Undergraduate Persistence
and Completion

Nearly 40 percent of students who started at a public two-year college in fall 2011 completed a certificate or degree within six years—26.5 percent did so at their starting institution, 3.4 percent at another two-year institution, and 7.7 percent at a four-year institution. Slightly less than half of all Asian (46.8 percent) and White (46.7 percent) students completed a credential within six years, while more than one-third of all students of more than one race (38.5 percent) and Hispanic or Latino students (35.0 percent) completed within six years. Comparatively, roughly one-quarter of all Black or African American students (26.0 percent) completed a credential within six years—the lowest completion rate of all racial and ethnic groups.