Student Right-to-Know

What is Student Right-To-Know?

Student Right-To-Know is a federal law that requires all colleges and universities to disclose certain information to students. This handout provides the information that a university must provide to students on graduation rates and transfer-out rates for full-time students seeking degrees at St. Cloud State University (SCSU).

What is a graduation rate and what is a transfer-out rate?

Federal regulations specify how to calculate the graduation and transfer rates. The rates come from a study of St. Cloud State students who started at the university in the fall of 2015. The study includes all first-time students who enrolled full-time that fall and were seeking to earn a degree at the university. The graduation rate is the percentage of these students who graduated from St. Cloud State within six years. The transfer-out rate is the percentage of these students who did not graduate from St. Cloud State, but instead transferred to another college or university within six years.

What do I need to know about these rates?

These rates do not report on all students at St. Cloud State University. The 1,780 first-time, full-time students in the study were 13 percent of all undergraduate students enrolled in fall of 2015.

What are the graduation and transfer-out rates for St. Cloud State University students and how do they compare to rates for other universities?

• The graduation rate for St. Cloud State was 47 percent.
• The transfer-out rate for St. Cloud State was 35 percent.
• The combination of the graduation rate and the transfer-out rate was 82 percent. The national average combined rate for similar universities was 75 percent.

Why don’t more St. Cloud State University students graduate or transfer in six years?

• Some students take jobs before they graduate;
• Students who switch from full-time to part-time enrollment or “stop out” for one or more semesters are more likely to take more than six years to graduate;
• Other students delay their education for personal, family or financial reasons.