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This Signature Report examines the rate of completion of postsecondary certificates and degrees by first-time-in-college degree-seeking students who initially enrolled in two- and four-year colleges and universities (public, private nonprofit, or private for-profit) nationwide in fall 2011. It tracks their enrollment behaviors and outcomes for six years, through spring 2017. Six-year outcomes provided in this report include completions at students' starting institutions, completions at transfer institutions, and continued enrollment (for noncompleters) through the end of the study period. While the report emphasizes students' first completions, it also examines subsequent completions at four-year institutions for students whose first credential was awarded by a two-year institution. Six-year postsecondary outcomes are presented by students' age at first entry into college, gender, race and ethnicity and the level and control of the institution where they first enrolled. Results are also presented for students in three categories of enrollment intensity: (1) exclusively full-time enrollment, (2) exclusively part-time enrollment, and (3) enrollments showing both full- and part-time terms during the six years examined (mixed enrollment).The overall national six-year completion rate for the fall 2011 cohort was 56.9 percent, an increase of 2.1 percentage points from the fall 2010 cohort. This higher completion rate represents about 48,000 more graduates than the fall 2010 cohort, even with a slightly smaller cohort size. This report also explores eight-year postsecondary outcomes for students in the fall 2009 entering cohort. Highlights and a discussion of the major findings of the report, including how they compare to the outcomes for the fall 2010 cohort, are also provided.

This supplement to "Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rates--Fall 2010 Cohort" (https://nscresearchcenter.org/signaturereport12) (2016), provides six-year completion rates, including degree and certificate completion, disaggregated by race and ethnicity for students who began postsecondary education in fall 2010. The data used in this supplement was limited to a sample of schools selected specifically for race and ethnicity analyses. [For the full report, "Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rates--Fall 2010 Cohort (Signature Report No. 12)," see ED580301. For another supplement to the full report, "Completing College: A State-Level View of Student Attainment Rates (Signature Report No. 12a)," see ED580303.]

As a supplement to "Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rates--Fall 2010 Cohort" (https://nscresearchcenter.org/signaturereport12) (2016), this report focuses on six-year student success outcomes and college completion rates by state. Three sets of tables organized by institution type display the results, presenting each state's outcomes for students who started postsecondary education at four-year public institutions, two-year public institutions, and four-year private nonprofit institutions. Each set of tables provides state-level overviews of college completion outcomes. Further results are included, displaying state-level six-year outcomes for students: (1) By enrollment intensity across the six-year study period--exclusively full time (Tables 2, 11, 20), exclusively part time (Tables 3, 12, 21), and mixed (Tables 4, 13, 22); (2) By age at first entry to college--age 20 and younger (Tables 5, 14, 23), over age 20 through age 24 (Tables 6, 15, 24), and over age 24 (Tables 7, 16, 25); and (3) By gender--women and men who started at each institution type (Tables 8, 17, 26 and 9, 18, 27, respectively). [For the full report, "Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rates--Fall 2010 Cohort (Signature Report No. 12)," see ED580301. For another supplement to the full report, "A National View of Student Attainment Rates by Race and Ethnicity--Fall 2010 Cohort (Signature Report No. 12b)," see ED580302.]

This fifth annual report on national college completion rates offers a look at the six-year outcomes for students who began postsecondary education in fall 2010, toward the end of the Great Recession. It looks at the various pathways students took toward degree completion, as well as the completion rates through May 2016 for the different student types who followed each pathway. The overall national six-year completion rate for the fall 2010 cohort was 54.8 percent, an increase of 1.9 percentage points from the fall 2009 cohort. This counts all first-time students, regardless of institutional sector or enrollment intensity. This rate represents a recovery nearly to the level of the fall 2008 cohort (55.1 percent), but remains more than a percentage point below the high of 56.1 percent for the pre-recession 2007 cohort. The 2010 cohort's higher rate of completion represents about 55,000 more graduates than the fall 2009 cohort, even though both were almost exactly the same size to begin with. A small decrease, less than one percentage point, was observed in the percent of students who were still enrolled in their sixth year without having earned a degree. With more students graduating and fewer still enrolled, the share of students stopping out (no degree and no enrollment in the sixth year) decreased by 1.1 percentage points, from 33.0 percent to 31.9 percent. [For the supplements to this report, "Completing College: A State-Level View of Student Attainment Rates (Signature Report No. 12a)," see ED580303 and "A National View of Student Attainment Rates by Race and Ethnicity--Fall 2010 Cohort (Signature Report No. 12b)," see ED580302.]

