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Santa Clara University

Persistence

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Population

 

Data are as of census and are presented by entering cohort year.

Includes:

Time of Observation - Data are restricted to ensure that every student has had a minimum of four years in which to complete. 

Function

 

The Persistence visualization offers a metric of plan completion (i.e., persistence) distinct from degree completion. Unlike a cohort-based model, students may enter a major or minor or pathway at any point in their college career*. This metric scans students' records and selects every student who was enrolled in a particular plan at any point in their college career. Based on this population both a plan completion and degree completion rate are calculated. 

Special Notes

 
  • This visualization does not discriminate based on when a student completes a degree or plan and so includes degrees earned in four, five, and six or more years (though the data are restricted to ensure every student has had a minimum of four years in which to complete). To increase this 'time of observation' to five years, simply set the maximum entering cohort year value to one year less than the most recent year displayed. To facilitate the comparison of students entering at different points in time, all measurements are based on a student's relative term. There are four terms per year and each student starts in term one and is expected to complete their degree within 16 terms. Since all plans and degrees are based on the same time frame, the results are comparable across cohorts, plans**, and between plans and degrees. 
  • *Leavey School of Business policy restricts declaration of major until year two.
  • **Enrollment in pathways first appears in substantial numbers starting with the 2008 cohort.
  • All measurements are based on a student's relative term. There are four terms per year and each student starts in term one and is expected to complete their degree within 16 terms.
  • Persistence - Persistence of degree-seeking undergraduate students by STEM designation, cluster, or academic plan aggregated over a range of entering cohort years.
  • Declared in Plan - Number of degree-seeking undergraduate students who declared the academic plan at any point during their undergraduate tenure at Santa Clara University.

Population

 

Data are presented at the academic plan level.                                                     

Function

 

The Academic Plan by Year compares the number of students who completed a degree between those who completed the particular plan as part of their degree and those who did not complete the particular plan. Total declared in the academic plan as well as academic plan loss is presented.

For example, among first-time cohorts between 2006 and 2013, 105 students declared a major in Music at some point in their college career as undergraduates, of these 88 percent earned a degree as of the academic year 2017, a rate that approximates Santa Clara's longtime average graduation rate. However, only 65 percent of this population earned their degree with a major of music, a loss of 23 percentage points. Some loss is expected as students explore their interests and discern their abilities; excessive loss or change in loss rate over time may be cause for further investigation.

Special Notes

 
  • A weighted average over time provides a basis for comparison; so we see that for the cohorts entering between 2000 and 2013 and selecting Accounting as a major, the average loss is 19 percent though the loss rate is higher for each of the most recent six cohorts. 

Population

 

Data are displayed as an aggregate of all entering cohort years within the selected range and are displayed at the academic plan and cluster levels.                                                                                                               

Function

  The Academic Plan by Year dashboard compares the number of students who completed a degree between those who completed the particular plan as part of their degree and those who did not. The total declared in the academic plan as well as academic plan loss are presented. The dashboard displays the students completing an academic plan within a particular cluster for each entering cohort year as well as a cumulative view for the selected entering cohort years. 

Special Notes

 
  • Pathways are not assigned to academic clusters, and so are displayed as distinct plans.

Population

  

Data are displayed as an aggregate of all entering cohort years within the selected range and are displayed at the academic plan and cluster levels.                                         

Excludes:

Function

  The STEM by Cluster dashboard compares the number of students who completed a degree between those who completed a particular academic plan as part of their degree and those who did not, broken out by STEM and non-STEM.

Special Notes

 
  • A student who moves to another STEM plan within the same cluster is marked as persisting, while a student who moves to another , even if it is a STEM plan, is considered a loss for the source .
  • Each academic plan is listed as STEM or Non-STEM here.

Population

 

Data are displayed as an aggregate of all entering cohort years within the selected range and are based on terms or GPA.        

Function

 

The Plan Completers compared to Degree Completers dashboard displays comparisons between those who completed the plan as part of their degree and those who did not. It compares, for those students who enrolled in a plan as part of their college career, the first term of plan enrollment and duration of plan enrollment and last term GPA of students who earned a degree in an academic plan with those who earned a degree outside of that academic plan.

Special Notes

 

Students who leave an academic plan may do so as a consequence of leaving the University, and so the tab “Plan Completers vs Degree Completers” limits the population to the subset of students who have earned a Santa Clara degree (in any major) and compares measures between those who completed the plan as part of their degree and those who did not. These measures include the term a student first enrolled (declared) a specific plan, duration of terms enrolled in the plan, and their cumulative GPA at the time they left (or completed) the plan. This tab is designed to spark inquiry: do the observed differences warrant further investigation?