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  
591 Post University 0.12 to 1 51% 77% 57% 36% 40 19% N/A  
591 Southeast Technical Institute 0.74 to 1 6% N/A 57% 34% 31 9% N/A  
591 Southwestern Oklahoma State University 3.82 to 1 57% 92% 57% 37% 90 17% N/A  
591 University of Alaska Southeast 0.83 to 1 28% N/A 57% 21% 29 11% N/A  
591 University of West Alabama 28.00 to 1 58% 68% 57% 30% 74 12% N/A  
591 Valley City State University 2.46 to 1 88% 87% 57% 42% 97 10% N/A  
591 Western Iowa Tech Community College 0.26 to 1 15% N/A 57% 22% 35 19% N/A  
608 Amarillo College 0.90 to 1 19% N/A 56% 14% 79 20% N/A  
608 Bluefield College 0.70 to 1 99% 49% 56% 36% 63 9% N/A  
608 California College-San Diego 0.15 to 1 21% N/A 56% 53% 32 28% N/A  
608 Cameron University 1.29 to 1 39% N/A 56% 18% 80 20% N/A  
608 Community College of Allegheny County 0.21 to 1 6% N/A 56% 11% 42 14% N/A  
608 Community College of Aurora 0.12 to 1 15% N/A 56% 24% 24 22% N/A  
608 Jackson Community College 0.27 to 1 13% N/A 56% 11% 79 18% N/A  
608 Johnson County Community College 0.61 to 1 11% N/A 56% 17% 37 18% N/A  
608 Langston University 2.21 to 1 45% N/A 56% 13% 64 33% N/A  
608 Lewis-Clark State College 1.65 to 1 53% 63% 56% 31% 48 14% N/A  
608 Middlesex Community College 0.28 to 1 13% N/A 56% 13% 39 13% N/A  
608 Montana State University-Billings 0.81 to 1 32% 99% 56% 50% 80 6% N/A  
608 Ohio University-Zanesville Campus 0.49 to 1 20% N/A 56% 39% 66 9% N/A  
608 Reinhardt University 0.54 to 1 75% 58% 56% 48% 59 15% N/A  
608 Union College 2.40 to 1 100% 74% 56% 32% 80 10% N/A  
623 Allegany College of Maryland 0.37 to 1 21% N/A 55% 21% 47 17% N/A  
623 Grand Rapids Community College 0.34 to 1 7% N/A 55% 15% 95 22% N/A  
623 Hudson Valley Community College 0.61 to 1 6% N/A 55% 25% 43 12% N/A  
623 Iowa Central Community College 0.28 to 1 48% N/A 55% 39% 38 20% N/A  
623 Joliet Junior College 0.34 to 1 5% N/A 55% 11% 95 16% N/A  
623 Lake Superior College 0.62 to 1 0% N/A 55% 22% 14 17% N/A  
623 Minnesota State Community and Technical College 1.06 to 1 5% N/A 55% 35% 52 13% N/A  
623 NHTI-Concord's Community College 0.29 to 1 0% N/A 55% 27% 43 10% N/A  
623 Quinsigamond Community College 0.35 to 1 12% N/A 55% 14% 45 12% N/A  
623 Remington College to 1 2% 50% 55% N/A N/A N/A N/A  
623 University of Great Falls 0.52 to 1 91% N/A 55% 28% 77 8% N/A  
623 Walters State Community College 0.27 to 1 17% 100% 55% 19% 40 20% N/A  
635 Adams State College 0.91 to 1 65% 64% 54% 20% 62 19% N/A  
635 Central Virginia Community College 0.22 to 1 2% N/A 54% 20% 43 0% N/A  
635 College of Southern Idaho 0.80 to 1 39% N/A 54% 17% 44 18% N/A  
635 Jefferson Community College 0.57 to 1 10% N/A 54% 29% 43 17% N/A  
635 Kentucky Wesleyan College 1.17 to 1 95% 52% 54% 44% 64 18% N/A  
635 Lake Region State College 3.10 to 1 54% N/A 54% 52% 38 8% N/A  
635 Lincoln Land Community College 0.53 to 1 8% N/A 54% 20% 39 19% N/A  
635 Lindsey Wilson College 0.89 to 1 97% N/A 54% 28% 61 14% N/A  
635 Red Rocks Community College 0.20 to 1 2% N/A 54% 23% 37 19% N/A  
635 Trinity Valley Community College 1.64 to 1 29% N/A 54% 23% 60 31% N/A  
635 University of Houston-Victoria 1.62 to 1 87% 41% 54% N/A N/A 7% N/A  
646 Centralia College 0.59 to 1 21% N/A 53% 34% 64 0% N/A  
646 Cochise College 0.29 to 1 21% N/A 53% 15% 43 24% N/A  
646 Community College of Denver 0.28 to 1 8% N/A 53% 11% 37 22% N/A  
646 DeVry University-Illinois 0.04 to 1 21% 78% 53% 33% 30 24% N/A  
646 Heald College-Fresno 0.36 to 1 7% 87% 53% 39% 29 15% N/A  
