Retention and Graduation
Description
The Retention and Graduation Dashboard provides information on academic persistence of students who were enrolled on the fall term census date of September 28.
Use this dashboard to view retention and graduation numbers by campus, school and various demographic metrics as well as Pell Eligibility. Users may also use this dashboard as a template to build or customize their own versions of the dashboards for their needs.
The figures match the official University of Pittsburgh data published in the FactBook and used in all federal reporting. However, the retention and graduation rates reported in this dashboard may not be the same as those reported in IR's annual Freshman Retention and Graduation Rates Report, due to behind the scenes data manipulations that are not reflected in the Data Warehouse.
Definitions
Full-Time, First-Time Bachelor’s Degree-Seeking Students (FFR): Defined as a students who have not been previously enrolled at an institution of higher learning, are enrolled in their fall term for 12 or more credits, are identified as baccalaureate-seeking, and are enrolled in one of the schools that admit freshman students. The cohort is adjusted based on death, disability, military service, or a religious mission for the calculation of retention and graduation rates.
Gender Changes: Starting in Fall 2021, students are able to self-select their gender identity.
Race/Ethnicity Changes: Starting in 2009, the reporting of race/ethnicity at Pitt changed in accordance with U.S. Department of Education regulations. The category Asian/Pacific Islander was split into two categories: Asian and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. Also, a Two or More Race category was introduced. Many students who previously would have identified as Black or African American under the old reporting requirements could now identify with Two or More Races. The result was a decrease in students who identified as Black or African American and an increase in students who identified as having Two or More Races.
Underrepresented Minority includes: Black or African American, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latino, and Two or More Races.
Pell Eligibility data was first collected beginning Fall 2015.
If you don’t see the values in the demographic and Pell Eligibility filters, it means that you don’t have access to this restricted data. See How Do I get access? section of this document.
Key Business Questions
This dashboard can be used to answer a number of questions, such as:
How many students of each freshman cohort were retained in their sophomore year in my campus/School in a selected Academic Term?
How many student of each freshman cohort graduated in 4 or 6 years?
What are the retention and graduation demographics of students associated with a specific cohort?
Usage Guide
Student Outcomes
In this view you will find the summary of retention and graduation rates. The Display filter controls which bar chart will be displayed. The table at the bottom won’t be affected by selections in the Display drop box. However, the charts and the table are dependent on all other filter selection at the top of the screen. Filter settings can be saved using a custom view.
First-year Sophomore Retention
In this view, you will find a more detailed Freshman Retention rates metrics. By selecting filters at the top of the screen, you can further slice and dice retention information. You can either select all Fall Cohorts or work with only one using the Student Cohort filter.
4-Year Graduation Rate
In this view, you will find a more detailed 4-Year Graduation rates metrics. By selecting filters at the top of the screen, you can further break down and analyze 4-year graduation information. You can either select all Fall Cohorts or work with only one using the Student Cohort filter.
6-Year Graduation Rate
In this view, you will find a more detailed 6-Year Graduation rates metrics. By selecting filters at the top of the screen, you can further slice and dice 6-year graduation information. You can either select all Fall Cohorts or work with only one using the Student Cohort filter.
What is the source of this information?
The primary source of these data is the PeopleSoft Student system. This data is copied, transformed, and loaded into the data warehouse nightly, and subsequently loaded onto the Tableau Server as the Retention and Graduation Tableau data extract.
This data is refreshed twice a year: on the student census date of September 28, and in January (currently, a manual process) to remove retro-active withdrawals. New data will capture any student who is showed as enrolled on that date in PeopleSoft and will be reflected in the Retention and Graduation Tableau data source and accompanying dashboard next day.
How do I get access?
Student Mart Federated Authorization form. Please visit the Student Mart Security page for a summary of the Student Mart security principals, or the Federated Authorization Community page for step-by-step instructions and FAQs about how requests are routed.
Note: access to PeopleSoft is distinct from Student Mart and requires a separate request.
Special permission is required to see restricted fields: student demographics, student Peel Eligibility. To request access to the restricted fields, make sure you check the box for restricted data access and select restricted data along with your description of the relevant justification or business need.
Latest Releases
Dec 1, 2024
Officially release dashboard
Need help? Contact the Pitt IT Helpdesk