College completion rates stall at 62.3%, report finds

The six-year completion rate for undergraduates who started college in 2016 reached 62.3%, the highest level this decade but only 0.1 percentage point above the previous year’s cohort, according to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The flat figure comes after the completion rate last year jumped 1.2 percentage points from the 2014 cohort to the 2015 cohort. This year’s rate also masks some concerning trends, including falling completion rates among White, Black and Latinx students. Institution types with the highest graduation rates saw declines among the 2016 cohort. Students starting at four-year public colleges had the largest decline, a 1 percentage point drop, lowering their completion rate to 68%. Completion rates for students starting at four-year private nonprofits declined 0.5 percentage points to 77.8%.