Retention and Graduation Rates at Maryland Four-Year Public Institutions.

This report presents 44 tables detailing the retention and graduation patterns, by institution, of first-time, full-time students at Maryland's public four-year colleges and universities, from 1977 to 1996 . Specifically, it looks at the number and percent of students retained at their original public four-year campus or who graduated from any senior public college or university in the state. Highlights include: (1) the second-year retention rate has increased since 1977, with 80 percent of new full-time students in the entering class of 1996 re-enrolled at their institution, compared to 71 percent in the 1977 cohort; (2) although a gap persists in second-year retention rates between all students and African Americans, this gap continues to decline and there was a difference of only 4 percent in the entering class of 1996; (3) the 6-year graduation rate for the most recent cohort was 55 percent, the lowest in 5 years; (4) the 6-year graduation rate of African American students who matriculated in 1991, was 40 percent, the highest yet; and (5) females were more likely to persist from freshman to sophomore year than males and also had a higher 6-year graduation rate (60 percent compared to 49 percent for males). (DB)

Microfiche. [Washington D.C.]: ERIC Clearinghouse microfiches : positive.