Student Achievement Data

Research into enrollment characteristics of our students, evidence of their success, and their opinions is critical for institutional effectiveness, program review, enrollment management and other areas of College operations. Some important institutional-level student achievement data is listed below. You may also want to visit the WVNCC Consumer Information page, check out our profile in the 2021 WV Higher Education Almanac, or explore national reports that utilize our data such as WVNCC College Navigator; College Scorecard; and College Affordability and Transparency Center.  

Retention and Graduation

Retention and graduation rates are measured annually. Students are tracked in cohort groups by the year they first enter the college. Retention rates measure the percentage of students in a fall semester cohort who either re-enroll or successfully complete a program by the next fall semester. This table shows retention rates for students who entered the college as first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students.  

 Fall-to-Fall Retention Rates

Cohort Year

2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
50%	51%	52%	55%	53%

^{Data Source: IPEDS}

Graduation rates measure the percentage of students who complete their program of study within 150% of the normal time it is expected to take for a student to complete all requirements of their program.

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150% Graduation Rates

Cohort Year

2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
19%	24%	30%	31%	30%

^{Data Source: IPEDS}

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Licensure Exams

Graduates from some academic programs are required to take a licensing exam in order to be employed in their field. We use our student’s pass rates on their first attempt on an exam to gauge the success rate.

Pass Rates of Undergraduate Degree Completers on Licensure / Certification Examinations

2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
80%	77%	82%	83%	86%

^{Data Source: WVNCC Program Directors}

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Employment Outcomes

The percentage of our students who are working in West Virginia after graduation and their median wages provide some insight into the employment outcomes of our graduates. Visit West Virginia’s Higher Education Data Portal to explore wage data for our graduates working in West Virginia.

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Percent of Graduates Working in West Virginia

Graduation Year

2015	2016	2017	2018
85%	81%	81%	66%

Data Source: Workforce WV

 

Updated Fall 2022