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:

Graduation Rate

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.

  • Threshold of acceptability: 30%
  • Goal target: 35%
  • Achievement: 33%
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%
*Fall 2013 cohort (2019) not yet publicly available.  
Source: IPEDS Graduation Rate Component

Success Rate

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.

  • Threshold of acceptability: 87%
  • Goal target: 93%
  • Achievement: 93%
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%
Source: Florida Department of Education PERA-M1P2

Retention Rate

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.

  • Threshold of acceptability: 64%
  • Goal target: 70%
  • Achievement: 65%
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%
Note: Figures include first-time-in-college AA, AS, or CCC seeking students who started in the fall term and enrolled in at least one credit course in the subsequent fall term or who graduated by the subsequent fall term.
Source: MDC Institutional Research analysis

Transfer and Continuing Education Rate

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.

  • Threshold of acceptability: 71%
  • Goal target: 74%
  • Achievement: 71%
Continuing Education Rate for Associate in Arts Degree Completers
Year Rate
2013-14 Completers 74%
2014-15 Completers 72%
2015-16 Completers 71%
2016-17 Completers 71%
2017-18 Completers 71%
Source: Florida Department of Education FETPIP Florida College System Reports

Transfer-out-with-Award Rate

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.

  • Threshold of acceptability: 68%
  • Goal target: 71%
  • Achievement: 70%

Source: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center


Job Placement and Earnings

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.

AS Degree Job Placement Rate:

  • Threshold of acceptability: 84%
  • Goal target: 87%
  • Achievement: 86%
Job Placement Rate and Average Annual Earnings for Associate in Science Degree Completers
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
Source: Florida Department of Education FETPIP Florida College System Vocational Reports

Baccalaureate Job Placement Rate:

  • Threshold of acceptability: 81%
  • Goal target: 83%
  • Achievement: 83%
Job Placement Rate and Average Annual Earnings for Baccalaureate Degree Completers
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
Source: Florida Department of Education FETPIP Florida College System Vocational Reports