Retention


Most recent data available: 2022 Cohort (Waterloo)
Update frequency: Annually
Next update: September 2024 (Peers TBD)

Definition

Percentage of full-time, first year students who entered into a first-entry undergraduate program who continued their studies the next fall

The University of Waterloo is compared to all public institutions that participated in the Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange (CSRDE)

Public universities are group based on their selectivity (the range of Scholastic Assessment Test(SAT)/American College Testing (ACT) scores required for acceptance)

Data Sources

Inclusions and Exclusions

  • Inclusions:
    • Full-time, first year students who entered into a first-entry undergraduate program (Full-time = 4 courses or more in the Fall term without advanced standing)
    • New to the institution in the fall term without advanced standing (Note: if a student were to do two completely distinct degrees without credit overlap they would be counted in two cohorts; this rarely happens)
    • First year retention means the students was registered in some capacity (full-time or part-time or co-op work term) in the following fall
  • Exclusions:
    • Second Entry Programs, which are programs that require either several years of an undergraduate degree or complete degree before entry (Optometry, Social Work at Renison, Pharmacy)
    • Students registered in Social Work at Renison due to status as a second entry program

Revisions

Data Table

Institutional Grouping 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Waterloo 90.4% 90.8% 91.9% 92.3% 93.2% 93.6% 93.9% 93.6% 94.3% 94.7% 93.2%
Public--Highly Selective 88.8% 88.3% 88.3% 89.3% 89.3% 89.1% 89.3% 89.6% 89.8% 90.4% 90.1%
All Public 82.0% 81.6% 82.3% 83.3% 83.6% 83.9% 84.1% 83.9% 84.4% 85.7% 85.2%
Public--Selective 79.1% 77.5% 78.4% 79.2% 78.9% 79.9% 78.8% 78.7% 80.3% 81.4% 80.9%
Public--Moderately Selective 74.5% 73.9% 74.3% 75.1% 75.6% 75.0% 76.3% 77.6% 75.9% 78.0% 74.9%
Public--Less Selective 71.4% 70.9% 73.7% 75.4% 75.8% 74.8% 74.2% 73.5% 73.6% 75.6% 73.9%