Significant Improvement in 4-Year, 5-Year, 6-Year Graduation Data

Retention and ‘Last Mile’ Programs Credited

Spring 2022 graduates celebrate Commencement at Simmons Bank Field

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) announced Thursday that it continues to show significant achievement in graduation rates. UAPB increased its four-year graduation rate and maintained its highest five-year and six-year graduation rates on record. Overall,  the four-year rate improved 133% from 2016 to 2020; the five-year rate increased 58.2% from 2017 to 2021; and the preliminary six-year graduation rate increased 38.9%.

Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander, calling it a major victory for the entire UAPB community, credited the strategic approach to retaining students and assisting seniors with financial resources so they clear any outstanding debts before completing their degree programs.

“Our students have done the hard work to finish, and I am happy to celebrate this success with our graduates first and foremost,” Alexander said. “I am also proud of the work our faculty and staff across the university are doing to ensure more of our students get their degrees. Our Student Success Center has been dogged in their delivery of tools to help students successfully matriculate. Programs such as the on-demand Grad Ready, which provides workshops on a wide range of topics such as budgeting, study skills, how to do well in an online course, and understanding financial aid, have been key to our steady increase. And through our Last Mile Scholarship our extended UAPB community has helped lift the financial burden from students who are nearing completion but have outstanding debts that they’re unable to pay.”

4-year graduation rate

The four-year graduation rate improved from 11.4% in 2016 to 26.6% in 2020, an increase of 133%. This percent increase is the highest among the 4-,5-, and 6-year rates, which also shows that the time-to-degree has significantly improved. The chart below shows the 4-year rate for each year during this five-year period.

* Numbers inside the parenthesis represent the initial fall semester the first-time, full-time degree-seeking students (cohort) enrolled at UAPB.

5-year graduation rate

The cumulative five-year graduation rates show an increase of 58.2%, from 23.7% in 2017 to 37.5% in 2021.

6-year graduation rate

The preliminary 2022 cumulative six-year graduation rate is 40.0% compared to 28.8% in 2018, an increase of 38.9%. Additional graduates as of August 31, 2022 will be included in the final 2022 rate.

For questions about graduation data, please contact Margaret Taylor, Director of Institutional Research at taylorm@uapb.edu or 870.575.8733.