Retention and Persistence Rates
University Retention and Persistence Rates
Retention and persistence rates are calculated by tracking fall cohorts of new, first time in college, full-time, bachelor's degree-seeking, undergraduate students into their first spring semester (persistence) and second fall semester (retention). The most recent rates available can be found using the link above.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rates are calculated by tracking fall cohorts of new, first time in college, full-time, bachelor's degree-seeking, undergraduate students to see how many earned their first bachelor's degree in a four-year, five-year or six-year timeframe. The most recent rates available can be found using the link above.
Pass Rates On Licensure And Certification Exams
First Destination Survey
The First Destination Survey is conducted every fall and spring semester among undergraduate seniors who are about to graduate from SDSU. The survey focuses on seniors’ post-collegiate plans and outcomes, including plans for employment, volunteer or service programs and continuing education, as well as employment prospects, salaries and benefits.
Senior Exit Survey
The Senior Exit Survey is designed to obtain information from graduating seniors on their overall perceptions of their SDSU undergraduate experience, perceptions of knowledge and skills acquired at SDSU, participation in High Impact Practices (HIPs), satisfaction with student service offices and their graduate education aspirations.
Methods: Most graduating seniors who complete the graduation application also participate in the Senior Exit Survey. The survey instrument consists of 50 questions in closed-ended response format.
Graduate Student Survey
The SDSU Graduate Student Survey was administered in Spring 2021 to provide information about graduate students’ employment plans, volunteer service, military service or additional education. The report assesses the career paths and educational pursuits of the graduates.
Student Loan Default Rates
Each year, the U.S. Department of Education provides Official Cohort Default Rates among SDSU students who have graduated. The default rate is the percentage of an institution’s borrowers who enter repayment on certain federal loans during a fiscal year and default within three fiscal years. Federal fiscal years (FY) begin October 1 and end September 30 and each fiscal year refers to the calendar year in which it ends. An institution risks losing federal financial aid if the default rate exceeds 30%; SDSU strives to minimize student default on loans and the reports show a default rate of less than 5% since FY 2013.
| Cohort Fiscal Year | Official Default Rate | Number of Borrowers in Default | Number of Borrowers in Repayment | Enrollment Figures | Percentage Calculation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 2,605 | 13,937 | 18.69% |
| 2019 | 0.7 | 22 | 2,821 | 14,785 | 19.08% |
| 2018 | 2.7 | 76 | 2,793 | 15,244 | 18.32% |
ENROLLMENT NOTE: To provide context for the Cohort Default Rate (CDR) data, we include Enrollment Figures (students enrolled at any time during the year) and the corresponding Percentage Calculation (borrowers entering repayment divided by that enrollment figure). There is no direct relationship between the timing of when a borrower entered repayment and any particular enrollment year; we have chosen to use the academic year ending on June 30 before the beginning of the cohort year. Date of Report: Nov. 16, 2023 | |||||
College Scoreboard
The College Scorecard is an online tool, created by the United States government, for consumers to compare the cost and value of higher education institutions in the United States. It displays data in five areas: cost, graduation rate, employment rate, average amount borrowed and loan default rate.
Student Achievement Measure
The Student Achievement Measure (SAM) tracks student movement across post-secondary institutions to provide a more complete picture of undergraduate student progress and completion within the higher education system. SAM is an alternative to the federal graduation rate, which is limited to tracking the completion of first-time, full-time students at one institution.
There are two models included in SAM, one for students enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs and one for students enrolled in associates degree or certificate programs.