Harper College

Student Right to Know Act

Graduation and Transfer Rates

The Federal government, under the Student Right to Know Act, requires that all colleges and universities report the proportion of full-time students who complete programs within 150% of the normal time required for completion. For Harper College, a community college with two-year programs, that time period is three years for associate degrees and proportionately less for certificates.

Fall 2019 Cohort of Full-Time Degree/Certificate Seeking Students

    Cohort Number who graduated with a degree or certificate within 150% of normal time Graduation Rate Number who transferred to another institution Transfer rate
Overall          
  Harper College 1,765 772 43.7% 303 17.2%
  Community Colleges in Illinois* 27,343 9,008 32.9% 5,072 18.5%
             
Gender Disaggregation          
  Female 859 451 52.5% 126 14.7%
  Male 906 321 35.4% 177 19.5%
             
Race/Ethnicity Disaggregation          
  American Indian or Alaska Native 4 -- -- -- --
  Asian 194 94 48.5% 47 24.2%
  Black or African American 57 10 17.5% 16 28.1%
  Hispanic/Latino 531 199 37.5% 60 11.3%
  Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander -- -- -- -- --
  White 880 430 48.9% 161 18.3%
  Two or more races 61 20 32.8% 11 10.0%
  Race and ethnicity unknown 38 19 50.0% 7 18.4%
             
Financial Aid Disaggregation          
  Recipients of a Pell Grant 680 291 42.8% n/a n/a
  Recipients of a Subsidized Stafford Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant 25 8 32.0% n/a n/a
  Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Subsidized Stafford Loan 1060 473 44.6% n/a n/a

Source: IPEDS Graduation Rate Survey
*State totals are from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) for the 2018 IPEDS cohort

Completion data released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) in spring 2023 disclose how full-time students who entered Harper College in fall 2018 compared with other community college students in Illinois. Harper College students had completed, transferred, or were still enrolled three years later at a higher rate (71.1%) than both the State-wide average (61.9%) and the average for our peer institutions** (64.9%).

If these students were followed for four years rather than three years, the transfer and graduation rates would increase. Three years is a relatively short time frame for community college students, many of whom are working full-time or part-time; others may leave school temporarily for work or family reasons; or they may change their program of study; and some students may require developmental coursework upon admission. All of these factors tend to delay events like graduation or transfer.

**Peer institutions include College of DuPage, College of Lake County, Elgin Community College, Joliet Junior College, Moraine Valley CC, Oakton CC, and Triton CC.

Last Updated: 12/14/23