Collin College leads the pack in student success

Collin College defines student success as the rate of students who transfer coupled with those who graduate. Based on the most recently available data from the federal governments Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data Systems (IPEDS), Collin College is the leader in student success in Texas among its very large peer institutions according to Dr. Tom Martin, vice president of Institutional Research.

Collin College has the highest student success rate of any of Texas very large community college districts, said Dr. Martin. In fact, the college has had the highest student success rate, 48.8 percent and 50.0 percent respectively, among the 11 college districts for two consecutive years, according to 2019 and 2018 IPEDS data.

The 11 very large Texas community college districts include Alamo Colleges District, Austin Community College District, Collin College, Dallas College, El Paso Community College, Houston Community College, Lone Star College, San Jacinto College, South Texas College, and Tarrant County College.

Martin explained that when looking at the overall picture of successful students at community colleges it is important to note that graduation rates are only part of the story. Our success rates are based on students who graduate and students who transfer to four-year institutions, he said.

Using comparable metrics from IPEDS, the average graduation rate at Texas public universities for first-time-in-college students is approximately 56 percent. If roughly 50 percent of our students graduate or transfer that shows that we are in line with public universities success rates.

Collin Colleges emphasis on becoming a national exemplar in program and student outcomes is a key goal in the colleges 2020-2025 strategic plan according to Dr. Sherry Schumann, executive vice president.

Reaching this level of student success requires a consolidated effort from many individuals and is to be commended, said Dr. Schumann.