In order to ensure students are progressing toward their desired degrees, and that we offer appropriate and sufficient support, Newlane monitors student progress, retention, and graduation rates for all enrolled students. This involves monitoring to ensure that students are on pace to complete their degree within the time constraints they agreed to on their enrollment agreement, that a good portion of students stay with the program once enrolled, and that students complete their degrees when they are eligible.
We continually gather analytics from our platform that we use to monitor these data. We formally monitor progress, retention, and completion rates on an annual basis (when a student’s enrollment category may be changed, certain interventions may be triggered, etc.). We also routinely monitor these rates at least on a monthly basis as well. A student’s academic status is updated and communicated to the student weekly via the LMS as well as through email and/or phone calls from the student support team, depending on the need of the student.
We calculate student progress, retention, and completion rates using these basic formulas:
Retention Rate:
To calculate the Retention Rate, we look at the total number of enrolled students (including any who have withdrawn or cancelled), minus the number of students who have withdrawn or cancelled their enrollment, and divide this by the total number of enrolled students.
For example, if we have 20 total enrolled students, and 2 of them have withdrawn, then our Retention Rate is 18 out of 20, or 90%. We evaluate the Historical Retention Rate by looking at this rate for all students ever enrolled to look for patterns and ways we can improve. We also evaluate the Annual Retention Rate (or other time periods such as 3 year, 5 year, etc.) by looking at this rate for all students during the past year (or relevant time period) to likewise look for patterns and ways we can improve.
Progress Rate:
To calculate a student’s Progress Rate, we look at the pace they are on to complete their degree. We figure this by looking at their number of remaining credits and divide this by their monthly rate of earning credits. This gives us a Projected Graduation Date (PGD).
For example, if a student has 48 credits remaining in their program, and they average earning two credits a month, then they would be on pace to earn their degree in 24 months.
To figure if a student has a SATISFACTORY Progress Rate, we look to see that their PGD is on or before their Latest Graduation Date (LGD). A student’s LGD is calculated by looking at what enrollment category a student belongs to. This gives us a LGD. For example, if a student is enrolled Full Time in the Associate of Arts degree, then their LGD is three years from their initial enrollment date.
If a student’s PGD is on or before their LGD, then their Progress Rate is SATISFACTORY. If their PGD is after their LGD, then their Progress Rate is UNSATISFACTORY. Once a student is approaching an UNSATISFACTORY Progress Rate, a series of interventions is triggered (see Triggers and Responses).
To arrive at an Overall Progress Rate of all students, we divide the number of enrolled students with a SATISFACTORY Progress Rate by the total number of enrolled students.
For example, if 20 enrolled students have a SATISFACTORY Progress Rate, and there are 23 total enrolled students, then the Overall Progress Rate is 20 divided by 23, or 87%
Completion Rate:
To calculate our Completion Rate, we look at the number of enrolled students who have completed their degree program divided by the total number of students who have completed their degree program or withdrawn or cancelled, or who are past their LGD.
For example, if 10 students have completed their program, 1 enrolled student has withdrawn without completing, and 2 students are past their LGD without completing, then our Completion rate is: 10 Divided by 13, or 77%
With our small numbers and young age, we also track a Projected Completion Rate which we calculate by also including students who are (and are not) on pace to complete their degree before their LGD.
For example, if 10 students have completed their program, 1 student has withdrawn without completing, 2 students are past their LGD without completing, and 8 students are on pace to complete their program before their LGD, and 1 student is not on pace to complete their degree before their LGD, our Projected Completion Rate would be: 10 + 8 Divided by 22, or 82%.
Degree Program Pass Rate:
To calculate our Pass Rate, we divide the number of students who have passed a degree hearing by the total number of students who have participated in a degree hearing. For example, if 3 students have passed a degree hearing, and 4 students have participated in a degree hearing, then our Pass Rate is 3 Divided by 4 or 75%.