Academics
Metric One
Metric 1: One-Year Retention Rate, FTFT Associate Degree-Seeking Students
A retention rate is the percentage of students from a given cohort who graduated or were still enrolled at a USG institution within a specified term (for example, one year later). The total beginning cohort is the denominator of the rate; the number of students enrolled/graduated is the numerator of the rate calculation. Two rates are reported here – the institution-specific rate and the system-wide rate.
Institution-specific: The institution-specific retention rate divides the institution-specific number of cohort members enrolled or graduated by the total cohort number.
System-wide: For the system-wide retention rate, the system-wide number of cohort members enrolled or graduated is divided by the total cohort number.
| First-Time Full-Time Associate Degree-Seeking Freshmen One-Year Retention Rates | Institution- Specific for State Colleges |
System-Wide for State Colleges |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institution-Specific Rate for SGSC | System-Wide Rate for SGSC | Avg institution- specific rate for all 8 USG state colleges |
Avg rate within the System for all 8 USG state colleges |
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| Year | N | N | % | N | % | % | % |
| Cohort | Retained | Retained | Retained | Retained | Retained | Retained | |
| Fall 2019 | 664 | 307 | 46.3% | 452 | 68.1% | 56.6% | 65.8% |
| Fall 2020 | 419 | 210 | 50.1% | 258 | 61.6% | 51.7% | 58.8% |
| Fall 2021 | 380 | 191 | 50.3% | 230 | 60.5% | 53.2% | 58.5% |
| Fall 2022 | 448 | 237 | 52.9% | 295 | 65.9% | 55.1% | 61.3% |
| Fall 2023 | 522 | 274 | 52.5% | 335 | 64.2% | 57.3% | 63.9% |
| Source: USG ADC Census; USG Retention Rate Reports - https://www.usg.edu/research/usgbythenumbers | |||||||
Analysis and Evaluation of Metric 1
The data in Metric 1 indicates that the one-year institution-specific retention rate for SGSC’s FTFT associate degree-seeking students has shown steady improvement since the Fall 2017 cohort. SGSC has set a target of achieving a 55% one-year retention rate for FTFT associate degree-seeking students by the Fall 2025 cohort. With the Fall 2023 cohort reaching a 52.5% retention rate, SGSC is on a strong path toward this goal.
Given the AA and AS transfer mission of USG state colleges and the streamlined transfer process among USG institutions facilitated by a common core curriculum, SGSC’s preparation of students for success at receiving institutions is essential. SGSC is targeting a system-wide retention rate of 65% for the Fall 2025 cohort, and the Fall 2023 cohort rate of 63.9% reflects significant progress toward that goal.