Page 91 - 2020 Statistical Abstract

Graduation Rates

11,498 students out of the 17,761 first-time, full-time undergraduates entering a South Carolina public

four-year institution in Fall 2013 completed a bachelor’s degree by August 2019. The overall 150%

graduation rate for public four-year institutions for the Fall 2013 cohort was 64.8%; 78.8% for research
institutions and 52.5% for comprehensive teaching institutions. 2,391 students out of the 12,070 first-time,

full-time undergraduates entering a South Carolina public two-year institution in Fall 2016 completed a
degree by August 2019. The overall 150% graduation rate for public two-year institutions for the Fall 2016

cohort was 19.8%; 24.6% for two-year regional campuses of USC and 19.4% for technical colleges.

The Commission on Higher Education calculates graduation rates and success rates for all South
Carolina public colleges and universities. Cohorts are constructed using the Fall enrollment data provided by

the institutions to identify the first-time, full-time entering undergraduates for the cohort base. These students
are then matched to student records in the completions database to determine the number of graduates

from each cohort at the various undergraduate degree levels. The CHE graduation rate counts only the

number of students who complete degrees at South Carolina institutions where they first enrolled. The CHE
success rate is more expansive and includes students still enrolled at the same institution without graduating

after 150% of program time and students who transfer to other institutions before 150% of program time.

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