Right to Know
Graduation and Transfer-Out Rates
The federal Student Right-to-Know Act requires all colleges and universities to disclose certain information to students. This page provides the information on graduation rates and transfer-out rates for full-time students seeking degrees at Ridgewater College.
Defining Graduation and Transfer-Out Rates
Federal regulations specify how to calculate the graduation and transfer rates. The rates come from a study of Ridgewater students who started at the college in the fall of 2016. The study includes all first-time students who enrolled full time that fall and were seeking to earn a degree, diploma, or certificate at the College.
The graduation rate is the percentage of these students who graduated from Ridgewater within three years. The transfer-out rate is the percentage of these students who did not graduate from Ridgewater, but instead transferred to another college or university within three years.
Note that these rates do not report on all students at Ridgewater. The 545 first-time, full-time students in the study were 16 percent of all students enrolled at Ridgewater in fall of 2016.
Graduation and Transfer-Out Rates for Ridgewater College
- The graduation rate for Ridgewater was 42 percent
- The transfer-out rate for Ridgewater was 17 percent
- The combination of the graduation rate and the transfer-out rate for Ridgewater was 59 percent. The national average combined rate for similar colleges was 45 percent.
You may be asking yourself, “Why don’t more Ridgewater College students graduate or transfer in three years?” There are several reasons:
- Since Ridgewater has an “open door” mission, many new students need to take “developmental” courses to improve their reading, writing, or math skills before taking other college courses.
- Students who switch from full-time to part-time enrollment or “stop out” for one or more semesters are more likely to take more than three years to graduate.
- Some students take jobs before they graduate.
- Some students delay their education for personal, family, or financial reasons.
Graduation and Transfer-Out Rates
| Ridgewater College | Graduation Rate | Transfer-out Rate | Combined Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Cohort | 42% | 17% | 59% |
Race Ethnicity |
|||
| American Indian or Alaska Native | * | * | * |
| Asian | * | * | * |
| Black or African American | 18% | 32% | 50% |
| Hispanic of any race | 18% | 24% | 42% |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | * | * | * |
| Nonresident Alien | * | * | * |
| Two or more races | 26% | 21% | 47% |
| Unkown race and ethnicity | * | * | * |
| White | 48% | 14% | 62% |
Gender |
|||
| Female | 45% | 16% | 61% |
| Male | 41% | 17% | 58% |
Financial Aid |
|||
| Pell Grant Recipient | 34% | 16% | 50% |
| Received neither Pell nor Subsidized Stafford Loans | 54% | 15% | 69% |
| Received Subsidized Stafford Loans, but no Pell | 40% | 20% | 60% |
*Suppressed to protect student privacy.
Due to rounding, percentages may not always appear to add up.
