Retention and Graduation Rates
The University monitors retention and graduation rates as measure of success of its undergraduate programs.
Retention Rate
Threshold: 80%
Goal by 2028: 92%
Actual retention rate for the fall 2021 cohort: 86%
Goal by 2028: 92%
Actual retention rate for the fall 2021 cohort: 86%
Graduation Rate
Graduation rates are measured by calculating the percentage of an entering fall cohort that graduates from Mercer within 6 years.
Threshold: 65% (increased from 60% January 2021)
Goal by 2028: 75%
Goal by 2028: 75%
Actual graduation rate for the fall 2016 cohort: 74%
Some students take longer than six years to complete, or decide to transfer out of Mercer to other institutions that they feel are a better fit for them and their academic goals. The following graph gives a more comprehensive picture of where fall 2016 students were on their path to earning a postsecondary degree at six years (as of August 31, 2022). See here for disaggregated graduation/completion data.
Status of First-time, Full-time Students Entering Fall 2016
SACSCOC requires that we identify a student completion metric. We've chosen the IPEDS graduation rate metric, and we compare ourselves to the average graduation rate of a selected group of other private, non-profit, four-year institutions in Georgia.
