Undergraduate Retention and Graduation Rates

Single page print out for those wanting an "at a glance" view of the data.

Student Success Profile (PDF)

Overall

The overall 6-year graduation rate was 75% for full-time freshmen entering in 2016, the most recent class to have had a full 6 years to graduate.  Going back to the beginning of our electronic records in 1988, this is UCB’s highest rate ever, one point higher than the previous record, set last year.

By Residency

The 6-year graduation rate for Colorado residents also set an all-time high at 78%, bettering the 77% mark of the prior two years.  

The rate for non-residents was 71%, also an all-time high, exceeding the previous high of 70% set last year by the class that entered in 2015.  

By Gender

The graduation rate for female students was 79%, an all-time high for the third consecutive year. Males graduated at a 70% rate, also the third consecutive record high. 

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)

The 6-year graduation rate for BIPOC students in the entering class of 2015 was 72%, a 1-point increase over last year’s 6-year cohort, and the highest on record.  (The record prior to last year was 66%.) The gap between BIPOC students and white students was 4 percentage points, one fewer than last year. 

Pell Grant recipients

The 6-year graduation rate for recipients of federal Pell Grants (a proxy for lower income students) entering in 2016 was 68%, an all-time high and 2 points higher than the previous high, set the prior two years. 

First-Generation Students

The six-year graduation rate for first-generation college students in the 2016 cohort was 65%, equaling the all-time high. This was the third consecutive cohort at 65% for first-generation students.

Overall

The 4-year graduation rate for the class entering in 2018 was 57%, one point lower than the previous year’s cohort after 4 consecutive record highs. 

By Residency

Colorado residents (61%) equaled the all-time high set last year. Non-residents (54%) also equaled their record high. (It may seem paradoxical that both residents and non-residents equaled record highs, while the overall percentage dropped a point, but this is due to rounding as well as to different relative numbers of residents/non-residents in the two cohorts.)

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)

The 4-year rate for BIPOC students was 53%, 2 points lower than last year, although still the 2nd highest ever. 

Pell Grant Recipients & First-Generation Students

The 4-year rate for Pell recipients and first-generation students both declined from last year, with Pell recipients at 49% (a 2-point drop) and first-generation students at 46% (a 4-point drop). 

One-Year Retention Rates

The one-year retention rate for freshmen entering in 2021 was 88%, equaling the all-time high. The 2nd-fall retention rate has been 87 or 88% for 6 of the last 7 entry cohorts, excluding only the 2019 cohort whose second fall was during the first year of the pandemic. 

The resident 2nd-fall retention rate was 88% for the third consecutive year, following 5 years at 89-90%. 

Non-residents retained at a rate of 88%, an all-time high for the 2nd consecutive year and a point higher than last year. 

BIPOC students dropped 1 point from last year, at 85%. The 2nd-fall retention rate for BIPOC students has been 85 or 86% for 7 consecutive years. 

Pell recipients’ 2nd-fall retention rate dropped 2 points, to 81%, and first-generation students dropped 3 points, to 78%. Each rate was the lowest since the 2013 cohort. 

Two-Year retention rates

The two-year retention rate for freshmen entering in 2020 was 81%, the same as last year. Four of the last five cohorts have had a 2-year rate of 81%, the exception being the 2018 cohort, whose 3rd fall was the first pandemic year of 2020. 

The two-year retention rate for residents was 82%, the same as last year and 3 points below the high set 4 years ago. Non-residents retained at 80%, a point above last year and an all-time high for the second consecutive year.   

The two-year retention rate for BIPOC students dropped 1 point, to 78%.

The two-year retention rate of Pell recipients increased 1 point, to 75%, while first-generation students dropped 1 point, to 73%. Neither group have completely rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, which peaked at 78% (Pell) and 76% (first generation).