Placing College Graduation Rates in Context: How 4-Year College Graduation Rates Vary with Selectivity and the Size of Low-Income Enrollment. Postsecondary Education Descriptive Analysis Report

摘要

The study reported on here compares graduation rates, one of only a few system-wide accountability measures currently available, among 4-year colleges and universities that are similar with respect to selectivity and low-income enrollment. Further, the study identifies institutions that serve large low-income undergraduate populations, and compares those with relatively high graduation rates with other low-income serving institutions. The study subsequently identifies institutions as low-income serving based on the proportion of Pell Grant recipients in their total undergraduate population. Low-income serving institutions with graduation rates in the top 10 percent of their selectivity group are then compared with other low-income serving institutions with respect to institutional characteristics such as sector, enrollment size, and minority enrollment.