ED Reports Examine Graduation Rates, Financial Aid, and For-Profit Enrollment Trends
By Allie Bidwell, Communications Staff
Two new reports published this week by the Department of Education's (ED) National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) give a first look at information on graduation rates, financial aid, and admissions for recent years, and examine the demographics and enrollment patterns of students at for-profit institutions.
The first report outlines provisional data on graduation rates for selected student cohorts between 2007 and 2012, the average cost and net price for students receiving financial aid in 2014-15, and the number of applications, admissions, and enrollments in the fall of 2015 for new students at Title IV institutions that do not have an open admissions policy.
Overall, the report found that 59 percent of first-time, full-time students at four-year institutions in 2009 completed a bachelor’s degree or equivalent within six years at their starting institution. That percentage was slightly higher for women (62 percent) than for men (56 percent). Broken down by race and ethnicity, Asian (73 percent), nonresident alien (69 percent), and white (63 percent) students had the highest graduation rates. Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students (48.5 percent), American Indian or Alaska Native students (41 percent), and African-American students (39.5 percent) had the lowest graduation rates. The data also shows that when the tracking time for completion was extended to within 200 percent of normal program completion time, or eight years, graduation rates increased across institution level and sector.
The report also outlined information on average net price for students receiving Title IV financial aid at different institutions. Overall, the average cost was $19,475 at public four-year institutions, $38,502 at private nonprofit four-year institutions, and $27,522 at private for-profit four-year institutions. When Title IV aid was taken into account, the students from the lowest income backgrounds had an average net price of $9,712 at public four-year institutions, $17,224 at private nonprofit four-year institutions, and $21,800 at private for-profit four-year institutions.
The second report focused on the enrollment patterns and demographic characteristics of students at for-profit institutions in recent years. Between 2009 and 2012, the percentage of undergraduates that attended for-profit institutions increased from 9 percent to 13 percent, the report said, a rapid growth that “has renewed public scrutiny and concern about the historically poor labor market outcomes of students at many of these institutions and the amount of debt students in these institutions often take.
Overall, the percentage of undergraduates attending for-profit institutions more than doubled between 1995-96 and 2011-12, the report said. Those students enrolled in certificate programs at a higher rate and associate degree programs at a lower rate than their peers at public institutions. Students were more likely to be female, African-American, or military students compared with enrollment rates for those categories at public institutions. Students at four-year for-profit institutions were also more likely to work full-time than their counterparts at public institutions. There were also larger shares of Pell Grant recipients and federal student loan borrowers at for-profit institutions.
Publication Date: 3/2/2017
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