Graduation & Retention Rates

Retention Rates by Cohort

Class of	Intial Size	Adjusted Cohort	Fresh-Soph Retention
1994	534	534	87.1%
1995	423	423	88.7%
1996	601	601	85.9%
1997	505	505	84.2%
1998	574	574	81.0%
1999	572	572	84.8%
2000	593	593	82.4%
2001	476	476	82.1%
2002	478	478	82.6%
2003	575	575	85.5%
2004	612	612	84.2%
2005	510	510	87.5%
2006	619	618	86.5%
2007	566	565	90.3%
2008	566	566	89.9%
2009	535	534	89.3%
2010	611	609	88.2%

Graduation Rates by Cohort (incl. Summer Graduation)

Class of	Adjusted Cohort	4yr Grad	5yr Grad	6yr Grad
1989	586	78.0%	81.6%	81.9%
1990	591	79.9%	83.9%	84.4%
1991	568	76.8%	81.2%	81.7%
1992	569	76.6%	79.1%	80.8%
1993	529	74.5%	79.4%	80.5%
1994	532	71.1%	75.4%	76.3%
1995	421	76.0%	80.5%	80.8%
1996	601	68.9%	72.9%	73.2%
1997	505	69.5%	73.3%	73.9%
1998	572	66.8%	70.8%	72.0%
1999	571	67.3%	70.1%	70.9%
2000	592	65.5%	71.3%	71.8%
2001	476	68.9%	73.7%	73.9%
2002	478	70.9%	74.5%	75.1%
2003	574	71.4%	74.7%	75.3%
2004	612	71.2%	75.3%	76.0%
2005	510	73.7%	77.1%	77.5%
2006	615	72.2%	75.3%
2007	565	78.6%

First-year to sophomore-year retention rates and six-year graduation rates are reported to the National Center for Educational Statistics as part of the "Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System"(IPEDS) on an annual basis. The statistics above are consistent with federal reporting guidelines: A "cohort" is a specific group of students established for tracking purposes. According to the Student Right-to-Know legislation, the graduation rate student (GRS) cohort is defined as all full-time first-time degree-seeking undergraduate students who entered in the fall or preceding summer session of a given year. "Adjusted Cohort": The legislation allows to remove (delete) the following students from the GRS cohort for calculations of graduation/retention rates: students who died or were totally and permanently disabled; those who left school to serve in the armed forces; those who left to serve with a foreign aid service of the federal government, such as the Peace Corps; and those who left to serve on official church mission. The "Six-Year Graduation Rate"is the percent of students in a GRS cohort who completed their baccalaureate degree within 150 percent of normal time. The "Retention Rate"is the percent of first time freshmen students, as defined by the GRS cohort, who returned to the same institution the following fall. Please note that all cohorts and retention rate reports are based on St. Lawrence University's established official census date, the first (work) day in October. Students on SLU approved study-abroad programs are counted as active SLU students.