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CU-Boulder graduation & freshman retention rates - plot by ethnicity-citizenship group

Plot of 1-year retention rates over time, by ethnicity-citizenship group

Full-time freshmen entering summer/fall only
(full time = 12+ hrs, counted at end of the fall term)

Notes about the graphs:

In these plots we used a statistical technique called LOESS smoothing to better show the overall pattern for each ethnic group, which natural year-to-year variation can sometimes make difficult to discern. Rather than individual yearly data points alone, or a jagged line connecting each point, we show curved lines that smooth out the year-to-year variation and show the overall pattern for each group.

The symbols and lines match in color for each ethnic group; for example, the graduation rates for African-Americans for each year are shown as small red circles, while the red line shows the smoothed trend.

Over the 21-year period shown:

The retention rate for White students has been stable and high. By contrast, retention rates for ethnic minorities, partially due to the smaller numbers involved for some groups, have fluctuated more from year to year. Looking at overall trends, however, the rates have clearly increased for Hispanic/Chicano students and Native American students, with a smaller increase for Asian-Americans. The retention rate for African-American students has been relatively unchanged over time.

Most of the increases for ethnic minorities occurred in the first half of the 21-year period shown; in the last 10 years, rates have been relatively flat.

See also:

• Graduation & freshmen retention rates by gender and ethnicity-citizenship group
• Main graduation/retention rate page

Run Date 11/06/2012 -- L:\IR\Tracking\ANAL\tabdiv3.sas

Last revision 03/21/13