Retention and Completion | Executive Strategy And Planning | BYU-Idaho

# Retention and Completion

## I. Retention Rates (Retention)

As defined by the US Department of Education, retention rates are a measure of the rate at which students persist in their educational program at an institution, expressed as a percentage. For four-year institutions, this is the percentage of first-time bachelor's degree-seeking undergraduates from the previous fall who are again enrolled in the current fall. The following report presents the retention rates for BYU-Idaho as reported to the federal government through IPEDS (see Retention rate: Peer institution comparison page) The report also presents the retention rates for BYU-Idaho by the following demographics: age, ethnicity, first-generation student, gender, and Pell Recipient (see BYU-Idaho retention by demographic page).

### Analysis Notes

- Data include only full-time, first-time bachelor's students.
- Exclusions include students from the cohort who left the institution for any of the following reasons: died or were totally and permanently disabled; to serve in the armed forces (including those called to active duty); to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government (e.g. Peace Corps); or to serve on official church missions.
- Inaccuracies in identifying all exclusions exist because of the number of students who do not officially inform the university when they leave on their missions. Sometimes this information does not become available until after they have returned from their mission, which could result in lower retention rates.

## II. Completion Rates

As defined by the US Department of Education, completion rates identify what percentage of a fall semester cohort of first-time, full-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates complete their degree program in 150% of the normal time required for the degree. For bachelor's degrees, 150% of the normal time is 6 years. For associate degrees, 150% of the normal time is 3 years. The following report presents the completion rates for BYU-Idaho as reported to the federal government through IPEDS (see Completion rate: Peer institution comparison). The report also presents the completion rates for BYU-Idaho by the following demographics: age, ethnicity, first-generation student, gender, and Pell Recipient (see BYU-Idaho completion by demographic page).

### Analysis Notes

- The full cohort is defined as all first-time full-time freshmen starting school in the fall semester of the indicated year.
- Exclusions include students from the cohort who left the institution for any of the following reasons: died or were totally and permanently disabled; to serve in the armed forces (including those called to active duty); to serve with a foreign aid service of the Federal Government (e.g. Peace Corps); or to serve on official church missions.
- Inaccuracies in identifying exclusions exist because of the number of students who do not officially inform the university when they leave on their missions or leave the institution for any of the above-stated reasons. Sometimes this information does not become available until students subsequently return to school, which could result in lower completion rates.
- These numbers report the overall completion rate, not the completion rate for students pursuing bachelor's degrees. A number of entities (e.g., the White House and Chronicle of Higher Education) report only the latter statistic and not the overall completion rate.