DATA

POINT

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

NCES 2016-083 JULY 2016

Persistence and Attainment 

Among Postsecondary 

Subbaccalaureate Students 

This Data Point uses data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS). BPS follows a nationally 

representative cohort of students who have enrolled in postsecondary education for the first time, tracking their progress over 

6 years. The BPS students examined here were initially surveyed in 2003–04 (at the end of their first academic year) then 

re-surveyed in 2005–06 and in 2008–09. The final BPS:04/09 dataset contains information on nearly 16,700 students. 

This Data Point examines the persistence and attainment of 

students who enrolled in postsecondary education for the first 

time in 2003–04, focusing on subbaccalaureate students 

(those seeking a certificate or associate’s degree) and, among 

subbaccalaureate students, those who pursue occupational 

education1

 (sometimes referred to as career and technical 

education (CTE)). Attainment is defined as having earned a 

postsecondary credential as of 2009, whether or not it is the 

same credential the student initially sought. Persistence is 

defined as being enrolled in postsecondary education in 2009, 

without having earned a credential. Among 2003–04 beginning 

postsecondary students, 50 percent had earned a credential 

by 2009, and 15 percent had not earned a credential but were 

still enrolled, resulting in an overall 6-year persistence and 

attainment rate of 65 percent (figure 1).

Subbaccalaureate students have a lower rate of 

persistence and attainment than baccalaureate 

students. 

Among beginning postsecondary students in 2003–04 who 

initially sought a subbaccalaureate credential, 56 percent 

continued to seek or had attained a credential 6 years later 

(in 2009), compared to 79 percent of students who initially 

sought a bachelor’s degree. 

Looking at persistence and attainment separately shows that 

this difference arises from a difference in attainment rates. 

Only 39 percent of students seeking a subbaccalaureate 

credential earned a certificate or degree within 6 years 

of entering postsecondary education, compared to 67 

percent of students seeking a bachelor’s degree (figure 1). 

FIGURE 1. Persistence and attainment status of 2003–04 beginning postsecondary students 

after 6 years, by initial credential level: 2009 

39

67

50

16

12

15

44

21

35

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Subbaccalaureate 

students

Baccalaureate students

Total, all students

Attained (earned a credential)

Persisted (no credential, still enrolled)

Not enrolled, no credential

65% persisted or attained

79% persisted or attained

56% persisted or attained

Percent

NOTE: Standard errors for estimates can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ctes/tables/B01.asp. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003-04 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal 

Study, Second Follow-up (BPS:04/09).

To learn more about the data collection used in this report, visit 

http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/bps. For questions about content or to view this report online, 

go to http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2016083.
Persistence and Attainment Among Postsecondary Subbaccalaureate Students 

In contrast, the proportion of students who had not earned 

a credential but were still enrolled was higher among 

subbaccalaureate students than among baccalaureate 

students (16 versus 12 percent, respectively). 

Postsecondary students can be classified into three broad 

areas of study based on their initial field of study: those in an 

occupational field of study, an academic field of study, and 

an as-yet undeclared field of study. 

Students seeking a subbaccalaureate credential in an 

occupational field of study have a persistence and 

attainment rate that is not measurably different from that 

of subbaccalaureate students in other fields of study. 

Among 2003–04 subbaccalaureate students, there were no 

measureable differences in the percentages of students in 

each broad area of study—occupational, academic, and 

undeclared—who were still enrolled or had already earned a 

credential 6 years later (56, 58, and 55 percent, respectively) 

(figure 2). However, among students seeking a bachelor’s 

degree, the rate of persistence and attainment of those in an 

academic field of study (84 percent) was higher than that of 

students in occupational or undeclared fields of study (77 and 

79 percent, respectively). 

Endnotes

1 Occupational fields of study include agriculture and natural resources; 

business management; business support; communications; computer 

and information sciences; construction; consumer services; design; 

education; engineering, architecture, science, and communications 

technologies; health sciences; manufacturing; marketing; protective 

services; public, legal, and social services; repair; and transportation. 

Academic fields of study include biological and physical sciences, 

English/letters, fine and performing arts, foreign languages, history, 

liberal/general studies, mathematics, philosophy and religion, social and 

behavioral sciences, and interdisciplinary studies. These categories 

have been used in numerous NCES reports (see e.g., http://

nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008001) and are 

described in more detail at http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ctes/tables/

postsec_tax.asp.

FIGURE 2. Persistence and attainment rates of 2003–04 beginning postsecondary students 

after 6 years, by initial credential level and broad area of study: 2009 

56 58 55

77

84

79

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Occupational 

field of study

Academic 

field of study

Undeclared 

field of study

Occupational 

field of study

Academic 

field of study

Undeclared 

field of study

Subbaccalaureate credential seekers Bachelor’s degree seekers

Percent

Occupational

field of study

Academic 

field of study

Undeclared 

field of study

Occupational

field of study

Academic 

field of study

Undeclared 

field of study

NOTE: Standard errors for estimates can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ctes/tables/B01.asp. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003-04 Beginning Postsecondary Students 

Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (BPS:04/09).

This National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Data Point presents 

information of education topics of current interest. It was authored by Ashley 

Roberts of the American Institutes for Research. Estimates based on samples 

are subject to sampling variability, and apparent differences may not be 

statistically significant. All stated differences are statistically significant at the 

.05 level. In the design, conduct, and data processing of NCES surveys, efforts 

are made to minimize effects of non-sampling errors, such as item response, 

measurement error, data processing error, or other systematic error.