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Graduation Rates and Retention Rates

NSU is committed to maintaining and increasing the graduation rate of its student body. Student success/achievement is measured by an institution's ability to retain and graduate students. The University tracks and analyzes the 6-year graduation rate of enrolled students. Graduation rates are based on the percentage of first-time, full-time students who received a degree within six years or 150 percent of normal time to completion. 

The Six-Year Graduation Rates table below examines cohorts' graduation performance from the academic years 2009 to 2013. The six-year graduation rate for Norfolk State University students was 39 percent for the Fall 2013 cohort  (i.e., a 2 percent increase from the Fall 2012 cohort  and 1 percent above its peer institutions). As shown in the table below, Norfolk State University’s graduation rate is steadily increasing and within a close range of the average 6-year graduation rates for universities with similar institutional characteristics.The 2019-2025 Strategic Plan outlines the threshold for achievement relative to graduation rates; the University's goal is to increase the six-year graduation rate to 45 percent by 2025.

Six-Year Graduation Rates

Cohort Year

NSU Graduation Rate

Peer Institutions Graduation Rates

2014 40% 41%

2013

39%

38%

2012

37%

38%

2011

42%

38%

2010

34%

39%

2009

 37%

37%

Source:  Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)/Institutional Research