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Graduation Rates and Retention Rates

NSU is committed to maintaining and increasing the graduation rate of its student body. Student success/achievement is measured by an institution's ability to retain and graduate students. The University tracks and analyzes the 6-year graduation rate of enrolled students. Graduation rates are based on the percentage of first-time, full-time students who received a degree within six years or 150 percent of normal time to completion.

The Six-Year Graduation Rates table below examines cohorts' graduation performance from the academic years 2012 to 2016. The six-year graduation rate for Norfolk State University students was 40 percent for the 2016 cohort year  (i.e., a 3 percent increase from the Fall 2015 cohort). As shown in the table below, Norfolk State University’s graduation rate is steadily increasing and within a close range of the average 6-year graduation rates for universities with similar institutional characteristics.The 2019-2025 Strategic Plan outlines the threshold for achievement relative to graduation rates; the University's goal is to increase the six-year graduation rate to 45 percent by 2025.

Six-Year Graduation Rates

Cohort Year

NSU Graduation Rate

Peer Institutions Graduation Rates

2016

40%

N/A

2015

37%

N/A

2014

40%

41%

2013

39%

38%

2012

 37%

38%

Source:  Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)/Institutional Research


Enrollment and Degree Awarded for Programs with Specialized Accreditation

Enrollment

Program 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018
Computer Science (BS) 288 246 216 206 223 171
Computer Science (MS) - 22 17 23 23 19
Mass Communication - 241 242 244 309 299

Degrees Awarded

Program 2022-23 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20 2018-19 2017-18
Computer Science (BS) 20 28 15 15 16 19
Computer Science (MS) 16 9 1 6 4 12
Mass Communication 61 47 44 64 46 40