students researching on beach

INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH:

Student Achievement

As a premier higher education institution serving a diverse community, St. Petersburg College (SPC) strives to offer equitable education by applying student achievement measures to minimize and potentially eliminate the achievement gap among diverse groups.

 

Student Achievement Measures:

    Graduation Rates

    6-Year Completion Rate

    The 6-year completion rate is calculated based on the National Student Clearinghouse definition:

    “The completion rates account for all students who enter postsecondary education for the first time each year, enrolling full-time or part-time at two-year or four-year institutions, and completing at any U.S. degree-granting institution. The results include those who complete after transfer, not just completions at the starting institution.”

    Threshold of Acceptability: 36.6%

    Goal Target: 41.5%

    Achievement: 41.2%

    6-Year Graduation Rate By Race

    Race
    AMIND
    ASIAN
    BLACK
    HISPA
    MULTI
    NSPEC
    PACIF
    WHITE
    Total
    2012–2013
    33.3%
    51.3%
    19.5%
    32.5%
    23.7%
    43.1%
    81.8%
    41.4%
    36.8%
    2013–2014
    16.7%
    59.3%
    22.5%
    46.3%
    34.1%
    54.1%
    20.0%
    41.9%
    39.7%
    2014–2015
    42.1%
    51.8%
    17.6%
    37.5%
    32.8%
    42.9%
    30.0%
    40.7%
    36.6%
    2015–2016
    45.5%
    59.9%
    23.4%
    38.4%
    45.2%
    55.2%
    27.3%
    44.8%
    41.5%
    2016–2017
    35.3%
    60.5%
    20.1%
    39.6%
    35.3%
    39.5%
    42.9%
    45.4%
    41.2%

    6-Year Graduation Rate by Gender

    Gender
    FEMALE
    MALE
    USPEC
    Total
    2012–2013
    39.5%
    33.8%
    37.9%
    36.8%
    2013–2014
    43.1%
    35.9%
    37.0%
    39.7%
    2014–2015
    38.8%
    33.9%
    38.5%
    36.6%
    2015–2016
    44.8%
    37.1%
    49.1%
    41.5%
    2016–2017
    43.6%
    38.3%
    47.1%
    41.2%

    6-Year Graduation Rate by Pell Eligibility

    Pell
    N
    Y
    Total
    2012–2013
    47.2%
    31.2%
    36.8%
    2013–2014
    50.0%
    33.5%
    39.7%
    2014–2015
    47.4%
    30.0%
    36.6%
    2015–2016
    49.9%
    35.7%
    41.5%
    2016–2017
    47.3%
    36.4%
    41.2%

    Source: National Student Clearinghouse

    Threshold of Acceptability: 22.7%

    Goal Target: 24.9%

    Achievement: 23.8%

    3-Year Completion Rate

    The 3-year graduation rate looks at full or part-time students enrolling in Fall at SPC for the first time in any Associate’s degree or certificate program and completing their program at SPC within 3 years.

    3-Year Graduation Rate By Race

    Race
    AMIND
    ASIAN
    BLACK
    HISPA
    MULTI
    NSPEC
    PACIF
    WHITE
    Total
    2015–2016
    18.2%
    37.3%
    11.1%
    19.1%
    24.4%
    32.8%
    18.2%
    25.0%
    22.7%
    2016–2017
    11.8%
    31.9%
    7.5%
    24.8%
    21.1%
    27.9%
    28.6%
    27.8%
    24.4%
    2017–2018
    8.3%
    34.2%
    10.3%
    22.8%
    19.1%
    42.1%
    14.3%
    26.1%
    23.3%
    2018–2019
    50.0%
    32.6%
    9.9%
    22.9%
    18.9%
    34.5%
    14.3%
    28.9%
    24.9%
    2019–2020
    30.0%
    36.8%
    11.3%
    21.4%
    18.8%
    32.2%
    26.9%
    23.8%

