Student Achievement Data
This page provides frequently-requested information about student enrollment and completion at Georgia Highlands College. Some information comes from GHC’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Initiatives, including excerpts from the GHC Fact Book. Some reports come from the University System of Georgia (USG). Information is available in the following categories:
- One Year Retention Rates for Full-Time, First-Time Students
- Degrees Conferred
- IPEDS 150% Graduation Rate
- Gateway Course Success Rates
- National Council Licensure Exam
One Year Retention Rates for Full-Time, First-Time Students
GHC monitors and records the retention rates for full-time first-time students. The College also looks at the rates by selected demographics such as gender and race or ethnicity. This allows the College to identify achievement gaps and begin to design and implement strategies to close those gaps. This metric was selected due to its connection to the GHC Strategic Initiatives of Access and Opportunity and Student Success. The metric is also an indicator of how the College is working toward the achievement of its access mission. The GHC rates are compared to the other state colleges in Georgia. The institutionally established minimum threshold for the one-year retention rate is to match the average for designated state colleges within the University System of Georgia (USG). A comparison with like institutions in USG gives the College a view of how similar student populations are achieving at similar colleges and provides a minimum target for its own student population. Additionally, the College has historically been at or above the average of USG state college retention rates. The institutional goal for this metric is to exceed the average for USG state colleges by 2%. GHC met the minimum threshold for this metric as well as exceeding the institutional goal in each of the last five years.
Degrees Conferred
GHC monitors and reports the number of degrees conferred by the College every year. The College also looks at the degrees conferred by selected demographics such as gender, race or ethnicity, and type of degree. This allows the College to identify achievement gaps and to design and implement strategies to close those gaps. This metric aligns with GHC Strategic Initiatives 1 (Access and Opportunity) and 3 (Student Success). The metric is also an indicator of how the College is working toward the achievement of its stated mission to “provide access to excellent educational opportunities for the intellectual, cultural and physical development of a diverse population through pre-baccalaureate associate degree transfer programs, career associate degree programs, and targeted baccalaureate degree programs that meet the economic development needs of the region.” The institutionally established minimum threshold for degrees conferred is to meet the five-year average of degrees conferred at the institution. The College has experienced fluctuation in enrollment and graduation and a five-year average of degrees conferred allows GHC to account for those fluctuations during the benchmarking and goal-setting process. GHC has established an institutional goal of exceeding the five-year average by 5%. GHC did not meet the institutionally established minimum threshold nor did the College achieve the stated goal for the most recent completed academic year.
IPEDS 150% Graduation Rate
GHC monitors and reports the 150% graduation rate of those seeking degrees as published on the IPEDS data feedback report. The rate is also disaggregated by gender, race/ethnicity, and Pell grant eligibility. The College also compares this metric with the state college average for the 150% rate. This metric was selected by the College as its SACSCOC requested student completion metric. Additionally, the IPEDS 150% Graduation Rate aligns with the GHC Strategic Plan Initiative number 3 (Student Success). This metric also connects with efforts to assist the College in achieving its mission. The institutionally established minimum threshold for this metric is to meet the institutional rate from the previous year. This threshold encourages continuous improvement of the rate while allowing for fluctuations in enrollment and degrees conferred. The goal for this metric is to meet or exceed the state college average of the IPEDS 150% graduation rate. The College has met the minimum threshold in 4 of the last 5 years but has failed to meet the minimum threshold and the institutional goal for the current academic year.
Gateway Course Success Rates
Georgia Highlands College monitors and reports the successful completion of selected courses as a metric of student success. The courses selected for this metric include ENGL 1101: English Composition I, MATH 1001: Quantitative Reasoning, MATH 1111: College Algebra, and MATH/STAT 1401: Elementary Statistics. These courses were chosen because they are considered “gateway” or entry courses. An examination of success rates for these courses can provide the College with information on how new students are doing in the early stages of their academic career. This metric can also inform and support findings and provide additional context in the retention and completion metrics. This metric aligns with the mission of the college and Strategic Initiative 3 (Student Success). The minimum threshold for gateway course success rate is 64% for all courses combined. This baseline was set by examining the College’s performance in this metric and taking an average of several years of data. The institutional goal for gateway course success rates is to exceed the minimum threshold by 2% or greater. GHC met and exceeded the minimum threshold by 7% in the current academic year, achieving the institutional goal.
National Council Licensure Exam
GHC monitors and reports student pass rates on licensure and board examinations. Specifically for the Nursing program, the College examines the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). Licensure and board examinations are strong metrics of student success and completion that align with the GHC mission to “provide access to excellent educational opportunities” and to “meet the economic development needs of the region.” The minimum threshold for NCLEX is to meet the pass rate for students in the state of Georgia. By establishing this as the minimum threshold, the College will be able to compare how well it prepares its nursing students to the rest of the state. For the most recently completed year, the pass rate for the NCLEX in the state of Georgia is 82.58%. The institutional goal for pass rate of the NCLEX at GHC is to exceed the minimum threshold by 5%. The College met the minimum threshold and exceeded its target of 5% above the threshold.
