Trends in First-Year Undergraduate Retention and Graduation, 1967-2008

 

Year Class Entered Number in Class Average SAT
Score		 % Returned As % Graduated After
Sophs Juniors Seniors 4 Yrs 5 Yrs 6 Yrs 10 Yrs
1967 1,688         50.1% 64.3% 66.0%  
1968 2,115         50.6% 63.7% 65.4%  
1969 2,394         52.1% 62.7% 64.7% 73.7%
1970 2,900         46.6% 61.7% 64.0% 73.4%
1971 3,093         48.9% 65.2% 68.9%  
1972 2,852         51.9% 71.0% 73.6%  
1973 3,208         51.7% 69.4% 72.5%  
1974 2,887   90.3% 81.6% 78.5% 54.9% 73.4% 76.1% 77.9%
1975 2,957   88.7% 81.5% 78.9% 53.4% 71.1% 74.3% 76.6%
1976 2,895 1090 89.9% 82.0% 79.3% 52.6% 72.7% 76.0% 78.1%
1977 3,048 1086 89.1% 81.1% 79.8% 53.6% 73.2% 76.0% 78.2%
1978 3,070 1065 89.3% 82.3% 78.4% 57.9% 73.1% 75.3% 77.1%
1979 3,444 1063 88.9% 80.9% 78.6% 57.3% 72.2% 74.1% 76.1%
1980 3,211 1065 89.9% 82.0% 78.5% 58.2% 72.9% 75.8% 77.8%
1981 3,201 1055 90.1% 81.3% 77.4% 56.2% 71.3% 74.6% 77.0%
1982 3,304 1056 89.7% 80.3% 76.9% 54.9% 71.2% 74.2% 76.5%
1983 3,186 1055 90.1% 84.1% 80.7% 57.4% 74.7% 78.4% 80.9%
1984 3,390 1051 89.2% 82.4% 80.2% 53.0% 72.2% 76.1% 78.8%
1985 3,329 1071 92.1% 86.2% 84.0% 59.4% 77.3% 80.6% 82.6%
1986 3,298 1087 92.4% 87.3% 84.6% 60.6% 79.2% 81.7% 84.0%
1987 3,142 1099 94.5% 89.2% 86.4% 61.3% 80.8% 83.2% 85.5%
1988 3,290 1102 94.7% 90.7% 87.8% 64.7% 82.5% 85.0% 86.9%
1989 3,184 1110 94.7% 89.7% 85.9% 62.7% 81.8% 84.1% 85.8%
1990 3,240 1112 93.4% 87.7% 85.0% 62.7% 79.2% 81.8% 83.8%
1991 3,133 1120 94.6% 89.6% 86.4% 62.7% 81.0% 83.6% 85.1%
1992 3,202 1122 93.2% 87.5% 84.1% 62.7% 77.8% 80.2% 81.7%
1993 3,317 1126 93.3% 88.0% 82.8% 63.0% 77.7% 79.7% 81.4%
1994 3,487 1128 92.7% 86.1% 81.0% 65.6% 78.0% 79.3% 81.5%
1995 3,231 1142 93.7% 87.0% 83.3% 66.3% 79.1% 81.3% 83.8%
1996 3,270 1222 93.7% 88.2% 84.5% 69.0% 81.6% 83.2% 84.9%
1997 3,414 1220 94.8% 88.8% 86.7% 71.2% 83.1% 84.7% 86.6%
1998 3,426 1230 94.0% 88.1% 84.3% 69.1% 81.6% 83.3% 85.3%
1999 3,390 1245 94.5% 89.4% 85.8% 72.7% 83.5% 85.0% 86.9%
2000 3,408 1251 95.1% 90.1% 87.2% 72.5% 84.1% 85.6%  
2001 3,682 1257 95.0% 90.6% 87.3% 74.0% 84.4% 86.1%  
2002 3,457 1267 95.4% 92.0% 88.2% 74.9% 85.7% 88.1%  
2003 3,511 1283 95.9% 90.9% 87.6% 74.2% 85.4% 87.2%  
2004 3,589 1287 96.7% 92.4% 89.0% 75.7% 86.8%    
2005 3,749 1299 96.6% 92.7% 89.4% 76.3%      
2006 3,800 1292 96.5% 93.2% 89.3%        
2007 3,880 1302 96.3% 92.8%          
2008 3,852 1276 95.7%            
2009 3,958 1302              

 

# SAT scores were recentered by the College Board starting in April 1995 which is reflected beginning with the 1996 first-year undergraduate class.

Note: Retention and graduation data for UNC-Chapel Hill first-year undergraduate classes entering in 1967 to 1985 are based on campus-generated reports that include both full-time and part-time students in the initial cohorts. The data for classes entering in 1986 to the most current year exclude part-time students from the initial cohorts. Data from 1994-2008 have been updated to reflect the most current information as of October 2009 and may not match prior published reports as the data has been updated to include retroactively awarded degrees.

Sources: 1967-1985: Office of Institutional Research, NCHED A-7 (Retention) Report, 1986-1993: University of North Carolina General Administration, Retention, Graduation and Persistence Rates of First-Time Full-Time undergraduate; 1994-current: Office of University Registrar Student Data Mart, Average SAT scores - RLDB100 (Registrar's Enrollment) File.