Randolph College reports them to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Therefore, the most recent percentage is that of the incoming class that matriculated about six years ago (and has been reported to IPEDS).

Goal: Randolph College students who are less academically prepared will persist to their sophomore years.

Measure: First-year retention rates for first-time, first-year students with high school GPAs less than 3.0.

Target: A rolling five-year average of 50% for first-year retention rates of Randolph College first-time, first-year students with high school GPAs less than 3.0.

Aspirational Target: A rolling five-year average of 55% for first-year retention rates of Randolph College first-time, first-year students with high school GPAs less than 3.0.

Results: The first-year retention rate of first-time, first-year Randolph College students with high school GPAs less than 3.0 was 50% (five-year average), meeting the baseline target but falling short of the aspirational target.

Cohort Entered Fall… Retention Rate
2015 44%
2016 42%
2017 50%
2018 54%
2019 59%
Five-Year Avg. 50%

Goal: Randolph College students will complement their academic educations with co-curricular internships.

Measure: Percentage of the graduating class who participate in internships by the time of graduation.

Target: A rolling five-year average of 60% or more of graduating students will participate in internships.

Aspirational Target: A rolling five-year average of 65% or more of graduating students will participate in internships.

Results: A five-year average of 58% of Randolph College graduates completed internships at some point in their undergraduate careers, falling short of both the baseline and aspirational targets. The low figure for the graduating class of 2021 was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (which made traditional internships impossible); the average if that year were omitted would be 62%. The College will continue to monitor trends and may omit that 2021 year in future calculations.

Year % of Graduating
Class Participating
in an Internship
2017 65%
2018 58%
2019 62%
2020 61%
2021 46%
Five-Year Avg. 58%

Goal: Randolph College students will borrow no more for their college educations than they are able to repay.

Measure: Student loan default rates (that is, the annual “three-year” rate as defined  by the United States Department of Education, calculated in a fiscal year [FY] basis).

Target: Using a five-year rolling average, Randolph College graduates will default on their student loans at a rate that is at least five percentage points lower than the national average for four-year colleges.

Aspirational Target: Using a five-year rolling average, Randolph College graduates will default on their student loans at a rate of less than 5%.

Results: Consistently, the student loan default rates for Randolph College graduates have been significantly lower than national averages, and the College met its baseline target by coming in at 4.65 percentage points lower than the five-year rolling national average. The aspirational target remains in sight.

Fiscal Year “Three Year”
Default Rate
National Average
FY13 5.44% 11.3%
FY14 8.47% 11.5%
FY15 6.36% 10.8%
FY16 5.85% 10.1%
FY17 6.84% 9.7%
Five-Year Avg. 6.59% 10.7%

*Note: As of Summer 2021, FY17 default rates represent the most current data available from the Federal Student Aid Data Center.

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