One-year retention, six-year graduation hit all-time high at ISU, UI

One-year student retention rates and six-year graduation rates increased at the state's three regent universities in the fall 2010 report that measures the data.

At the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, the six-year graduation rates for the entering class of 2004 and the one-year retention rates for the entering class of 2009 were both all-time highs for the universities, according to the report released Thursday.

But retention and graduation rates for minority students continue to be lower than the rates for white students at the three universities overall.

The annual report will go to the state Board of Regents next week for discussion. The regents meet in Iowa City.

Six-year graduation rates for the entering class of 2004 were 70.2 percent at ISU, 69.6 percent at the UI and 67 percent at University of Northern Iowa, increases that ranged from .5 percent to .9 percent compared to the prior year.

The average six-year graduation rate for racial and ethnic minority students was 59.5 percent at the universities, compared to the average rate for white students of 70.4 percent.

The six-year graduation rate for Iowa's three regent universities was 69.4 percent for the class of 2004, compared to the national average of 47.8 percent for all public four-year colleges.

One-year retention rates for the entering class of 2009 increased at the UI, ISU and UNI. The rate was 86.6 percent at the UI, 86 percent at ISU and 82.5 percent at UNI.

For minority students, the one-year retention rate from 2009 to 2010 was 81.5 percent, while the average one-year retention rate for white students was 86.1 percent. At the UI, the one-year retention rates were nearly the same for minority students compared to non-minority students: 86.4 percent versus 86.5 percent, respectively.

The one-year retention rate for the entering classes of 2009 at the regent universities was 85.6 percent, compared to the national average of 78.6 percent for all public four-year colleges.

For students at the three universities who graduate within six years, the average time to degree was 4.49 years for the entering class of 2004. That was a slight increase from the prior year, the first increase in time to degree for the regent universities in five years.