    3-Year Graduation Rate by Gender

    Gender
    FEMALE
    MALE
    USPEC
    Total
    2015–2016
    24.7%
    20.0%
    26.3%
    22.7%
    2016–2017
    26.0%
    22.6%
    25.5%
    24.4%
    2017–2018
    23.6%
    22.8%
    22.8%
    23.3%
    2018–2019
    25.5%
    24.4%
    21.5%
    24.9%
    2019–2020
    24.9%
    22.5%
    18.5%
    23.8%

    3-Year Graduation Rate by Pell Eligibility

    Pell
    N
    Y
    ** Total
    2015–2016
    28.7%
    18.5%
    22.7%
    2016–2017
    28.7%
    21.1%
    24.4%
    2017–2018
    27.4%
    20.1%
    23.3%
    2018–2019
    29.8%
    21.2%
    24.9%
    2019–2020
    28.8%
    20.1%
    23.8%

    Source: St. Petersburg Student Database/PeopleSoft

    ** Pell Totals do not include students whose Pell eligibility was unknown or who did not submit a FAFSA
    therefore the total percentages differ from Race and Gender.

    Success Rate

    One of St. Petersburg College’s measures of student achievement is the course success rates of undergraduate students. The course success rate is defined as the number of A, B, and C grades divided by all possible grades.

    Threshold of Acceptability: 79.0%

    Goal Target: 80.0%

    Achievement: 79.3%

    Course Success Rate by Race

    Race
    AMIND
    ASIAN
    BLACK
    HISPA
    MULTI
    NSPEC
    PACIF
    WHITE
    Total
    Fall Term 2018–2019
    71.1%
    85.7%
    67.2%
    77.6%
    76.7%
    83.6%
    88.8%
    81.4%
    79.1%
    Fall Term 2019–2020
    77.2%
    85.8%
    68.0%
    78.2%
    76.9%
    84.0%
    74.9%
    81.2%
    79.2%
    Fall Term 2020–2021
    73.3%
    84.1%
    68.6%
    77.4%
    77.2%
    79.7%
    68.1%
    81.6%
    79.2%
    Fall Term 2021–2022
    75.9%
    85.4%
    67.2%
    77.1%
    77.1%
    80.6%
    76.2%
    81.6%
    79.0%
    Fall Term 2022–2023
    78.6%
    85.9%
    67.7%
    76.5%
    76.7%
    81.6%
    84.9%
    82.1%
    79.3%

    Source: St. Petersburg Student Database/PeopleSoft

    Progression

    St. Petersburg College uses two achievement measures to determine student progression: The Fall-to-Fall retention rate reflecting students who continue enrollment in the subsequent year and the Term-to-Term persistence rates reflecting students who continue enrollment in the subsequent Fall or Spring term.

    Threshold of Acceptability: 63.9%

    Goal Target: 65.6%

    Achievement: 63.9%

    Retention Rate – Fall to Fall

    Academic Year
    Race
    AMIND
    ASIAN
    BLACK
    HISPA
    MULTI
    NSPEC
    PACIF
    WHITE
    Total
    2017–2018
    Cohort Size
    95
    1,199
    3,921
    4,264
    957
    639
    88
    18,521
    29,684
    2017–2018
    Rate
    62.1%
    73.2%
    58.9%
    64.9%
    64.2%
    71.5%
    56.8%
    66.7%
    65.6%
    2018–2019
    Cohort Size
    88
    1,211
    3,766
    4,470
    1,029
    649
    72
    17,728
    29,013
    2018–2019
    Rate
    69.3%
    68.5%
    58.3%
    65.1%
    61.6%
    69.0%
    68.1%
    66.9%
    65.5%
    2019–2020
    Cohort Size
    84
    1,199
    3,737
    4,578
    1,109
    645
    67
    17,257
    28,676
    2019–2020
    Rate
    59.5%
    70.2%
    57.1%
    63.8%
    62.1%
    65.3%
    74.6%
    65.3%
    64.1%
    2020–2021
    Cohort Size
    72
    1,161
    3,250
    4,278
    1,053
    636
    66
    15,741
    26,257
    2020–2021
    Rate
    63.9%
    69.4%
    58.9%
    64.7%
    62.2%
    66.8%
    66.7%
    66.4%
    65.2%
    2021–2022
    Cohort Size
    68
    1,110
    3,075
    4,204
    980
    696
    57
    14,306
    24,496
    2021–2022
    Rate
    64.7%
    70.1%
    56.7%
    63.2%
    60.9%
    61.5%
    73.7%
    65.4%
    63.9%

