National Peers – Graduation and Transfer
Graduation Transfer Rate
Many students attend college with the intention to earn a credential, prepare for transfer or both.  The combined graduation and transfer rate is the percentage of a *student cohort who complete a PCC degree/certificate or who transfer without a PCC credential within a fixed time period.
PCC’s national peer group of ten community colleges is being revised this year to ensure alignment with current institutional characteristics and priorities. This is the last year of reporting using the existing list.
Approximately 45% of first time college degree/certificate-seeking students enrolled full-time fall 2020, completed a PCC credential or transferred by fall 2023. Combined graduation transfer rates among national peers ranged from a low of 36% to a high of 54% and six colleges had a higher graduation transfer rate than PCC.
| 3-Year Graduation Transfer Rate Combined | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Cohort Year | Peer Range | PCC Graduation Transfer | Peers w/higher rates |
| 2020 (by 2023) | 36% –Â 54% | 45% | 6 college |
| 2019 (by 2022) | 33%Â –Â 50% | 39% | 8 colleges |
| 2018 (by 2021) | 29%Â –Â 51% | 35% | 9 colleges |
| 2017 (by 2020) | 33%Â –Â 50% | 39% | 7 colleges |
| 2016 (by 2019) | 37%Â –Â 53% | 42% | 7 colleges |
Graduation Rate
Approximately 18% of the fall 2020 cohort completed a PCC credential by fall 2023. Some of these students may have transferred as well.
| 3-Year Graduation Rate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Cohort Year | Peer Range | PCC Graduation Rate | Peers w/higher rates |
| 2020 (by 2023) | 18%Â –Â 40% | 18% | 10 colleges |
| 2019 (by 2022) | 18%Â – 37% | 18% | 10 colleges |
| 2018 (by 2021) | 18%Â –Â 37% | 18% | 10 colleges |
| 2017 (by 2020) | 20%Â –Â 37% | 20% | 10 colleges |
| 2016 (by 2019) | 21%Â –Â 35% | 22% | 9 colleges |
Transfer (no degree) Rate
An estimated 27% of the fall 2020 cohort transferred by fall 2023 before completing a PCC degree or certificate. This unusually high transfer rate may reflect students who originally planned to attend a university but instead began °µÍøTV since university housing and in-person courses were largely unavailable in the first year of the pandemic.
| 3-Year Transfer Rate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Cohort Year | Peer Range | PCC Transfer Rate | Peers w/higher rates |
| 2020 (by 2023) | 8%Â –Â 30% | 27% | 1 college |
| 2019 (by 2022) | 8%Â –Â 27% | 21% | 1 college |
| 2018 (by 2021) | 4%Â –Â 30% | 17% | 4 colleges |
| 2017 (by 2020) | 4%Â –Â 28% | 19% | 2 colleges |
| 2016 (by 2019) | 9%Â –Â 27% | 20% | 3 colleges |
*The student cohort is defined by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) as a group of students who attend college for the first time in a fall term, enroll full-time that term and have declared they are enrolling to pursue a college credential.
Data Source:Â IPEDS, Graduation Rates (150% time) Report