This report examines time to degree completion for a cohort of students who earned an associate degree as their first and only postsecondary degree or a bachelor's degree as their first four-year degree between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015. Overall, the average time enrolled for associate and bachelor's degree earners was 3.3 years and 5.1 years, respectively. However, as the report shows, the time required for successful degree attainment could be influenced by the pathway the student followed as well as by factors, such as stop outs and less than full-time enrollment status.

As a supplement to "Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rates -- Fall 2009 Cohort," hereafter "Completing College," this report takes a state-by-state look at the various pathways that students take to complete a college degree or certificate. This report focuses on six-year student success outcomes and college completion rates by state. The results are displayed in three sets of tables organized by institution type, showing each state's outcomes for students who started postsecondary education at four-year public institutions, two-year public institutions, and four-year private nonprofit institutions. Each set of tables provides state-level overviews of college completion outcomes. [For the full report, "Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rates, Fall 2009 Cohort. (Signature Report No. 10)," see ED596230.]

This fourth annual report on national college completion rates offers a look at the six-year outcomes for students who began postsecondary education in fall 2009, the cohort that entered college as the Great Recession was ending. It looks at the various pathways students took toward degree completion, as well as the completion rates through May 2015 for the different student types who followed each pathway. The report also provides discussion comparing the fall 2009 cohort's outcomes to those of the fall 2008 cohort. Major findings include: (1) Acceleration of the Decline in Overall Completion Rates; (2) Declines in Completion Rates across Ages and Enrollment Intensities; (3) Completion Rates Declined in Four-Year Institutions; (4) Decline in Completion Rates for Students Who Started at Two-Year Public Institutions Continued, Including Completions at Four-Year Institutions; and (5) Eight-Year Outcomes for Fall 2007 National Cohort. [For the supplement to this report, "Completing College: A State-Level View of Student Attainment Rates. State Supplement. (Signature Report No. 10a)," see ED596231.] [For "Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rates--Fall 2008 Cohort (Signature Report No. 8)," see ED556471.]

This is the second report on transfer and mobility, examines multiple transfer pathways for the cohort of students who started postsecondary education in 2008. It reveals how student enrollment patterns that involve multiple movements among two or more institutions and across state boundaries has become the new normal, demonstrating the need for a comprehensive view of student transfer and mobility to inform education policymaking and institutional improvement efforts. The report also provides discussion comparing the 2008 cohort's outcomes to those of the 2006 cohort. Of the 3.6 million students who entered college for the first time in fall 2008, over one third (37.2 percent) transferred to a different institution at least once within six years. Of these, almost half changed their institution more than once (45 percent). Counting multiple moves, the students made 2.4 million transitions from one institution to another from 2008 to 2014. This report defines student transfer and mobility as any change in a student's institution of enrollment irrespective of the timing, direction, or location of the move, and regardless of whether any credits were transferred from one institution to another. The transfer rate reported here considers the student's first instance of movement to a different institution, before receiving a bachelor's degree and within a period of six years. For those students who began at two-year public institutions, we also include transfers that happened after receiving a degree at the starting two-year institution. Findings of the report provide evidence of the role played by community colleges in students' pathways, even though the students often do not earn associate's degrees. Nearly a quarter of the students who started at a community college transferred to a four-year institution within six years. Yet, only 3.2 percent of this cohort, roughly one in eight of those who transferred, did so after receiving a credential from their starting institution, either a certificate or an associate's degree. The vast majority transferred without a degree. This proportion has shrunk from the first transfer and mobility report, released in 2012. That report, which looked at students who started in fall 2006, found that one in five transfers from two-year to four-year institutions were post-degree. The higher proportion of students transferring without an associate's degree may create a growing case for reverse transfer initiatives currently being pursued in many states. These initiatives facilitate the transfer of student credits back to two-year institutions that may be able to award a degree. [For the first report, "Transfer & Mobility: A National View of Pre-Degree Student Movement in Postsecondary Institutions. Signature Report No. 2," see ED536121.]