    Persistence Rate – Fall to Spring

    Academic Year
    Race
    AMIND
    ASIAN
    BLACK
    HISPA
    MULTI
    NSPEC
    PACIF
    WHITE
    Total
    2017–2018
    Cohort Size
    95
    1,199
    3,921
    4,264
    957
    639
    88
    18,521
    29,684
    2017–2018
    Rate
    76.8%
    82.9%
    74.3%
    75.9%
    79.5%
    80.6%
    73.9%
    78.3%
    77.7%
    2018–2019
    Cohort Size
    88
    1,211
    3,766
    4,470
    1,029
    649
    72
    17,728
    29,013
    2018–2019
    Rate
    76.1%
    81.1%
    74.2%
    77.7%
    77.5%
    82.4%
    84.7%
    78.9%
    78.3%
    2019–2020
    Cohort Size
    84
    1,199
    3,737
    4,578
    1,109
    645
    67
    17,257
    28,676
    2019–2020
    Rate
    75.0%
    81.3%
    71.2%
    76.8%
    77.1%
    76.9%
    71.6%
    78.8%
    77.5%
    2020–2021
    Cohort Size
    72
    1,161
    3,250
    4,278
    1,053
    636
    66
    15,741
    26,257
    2020–2021
    Rate
    75.0%
    81.0%
    71.3%
    76.0%
    77.6%
    79.1%
    77.3%
    78.9%
    77.5%
    2021–2022
    Cohort Size
    68
    1,110
    3,075
    4,204
    980
    696
    57
    14,306
    24,496
    2021–2022
    Rate
    70.6%
    79.5%
    69.0%
    73.9%
    73.9%
    74.0%
    75.4%
    76.8%
    75.2%

    Persistence Rate – Spring to Fall

    Academic Year
    Race
    AMIND
    ASIAN
    BLACK
    HISPA
    MULTI
    NSPEC
    PACIF
    WHITE
    Total
    2017–2018
    Cohort Size
    86
    1,160
    3,762
    4,093
    959
    607
    74
    17,196
    27,937
    2017–2018
    Rate
    68.6%
    75.3%
    61.1%
    67.2%
    63.9%
    68.0%
    64.9%
    69.1%
    67.8%
    2018–2019
    Cohort Size
    78
    1,132
    3,736
    4,325
    1,009
    621
    72
    16,898
    27,871
    2018–2019
    Rate
    67.9%
    70.4%
    61.0%
    68.8%
    63.4%
    67.6%
    66.7%
    69.4%
    68.0%
    2019–2020
    Cohort Size
    74
    1,163
    3,592
    4,372
    1,074
    612
    58
    16,309
    27,254
    2019–2020
    Rate
    64.9%
    70.1%
    58.0%
    64.2%
    64.2%
    66.2%
    74.1%
    66.8%
    65.2%
    2020–2021
    Cohort Size
    64
    1,124
    3,277
    4,237
    1,052
    662
    65
    15,054
    25,535
    2020–2021
    Rate
    70.3%
    70.3%
    57.0%
    64.8%
    63.3%
    65.7%
    64.6%
    66.4%
    64.9%
    2021–2022
    Cohort Size
    71
    1,039
    2,991
    3,969
    910
    643
    50
    13,335
    23,008
    2021–2022
    Rate
    73.2%
    70.8%
    58.5%
    65.9%
    64.0%
    63.0%
    74.0%
    66.9%
    65.7%

    Source: St. Petersburg Student Database/PeopleSoft

    AA Transfer and Continuing Education Rate

    The rate of continuing education among Associate of Arts (AA) graduates, who continue further to receive a bachelor’s degree at St. Petersburg College or another institution, is another measure of achievement used at SPC.

