Schools Ranked by Retention Rate

A college’s retention rate reflects the student body’s overall interest in the college. This figure can explain many factors that compose the attractiveness of a college, including the quality of its teaching staff, the relevance of the curriculum, and the perceived value of what is being taught. The retention rate figures are provided by the College Navigator database, offered by the U.S. Department of Education. College Navigator defines retention rate as the percentage of first-time bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree-seeking undergraduates from fall 2010 who enrolled again in fall 2011.

College Navigator did not have retention rate figures for all of the colleges on our list. We did not, however, want to penalize those colleges without data. To that end, we simply excluded those schools from the rankings in this category.

Rank School FT to PT
Faculty Ratio		 Institution
Fin. Aid Rate		 Acceptance Rate Retention Rate Graduation Rate Accred.
Years		 Default
Rate		 Job Place. Rate  
201 Albertus Magnus College 0.17 to 1 81% 87% 76% 51% 80 9% N/A  
201 Arcadia University 0.58 to 1 99% 54% 76% 62% 66 5% N/A  
201 Barclay College 0.63 to 1 100% 100% 76% 41% 37 12% N/A  
201 Caldwell College 0.68 to 1 87% 62% 76% 58% 60 10% N/A  
201 Central Michigan University 1.92 to 1 64% 68% 76% 54% 97 4% 35%  
201 Champlain College 0.47 to 1 84% 85% 76% 62% 40 3% 83%  
201 Eastern Michigan University 1.51 to 1 72% 66% 76% 40% 97 9% N/A  
201 Lesley University 3.63 to 1 94% 66% 76% 49% 60 4% N/A  
201 McKendree University 0.52 to 1 100% 68% 76% 54% 42 9% N/A  
201 North Dakota State University-Main Campus 59.60 to 1 41% 86% 76% 54% 97 4% N/A  
201 North Georgia College & State University 2.00 to 1 9% 53% 76% 52% 77 7% N/A  
201 Oklahoma Christian University 1.13 to 1 100% 51% 76% 45% 46 9% N/A  
201 Regent University 13.46 to 1 80% 82% 76% 33% 28 5% N/A  
201 Saddleback College 0.35 to 1 0% N/A 76% 35% 41 15% N/A  
201 Saint Thomas Aquinas College 0.67 to 1 90% 81% 76% 58% 40 7% N/A  
201 Southern Polytechnic State University 2.14 to 1 1% 74% 76% 32% 48 11% N/A  
201 Spring Hill College 1.95 to 1 99% 49% 76% 61% 90 7% N/A  
201 University of Colorado Denver 5.44 to 1 42% 60% 76% 40% 42 5% N/A  
201 University of Nevada-Las Vegas 1.25 to 1 57% 82% 76% 39% 48 7% N/A  
201 University of North Carolina at Greensboro 3.82 to 1 48% 65% 76% 53% 91 4% N/A  
221 Abilene Christian University 8.48 to 1 94% 64% 75% 60% 41 10% 18%  
221 Bay State College 0.26 to 1 79% 76% 75% 22% 38 19% N/A  
221 California State University-Northridge 0.87 to 1 51% 74% 75% 46% 52 9% N/A  
221 Florida Gulf Coast University 1.70 to 1 16% 68% 75% 45% 13 7% N/A  
221 ICDC College 0.32 to 1 0% N/A 75% 75% 13 7% N/A  
221 Indiana Wesleyan University 0.22 to 1 48% 72% 75% 67% 46 7% N/A  
221 Jones College-Jacksonville 0.12 to 1 25% N/A 75% 33% 55 11% N/A  
221 Kent State University at Kent 1.19 to 1 57% 89% 75% 50% 97 9% N/A  
221 Mississippi College 0.73 to 1 98% 44% 75% 51% 90 7% N/A  
221 Mississippi University for Women 2.06 to 1 78% 44% 75% 39% 91 9% N/A  
221 Missouri State University 2.11 to 1 42% 83% 75% 55% 97 7% N/A  
221 North Park University 0.68 to 1 93% 47% 75% 52% 86 10% N/A  
221 Sacred Heart University 0.57 to 1 89% 64% 75% 68% 43 4% N/A  
221 Saint Joseph College 0.57 to 1 99% 78% 75% 56% 74 6% N/A  
221 Saint Joseph's College of Maine 0.45 to 1 100% 88% 75% 55% 51 3% N/A  
221 Suffolk University 0.98 to 1 74% 79% 75% 55% 60 4% N/A  
221 SUNY College of Technology at Canton 1.29 to 1 34% 74% 75% 35% 60 15% N/A  
221 The University of Texas at El Paso 2.29 to 1 37% 99% 75% 37% 76 12% N/A  
221 University of Illinois at Springfield 1.56 to 1 89% 60% 75% 61% 37 9% N/A  
221 University of Massachusetts-Boston 1.01 to 1 53% 68% 75% 40% 40 6% N/A  
221 University of New England 1.28 to 1 100% 82% 75% 58% 46 3% N/A  
221 University of New Haven 0.58 to 1 97% 64% 75% 52% 46 5% N/A  
221 Vanguard University of Southern California 0.45 to 1 95% 74% 75% 55% 48 5% N/A  
221 Walsh University 0.74 to 1 100% 77% 75% 60% 42 6% N/A  
245 Capitol College 0.20 to 1 82% 56% 74% 37% 36 7% N/A  
