As a Hispanic serving institution with a high proportion of students at or below the poverty line, Miami Dade College (MDC) seeks to apply student achievement measures to close the equity, racial, and gender gaps in educational attainment for minority students. Taken together, the five student achievement indicators selected represent a comprehensive measure of student success that MDC uses for monitoring its effectiveness:
The U.S. Department of Education graduation rates, reported through IPEDS, are calculated as the proportion of an incoming cohort of first-time students who start full-time in the fall term and who graduate within 150% of normal time to completion. MDC’s current IPEDS graduation rate (150% time) is 33%. The institutional goal is to continue to increase graduation rates for all undergraduate students, including students from historically underrepresented groups and low-income families.
| Year | Cohort Size | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 (Fall 2009 Cohort) | 7,315 | 35% |
| 2016 (Fall 2010 Cohort) | 8,178 | 30% |
| 2017 (Fall 2011 Cohort) | 9,384 | 31% |
| 2018 (Fall 2012 Cohort) | 8,291 | 35% |
| 2019 (Fall 2013 Cohort*) | 8,738 | 33% |
Miami Dade College tracks success rates of undergraduate students as a measure of student achievement. The Florida Department of Education has developed a success rate metric that measures the proportion of an incoming cohort of first-time students who graduated, are still enrolled in good standing, or left an institution in good standing. Since Miami Dade College’s success rate is consistently higher than the success rate of the collective FCS institutions, the College uses its own trend data to set the threshold of acceptability and goal targets.
| Year | Success Rate |
|---|---|
| Fall 2010 Cohort | 87.7% |
| Fall 2011 Cohort | 87.3% |
| Fall 2012 Cohort | 87.9% |
| Fall 2013 Cohort | 90.8% |
| Fall 2014 Cohort | 93.4% |
Miami Dade College tracks fall-to-fall retention to determine student progression. Fall-to-fall retention rates are recognized as an industry standard and depict the students who continue enrollment in the subsequent academic year. MDC aspires to increase retention rates for all undergraduate students, including students from historically underrepresented groups and low-income families.
| Year | Cohort Size | Retention Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2014 to Fall 2015 | 10,984 | 64.1% |
| Fall 2015 to Fall 2016 | 10,212 | 64.6% |
| Fall 2016 to Fall 2017 | 10,401 | 70.0% |
| Fall 2017 to Fall 2018 | 11,688 | 65.1% |
| Fall 2018 to Fall 2019 | 11,128 | 65.3% |
Miami Dade College monitors the continuing education rate of associate in arts (AA) degree completers as a measure of student achievement. Since the MDC continuing education rate is higher than the average of the Florida College System institutions, the College uses its own trend data to set the threshold of acceptability and goal targets.
| Year | Rate |
|---|---|
| 2013-14 Completers | 74% |
| 2014-15 Completers | 72% |
| 2015-16 Completers | 71% |
| 2016-17 Completers | 71% |
| 2017-18 Completers | 71% |
Supplementary to the continuing education rate measure, the College also monitors the cohort of first-time students who started their studies at MDC and tracks their transfer patterns at four-year institutions. Among transfer-out students identified from the 2012 cohort, 70% transferred out with an award earned at MDC.
Source: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center
Miami Dade College monitors job placement rates for associate in science (AS) and baccalaureate degree completers as measures of student achievement. The general goal is to meet or exceed the placement rates of the College’s highest rates in the past five years.
| Year | Rate | Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 Completers | 84% | $47,640 |
| 2014-15 Completers | 84% | $49,456 |
| 2015-16 Completers | 87% | $47,824 |
| 2016-17 Completers | 86% | $51,060 |
| 2017-18 Completers | 86% | $48,960 |
| Year | Rate | Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 Completers | 82% | $49,996 |
| 2014-15 Completers | 83% | $58,520 |
| 2015-16 Completers | 83% | $55,596 |
| 2016-17 Completers | 82% | $58,096 |
| 2017-18 Completers | 83% | $56,312 |