    Threshold of Acceptability: 67.9%

    Goal Target: 73.0%

    Achievement: 69.0%

    3-Year Transfer Rate by Race

    Race
    AMIND
    ASIAN
    BLACK
    HISPA
    MULTI
    NSPEC
    PACIF
    WHITE
    Total
    2015–2016
    62.5%
    72.5%
    67.5%
    76.0%
    73.9%
    78.1%
    50.0%
    71.6%
    71.9%
    2016–2017
    58.3%
    72.4%
    70.3%
    69.4%
    63.5%
    69.3%
    83.3%
    67.1%
    67.9%
    2017–2018
    84.6%
    78.2%
    69.4%
    73.1%
    68.6%
    74.0%
    71.4%
    73.2%
    73.0%
    2018–2019
    50.0%
    72.7%
    68.0%
    72.0%
    80.2%
    79.5%
    71.4%
    71.8%
    71.9%
    2019–2020
    72.7%
    76.0%
    60.4%
    64.2%
    69.4%
    73.1%
    60.0%
    70.6%
    69.0%

    3-Year Transfer Rate by Gender

    Gender
    FEMALE
    MALE
    USPEC
    Total
    2015–2016
    70.5%
    74.6%
    65.8%
    71.9%
    2016–2017
    67.7%
    68.7%
    58.2%
    67.9%
    2017–2018
    73.0%
    73.1%
    68.0%
    73.0%
    2018–2019
    71.8%
    72.1%
    71.9%
    71.9%
    2019–2020
    67.9%
    71.3%
    62.1%
    69.0%

    3-Year Transfer Rate by Pell Eligibility

    Pell
    N
    Y
    Total
    2015–2016
    77.4%
    71.3%
    73.0%
    2016–2017
    73.4%
    68.0%
    69.5%
    2017–2018
    79.2%
    71.4%
    73.5%
    2018–2019
    76.9%
    71.2%
    72.8%
    2019–2020
    70.3%
    67.3%
    68.1%
    Source: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center

    Job Placement and Earnings

    St. Petersburg College uses job placement rates for Associate in Science (AS) and baccalaureate degree graduates as measures of student achievement.

    Threshold of Acceptability: 76.9%

    Goal Target: 81.1%

    Achievement: 80.4%

    AS Degree Job Placement Rate

    Academic Year
    2016–2017
    2017–2018
    2018–2019
    2019–2020
    2020–2021
    % Employed with Wages
    81.0%
    77.4%
    81.1%
    76.9%
    80.4%
    Full QTR Avg. Annualized Earnings
    $45,968
    $44,980
    $48,108
    $53,028
    $61,419

    Threshold of Acceptability: 77.3%

    Goal Target: 78.4%

    Achievement: 77.3%

    Baccalaureate Job Placement Rate

    Academic Year
    2016–2017
    2017–2018
    2018–2019
    2019–2020
    2020–2021
    % Employed with Wages
    78.4%
    78.4%
    78.1%
    77.7%
    77.3%
    Full QTR Avg. Annualized Earnings
    $55,428
    $53,540
    $56,312
    $59,452
    $66,353
    Source: Florida Department of Education FETPIP reports for Florida College System

    ASSESSMENTS

    IE is responsible for ensuring the quality and value of academic programs, student support services, and administrative units, collaborating with the provost, deans, faculty, and administrators to identify and conduct assessments in various areas.

    SURVEYS

    Student Survey for the following areas:

    PROGRAMMATIC ACCREDITATION

    SPC is an accredited institution with many degree programs additionally accredited or approved by state and national organizations specific to those fields of study.

    student speaking about project

    STUDENT RESEARCH

    Various opportunities to complete a research project are available to SPC students. Additionally, student researchers are invited to present their research projects at SPC’s Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium each fall semester.

    MEET THE TEAM

    Contact information for our Institutional Effectiveness Team;

    • Maggie Tymms
    • Jennifer McBride
    • Amy Eggers
    • Robert Mohr