Graduation and Transfer-Out Rates

What is Student Right-To-Know? 
Student Right-To-Know is a federal law that requires all colleges and universities to disclose certain information to students. This handout provides the information that a college must provide to students on graduation rates and transfer-out rates for full-time students seeking degrees at Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC).

What is the graduation rate and what is the transfer-out rate? 
Federal regulations specify how to calculate the graduation and transfer rates. The rates come from a study of Rochester Community and Technical College students who started at the college in the fall of 2021. The study includes all first-time students who enrolled full-time that fall and were seeking to earn a degree, diploma, or certificate at the college. The graduation rate is the percentage of these students who graduated from RCTC within three years. The transfer-out rate is the percentage of these students who did not graduate from RCTC, but instead transferred to another college or university within three years.

What do I need to know about these rates? 
These rates do not report on all students at Rochester Community and Technical College. The 589 first-time, full-time students in the study were 12 percent of all students enrolled at RCTC in fall of 2021.

What are the graduation and transfer-out rates for Rochester students and how do they compare to rates for other colleges?

  • The graduation rate for RCTC was 29%.
  • The transfer-out rate for RCTC was 21%.
  • The combination of the graduation rate and the transfer-out rate for RCTC was 50%. The national average combined rate for similar colleges was 51%.

Why don’t more Rochester students graduate or transfer in three years?

  • Since RCTC has an “open door” mission, many new students need to take developmental courses to improve their reading, writing, or math skills before taking other college courses;
  • Students who switch from full-time to part-time enrollment or “stop out” for one or more semesters are more likely to take more than three years to graduate;
  • Some students take jobs before they graduate;
  • Other students delay their education for personal, family, or financial reasons.
Disaggregated Student Right-To-Know Graduation and Transfer-Out Rates – 150% of Normal Time 
Rochester Community and Technical College Graduation Rate Transfer-out Rate Combined Rate
Total Cohort 29% 21% 50%
Gender
   Male 29% 22% 52%
   Female 28% 20% 49%
Race/Ethnicity
   Hispanic of any race 14% 33% 47%
   American Indian or Alaska Native * * *
   Asian 20% 20% 40%
   Black or African American 7% 29% 36%
   Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander * * *
   White 37% 17% 54%
   Two or more races 22% 28% 50%
   Nonresident Alien * * *
   Race and ethnicity unknown * * *
Notes:
Students of Color Include: Hispanic/Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Two or more races students
* Suppressed to protect student privacy.
Due to rounding, percentages may not always appear to add up.
Financial Aid Graduation Rate Transfer-Out Rate Combined Rate
   Pell Grant Recipient 18% 27% 45%
   Received neither Pell nor Subsidized Direct Loans 40% 16% 56%
   Received Subsidized Direct Loans, but no Pell 25% 21% 50%

Prepared by: RCTC Institutional Research