646 Highland Community College 0.29 to 1 66% N/A 53% 24% 35 9% N/A  
646 Manchester Community College 0.27 to 1 N/A N/A 53% 20% 37 11% N/A  
646 Mayville State University 42.00 to 1 77% N/A 53% 26% 95 6% N/A  
646 Peru State College 0.76 to 1 58% N/A 53% 26% 97 11% N/A  
646 Sheridan College 0.90 to 1 19% N/A 53% 31% 44 13% N/A  
646 Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College 1.13 to 1 7% N/A 53% 32% 11 27% N/A  
646 Three Rivers Community College 0.36 to 1 17% N/A 53% 19% 38 22% N/A  
646 University of Bridgeport 0.36 to 1 98% 57% 53% 28% 61 15% N/A  
659 Bladen Community College 0.60 to 1 9% N/A 52% 20% 36 0% N/A  
659 Ivy Tech Community College-Central Indiana 0.32 to 1 10% N/A 52% 4% 43 20% N/A  
659 Lively Technical Center 4.00 to 1 0% N/A 52% 32% 35 0% N/A  
659 Moultrie Technical College 0.42 to 1 1% N/A 52% 36% 38 0% N/A  
659 Strayer Virginia 0.20 to 1 49% N/A 52% 19% 31 14% N/A  
664 Colorado Northwestern Community College 0.56 to 1 58% N/A 51% 20% 36 15% N/A  
664 Kirtland Community College 0.31 to 1 16% N/A 51% 18% 36 21% 0%  
664 Lamar State College-Orange 0.77 to 1 10% N/A 51% 19% 23 28% N/A  
664 Lansing Community College 0.12 to 1 6% N/A 51% 15% 48 18% N/A  
664 Sinclair Community College 0.44 to 1 9% N/A 51% 10% 42 20% N/A  
669 Bellevue University 0.37 to 1 88% N/A 50% 37% 35 9% N/A  
669 Berkeley College-New York 0.57 to 1 89% N/A 50% 33% 19 19% N/A  
669 College of the Mainland 0.74 to 1 18% N/A 50% 7% 43 0% N/A  
669 Cowley County Community College 0.34 to 1 42% N/A 50% 29% 37 19% N/A  
669 Lanier Technical College 0.46 to 1 0% N/A 50% 40% 40 0% N/A  
669 Mercy College of Health Sciences 0.81 to 1 75% 55% 50% 50% 13 5% N/A  
669 Mid-Plains Community College 0.31 to 1 51% N/A 50% 35% 47 20% N/A  
669 Missouri Valley College 1.66 to 1 100% 50% 50% 26% 96 18% N/A  
669 Mountain State University 0.30 to 1 9% N/A 50% 12% 31 14% N/A  
669 Pueblo Community College 7.00 to 1 4% N/A 50% 21% 33 31% N/A  
669 St Vincent's College 0.33 to 1 50% 87% 50% 100% 18 6% N/A  
669 Trine University-Fort Wayne Regional Campus to 1 0% 64% 50% N/A 18 10% N/A  
669 Wayland Baptist University 0.41 to 1 82% 99% 50% 37% 56 13% N/A  
669 Western New Mexico University 0.47 to 1 0% N/A 50% 18% 86 18% N/A  
683 Bay Mills Community College to 1 52% N/A 49% 11% 17 N/A N/A  
683 Bossier Parish Community College 0.49 to 1 17% N/A 49% 14% 29 25% N/A  
683 Cerro Coso Community College 0.43 to 1 0% N/A 49% 19% 37 18% N/A  
683 Kirkwood Community College 0.42 to 1 14% N/A 49% 22% 42 15% N/A  
683 Miami University-Middletown 0.58 to 1 15% N/A 49% 23% 46 8% N/A  
683 New Mexico State University-Carlsbad 1.11 to 1 23% N/A 49% 4% 62 15% N/A  
683 Oklahoma City Community College 0.24 to 1 25% N/A 49% 10% 35 24% N/A  
683 Sul Ross State University 2.70 to 1 42% N/A 49% 25% 83 15% N/A  
683 University of the Southwest 0.50 to 1 87% N/A 49% 18% 32 17% N/A  
692 Baker College of Flint 0.12 to 1 65% N/A 48% 11% 35 19% 97%  
692 Cincinnati State Technical and Community College 0.37 to 1 3% N/A 48% 13% 36 22% N/A  
692 Clinton Community College 0.42 to 1 4% N/A 48% 27% 37 24% N/A  
692 Huntington Junior College 1.05 to 1 4% N/A 48% 37% 15 20% N/A  
692 Northwest Technical College 0.53 to 1 2% N/A 48% 29% 17 17% N/A  
697 Clark State Community College 0.15 to 1 8% N/A 47% 9% 38 19% 100%  
697 Cuyahoga Community College District 0.23 to 1 2% N/A 47% 4% 33 16% N/A  
697 Herzing University-Madison 0.15 to 1 12% 100% 47% 59% 10 13% N/A  
697 University of Saint Mary 0.75 to 1 96% 55% 47% 42% 84 7% 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