This third annual report on national college completion rates offers the first look at the six-year outcomes for students who began postsecondary education in fall 2008, the cohort that entered college during the Great Recession. It looks at the various pathways students took toward degree completion, as well as the completion rates through May 2014 for the different student types who followed each pathway. The report also provides discussion comparing the fall 2008 cohort's outcomes to those of the fall 2007 cohort (analyzed in our second annual completions report, Signature Report 6). The following are appended: (1) Methodological Notes; (2) Coverage Tables; and (3) Results Tables. [This report was produced in collaboration with the Project on Academic Success at Indiana University.]

Over the past 20 years, more than 31 million students have enrolled in college and left without receiving a degree or certificate. Almost one-third of this population had only a minimal interaction with the higher education system, having enrolled for just a single term at a single institution. Signature Report 7 examines the "some college, no degree" phenomenon to better understand the value of some college in its own right and as well as the contribution the "some college, no degree" population can make to achieving college completion goals. The following are appended: (1) Methodological Notes; and (2) Results Tables. [This report was produced in collaboration with the Project on Academic Success at Indiana University.]

In the state supplement to the National Student Clearinghouse's sixth Signature Report, a national study on college completion, the authors take a state-by-state look at the various pathways that students take to complete a college degree or certificate. The results are displayed in three sets of tables organized by institution type, showing each state's outcomes for students who started postsecondary education at four-year public institutions, two-year public institutions, and four-year private nonprofit institutions. Each set of tables provides state-level overviews of college completion outcomes. Further results are included, showing state-level six-year outcomes for students. Among the study's findings are: (1) Nationally, 13% of students who started at four-year public institutions completed at an institution other than the starting institution. In 18 states, students who started at four-year public institutions had a higher completion rate elsewhere, with Minnesota having the highest rate at 26 percent followed by Missouri and Nebraska each with 19 percent; (2) 3.6 percent of all students who started at a four-year public institution received their first degree/certificate at a two-year institution. The rate was over five percent in Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; (3) In seven states, more than 20 percent of the students who started in two-year public institutions completed at a four-year institution (with or without first receiving a credential at a two-year institution) within six years, with Kansas having the highest rate at 26 percent followed by Virginia at 23 percent; and (4) In 14 states, at least one in every five women who started at two-year public institutions completed at a four-year institution. Only in three states did at least 20 percent of men who started in a two-year public institution complete at a four-year institution. [This report is a supplement to "Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rates, Fall 2007 Cohort. (Signature Report No. 6)" (ED596257).]

This second annual report on national college completions rates continues to respond to the limitations of institution-based research by focusing on student-level data, tracking the completion of postsecondary certificates and degrees among first-time degree-seeking students who started their postsecondary education in fall 2007 and tracking their enrollments nationwide for six years, through the spring of 2013. The report also introduces an enhancement to the first Completions Report by including in the cohort students who entered college with prior experience in college-level courses through dual enrollment opportunities while still in high school. [For fall 2006 six-year completion data, see "Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rates. (Signature Report No. 4)" (ED596247).]

This "Signature Completions Extra" presents the six-year outcomes for the fall 2007 cohort, not including dual enrollment students. The data allows readers to compare the fall 2007 cohort results to the fall 2006 cohort results that were presented in November 2012 as part of "Signature Report 4," the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center's first college completion study. This report demonstrates that the overall completions rate for the entering 2007 cohort remained unchanged from the rates for the 2006 cohort. Nonetheless, there were small improvements for students who started at specific institution types, notably four-year public and two-year public institutions. [For "Completing College: A State-Level View of Student Attainment Rates. State Supplement. (Signature Report No. 4)," see ED596294.]