Credentials per 100 FTE
The number of credentials of one year or greater in length awarded in a given year divided by 100 full-time equivalent students (defined as 15 credits per semester, 30 credits per year for undergraduates). In the numerator, associate degrees should be counted twice as much as certificates, and bachelor’s degrees should count four times as much as certificates to ensure that the ratio accounts for the different lengths of time to these degrees. This metric should be assessed in conjunction with graduation rates.
This ratio is valuable only as a way to gather comparative data on completion rates using federal data. Because federal data on graduation rates do not capture all students—including the majority of community college students who attend part-time—credentials per 100 FTE can be a useful way for community colleges to compare their completion rates with peer institutions. Credentials per 100 FTE are subject to inflation at times of enrollment declines and deflation at times of enrollment gains. For this reason, credentials per 100 FTE are more valuable as a static measure to compare college outcomes with those of peers and less valuable as an indication of trends over time. Colleges with volatile enrollment may choose to average enrollment over several years to create a more stable denominator. Additionally, community colleges may choose to remove dual credit/dual enrollment students from the denominator because they often don’t intend to complete a credential at that college.
While college leaders will find value in collecting data on all students, consistently disaggregating data whenever possible can reveal outcome disparities. This information is essential for colleges developing strong reform plans to improve and close disparities in student success.
- Race/ethnicity
- Gender
- Family/Personal Income
- Age
- Parent/Dependent status
- Attendance intensity
- First-generation status
- Veteran status
Students may identify with one or many of the above identities. College leaders should consider how these different identities intersect and pay close attention to these relationships and how they may influence each student’s experience.