Persistence and Attainment of 2003-04 Beginning Postsecondary Students: After Three Years

This First Look report provides a brief description of the persistence and degree attainment of a nationally representative sample of students who began postsecondary education for the first time in the 2003-04 academic year. The report provides a first look at the experience of these students over three academic years, from July 2003 to June 2006, and provides information about rates of program completion, transfer, and attrition for students who first enrolled at various types of postsecondary institutions using data from the 2004/06 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/06). Findings showed that among the beginning students who were recent (2003) high school graduates, enrolled full time in the fall of 2003, and had bachelor's degree plans, 70 percent were still enrolled at their first institution without a degree, 4 percent had attained a degree or certificate at their first institution, and 20 percent had transferred elsewhere without a degree by June 2006.

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