National Collegiate Retention and Persistence-to-Degree Rates - Retention and Persistence Rates by Institutional Type

Oct 9, 2026

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National Collegiate Retention and Persistence-to-Degree Rates summarizes first-to-second-year retention and persistence-to-degree outcomes collected since 1983 by ACT. The document defines cohort, retention rate, and persistence-to-degree rate, then reports national benchmarks compiled from the ACT Institutional Data Questionnaire for two-year and four-year postsecondary institutions. Multiple tables break results down by institutional type, admission selectivity, and degree level/control, with access to interactive charts and notes on selectivity definitions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

First-to-Second-Year Retention Rates

Table 1 Summary by Institutional Type

Tables 2-4 by Institutional Type, Selectivity, and Degree Level

Persistence-to-Degree Rates

Table 5 Summary by Institutional Type

Tables 6-8 by Institutional Type, Selectivity, and Degree Level

Definitions and Cohort Description

Admission Selectivity Levels

National Collegiate Retention and Persistence-to-Degree Rates Since 1983, ACT has collected a comprehensive database of first-to-second-year retention rates and persistence-to-degree rates. These rates provide national benchmarks for institution type and level of selectivity. Data are compiled by ACT from the ACT Institutional Data Questionnaire, an annual online survey of information collected from two-year and four-year postsecondary institutions. First-to-Second-Year Retention Rates Table 1. Summary Table: National First-to-Second-Year Retention Rates by Institutional Type Table 2. First-to-Second-Year Retention Rates: Two-Year Institutions by Admission Selectivity Table 3. First-to-Second-Year Retention Rates: Four-Year Public Institutions by Level of Selectivity and Degrees Offered Table 4. First-to-Second-Year Retention Rates: Four-Year Private Institutions by Level of Selectivity and Degrees Offered Persistence-to-Degree Rates Table 5. Summary Table: National Persistence-to-Degree Rates by Institutional Type Table 6. National Persistence-to-Degree Rates: Two-Year Institutions by Level of Selectivity Table 7. National Persistence-to-Degree Rates: Four-Year Public Institutions by Degrees Offered and Level of Selectivity Table 8. National Persistence-to-Degree Rates: Four-Year Private Institutions by Degrees Offered and Level of Selectivity [See](See www.act.org/collegepersistence for more)[ www.act.org/collegepersistence](See www.act.org/collegepersistence for more)[ for more](See www.act.org/collegepersistence for more) information and access to interactive charts. © 2015 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. Important Information About These Tables • Cohort description: First-time/full-time students who were first enrolled at a postsecondary institution in fall 2013. • Retention rate: Percent of first-time/full-time students who first enrolled in fall 2013 and were also enrolled in fall 2014 at the same institution. • Persistence-to-degree rate: Percent of students completing a degree within a designated time frame at the same institution. The tables in this document are based on the year in which a particular cohort enrolled as first-time/full-time degree-seeking students, as illustrated below. Number of Years to Complete 2 3 4 5 6 Year of First Enrollment 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 These reports are based on data accumulated through May 14, 2015. Many of the tables are reported by institutional selectivity. The selectivity categories are based on the general descriptions below. Selectivity Level ACT® Test Middle 50% SAT® Test Middle 50%* Definition Highly Selective Selective Traditional Liberal Open 25–30 21–26 18–24 17–22 16–21 1710–2000 1470–1770 1290–1650 1230–1530 1170–1480 Majority admitted from top 10% of high school class Majority admitted from top 25% of high school class Majority admitted from top 50% of high school class Majority admitted from bottom 50% of high school class Generally open to all with high school diploma or equivalent *SAT score ranges are a point-to-point concordance with ACT scores based on a joint study by ACT and the College Board. Selectivity ranges may vary from one institution to another. Table 1 Summary Table: National First-to-Second-Year Retention Rates by Institutional Type Mean Degree Level/Control N (%) SD* | Two-Year Public | 673 | 54.7 | 12.7 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Two-Year Private | 45 | 63.4 | 21.1 | | BA/BS Public | 86 | 64.2 | 16.3 | | BA/BS Private | 249 | 70.2 | 19.3 | | MA/MS/MBA/1st Professional Public | 174 | 69.9 | 10.7 | | MA/MS/MBA/1st Professional Private | 416 | 73.9 | 12.6 | | PhD Public | 239 | 78.6 | 10.9 | | PhD Private | 261 | 81.7 | 11.3 | Total 2,143 68.0 NA *Standard Deviation Source: ACT Institutional Data File, 2015 Table 2 First-to-Second-Year Retention Rates: Two-Year Institutions by Admission Selectivity Two-Year Private Two-Year Public All Re

FAQs

What cohort does the retention and persistence data cover?

The cohort includes first-time/full-time students first enrolled at a postsecondary institution in fall 2013. Retention compares enrollment in fall 2013 to enrollment in fall 2014 at the same institution.

How is the retention rate defined in these tables?

Retention rate is the percent of first-time/full-time students who first enrolled in fall 2013 and were also enrolled in fall 2014 at the same institution.

How is persistence-to-degree rate defined?

Persistence-to-degree rate is the percent of students completing a degree within a designated time frame at the same institution, based on the year the cohort enrolled as degree-seeking students.

Oct 9, 2026

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