245 Dallas Baptist University 29.50 to 1 88% 44% 74% 56% 53 8% N/A  
245 Fontbonne University 0.42 to 1 93% 63% 74% 43% 86 10% N/A  
245 Framingham State University 1.44 to 1 38% 66% 74% 52% 62 7% N/A  
245 Humboldt State University 1.10 to 1 40% 83% 74% 40% 63 8% N/A  
245 Husson University 11.22 to 1 81% 75% 74% 38% 38 12% N/A  
245 Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus 6.11 to 1 14% 60% 74% 52% 71 7% N/A  
245 Los Angeles Pierce College 0.44 to 1 0% N/A 74% 23% 60 18% N/A  
245 Macon State College 1.48 to 1 9% 75% 74% 13% 42 18% N/A  
245 Montana State University 2.23 to 1 51% 61% 74% 51% 80 3% N/A  
245 Morehead State University 3.89 to 1 44% 89% 74% 36% 82 12% N/A  
245 North Carolina A & T State University 3.28 to 1 51% 61% 74% 41% 76 14% N/A  
245 Plymouth State University 0.83 to 1 57% 74% 74% 59% 57 4% N/A  
245 Spring Arbor University 0.29 to 1 100% 74% 74% 56% 52 6% N/A  
245 Troy University 0.71 to 1 34% 71% 74% 32% 78 15% N/A  
245 Truett-McConnell College 0.62 to 1 98% 83% 74% 28% 46 17% N/A  
245 University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth 1.48 to 1 64% 71% 74% 48% 48 6% N/A  
245 University of West Georgia 3.20 to 1 5% 55% 74% 39% 76 8% N/A  
245 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh 1.90 to 1 7% 84% 74% 50% 97 4% N/A  
245 University of Wisconsin-Platteville 3.69 to 1 28% 96% 74% 52% 94 5% N/A  
245 University of Wyoming 10.95 to 1 26% 95% 74% 53% 97 5% N/A  
245 Vincennes University 0.27 to 1 13% N/A 74% 23% 54 22% 95%  
245 Western Michigan University 1.61 to 1 60% 83% 74% 56% 97 5% N/A  
268 Brigham Young University-Idaho 1.42 to 1 32% 99% 73% 61% 76 2% N/A  
268 Bunker Hill Community College 0.29 to 1 1% N/A 73% 9% 36 12% N/A  
268 California University of Pennsylvania 2.03 to 1 4% 60% 73% 49% 61 7% 100%  
268 College of San Mateo 0.65 to 1 3% N/A 73% 18% 60 13% N/A  
268 Drury University 0.22 to 1 42% 80% 73% 57% 97 14% N/A  
268 Edinboro University of Pennsylvania 4.54 to 1 14% 75% 73% 51% 63 8% N/A  
268 Fitchburg State University 0.79 to 1 49% 68% 73% 47% 59 4% N/A  
268 Jackson State University 2.72 to 1 41% 31% 73% 40% 64 16% 70%  
268 La Roche College 0.60 to 1 76% 46% 73% 52% 33 7% N/A  
268 Liberty University 2.25 to 1 80% N/A 73% 48% 32 7% N/A  
268 North Greenville University 2.39 to 1 99% 58% 73% 46% 55 6% N/A  
268 Northern Arizona University 1.37 to 1 64% 65% 73% 52% 82 7% N/A  
268 Northern Michigan University 1.69 to 1 67% 72% 73% 47% 96 7% N/A  
268 Oakland University 0.98 to 1 79% 68% 73% 40% 46 6% N/A  
268 Olivet Nazarene University 0.62 to 1 99% 80% 73% 58% 56 4% N/A  
268 Oregon Institute of Technology 11.08 to 1 54% 64% 73% 43% 50 6% N/A  
268 Pinellas Technical Education Center-Clearwater 0.94 to 1 0% N/A 73% 97% 42 0% N/A  
268 Pittsburg State University 3.16 to 1 56% 77% 73% 50% 97 9% N/A  
268 Portland State University 0.94 to 1 32% 69% 73% 38% 56 7% N/A  
268 Roberts Wesleyan College 7.92 to 1 97% 51% 73% 65% 49 8% N/A  
268 Saint Peter's College 0.73 to 1 99% 67% 73% 51% 77 11% N/A  
268 Salem State University 0.79 to 1 54% 57% 73% 42% 59 10% N/A  
268 Sam Houston State University 3.54 to 1 16% 87% 73% 50% 87 11% N/A  
268 South Dakota State University 2.44 to 1 50% 92% 73% 59% 96 5% N/A  
268 Tennessee Technological University 1.48 to 1 27% 97% 73% 50% 73 4% N/A  
268 The University of Tennessee-Martin 1.35 to 1 55% 73% 73% 48% 61 16% N/A  
268 The University of West Florida 1.25 to 1 24% 66% 73% 48% 43 7% N/A  
268 Trine University 1.34 to 1 95% 72% 73% 44% 46 10% N/A  
268 University of Central Missouri 2.08 to 1 60% 80% 73% 50% 97 7% N/A  
268 University of Nebraska at Omaha 1.02 to 1 41% 76% 73% 43% 73 8% N/A  
268 Western Kentucky University 1.80 to 1 27% 92% 73% 43% 86 12% N/A  
268 Wichita State University 1.61 to 1 66% 94% 73% 44% 85 6% N/A  
300 Anderson University 0.56 to 1 100% 73% 72% 48% 53 8% N/A  

Methodology

For each college, we gathered data for nine different metrics: the number of full-time faculty per part-time faculty member; institutional financial aid, acceptance, retention, graduation, job placement, and default rates; years accredited; and undergraduate tuition. Learn more