Graduation Success

Awards Conferred

Target: The total number of awards conferred in the current year is equal to or greater than that of those conferred in the previous year.

Threshold of Acceptability: BRCC will confer awards within a -15% change from the previous year.

Source: VCCS Graduate Reports

Frequency of Assessment: Annually

Academic Year	Total	% change from previous year
2013-14	836	–
2014-15	951	14%
2015-16	1,273	34%
2016-17	979	-23%
2017-18	1,131	16%
2018-19	1,039	-8%
2019-20	991	-5%
2020-21	1,146	16%
2021-22	1,266	10%
2022-23	858	-32%
2023-24	1,280	49%
2024-25	1,222	-5%

Number of Graduates

Target: The number of graduates this year is greater than or equal to last year.

Threshold of Acceptability: BRCC will have within -15% change in total graduates from the previous year.

Source: VCCS Graduate Reports

Frequency of Assessment: Annually

Academic Year	Total	% change from previous year
2013-14	694
2014-15	761	10%
2015-16	855	12%
2016-17	661	-23%
2017-18	727	10%
2018-19	714	-2%
2019-20	654	-8%
2020-21	732	12%
2021-22	848	16%
2022-23	556	-34%
2023-24	925	66%
2024-25	892	-4%

NSC Total Completion Rate*

The cohort consists of students entering BRCC for the first time, transferring from another institution, or returning after a period of absence. The completion rates represent the percentage of students who successfully obtain a degree or certificate at BRCC or another institution within six years. We compare the completion rate of our cohort students with those of 11 Virginia’s 2-year public institutions and 226 National 2-year public institutions.

Target: The NSC total completion rate of BRCC students is expected to equal that of Virginia’s two-year public institutions.

Threshold of Acceptability: BRCC’s NSC total completion rate will be no more than 5% lower than the average rate for national 2-year public institutions.

Source: NSC PDP Dashboard

Frequency of Assessment: Annually

Cohort Year	BRCC	Virginia Two-Year Public Institutions	National Two-Year Public Institutions
Cohort 2016-17	47%	45%	40%
Cohort 2017-18	43%	46%	40%

Conclusion: In the 2017-18 cohort year, BRCC’s NSC total completion rate was 43%. This rate is 3% below the target rate of Virginia’s 2-year public institutions. However, it is also 3% higher than the threshold of the NSC total completion rate of national 2-year institutions. 

*A 6-year NSC Total Completion Rate is the graduation rate metric identified for SACSCOC.

NSC Total Completion Rate by Gender

Target: The NSC total completion rates of BRCC female and male students are expected to match those of Virginia’s two-year public institutions.

Threshold of Acceptability: The NSC total completion rates of BRCC female and male students will be no more than 5% lower than the average rates for national 2-year public institutions.

Source: NSC PDP Dashboard

Frequency of Assessment: Annually

Gender	Institution	Cohort 2016-17	Cohort 2017-18
Female	BRCC	50%	46%
	Virginia	48%	48%
	National	43%	43%
Male	BRCC	42%	38%
	Virginia	42%	43%
	National	37%	37%

Conclusion: In the 2017-18 cohort year, 46% of female students completed their degrees within six years, which is 2% below the target rate of Virginia’s 2-year public institutions and 3% above the threshold of national 2-year public institutions’ completion rate for female students. Of male students, 38% completed their degrees within six years, which is 5% below the target and 1% above the threshold of acceptability.

NSC Total Completion Rate by Race/Ethnicity

Target: The NSC total completion rates of BRCC Black/African American, Hispanic, Two or More Races, and White students are expected to match those of Virginia’s two-year public institutions.

Threshold of Acceptability: The NSC total completion rates of BRCC Black/African American, Hispanic, Two or More Races, and White students will be no more than 5% lower than the average rates for national 2-year public institutions.                                                                                                        

Source: NSC PDP Dashboard

Frequency of Assessment: Annually

Race	Institution	Cohort 2016-17	Cohort 2017-18
Black	BRCC	41%	31%
	Virginia	33%	35%
	National	29%	29%
Hispanic	BRCC	43%	33%
	Virginia	40%	40%
	National	34%	34%
Two or more Race	BRCC	50%	38%
	Virginia	43%	45%
	National	38%	37%
White	BRCC	48%	45%
	Virginia	50%	50%
	National	46%	46%

Conclusion: In the 2017-18 cohort, 31% of Black students and 38% of Two or More Races students at BRCC completed their studies within six years. These rates are 2% and 1% higher than the national 2-year public institutions’ completion rates for Black and Two or More Races students. Additionally, 33% of Hispanic students and 45% of White students completed their studies within six years, surpassing our acceptable completion rates threshold.

NSC Total Completion Rate by Financial Aid Status

Target: The NSC total completion rates of BRCC PELL and non-PELL recipients are expected to match those of Virginia’s two-year public institutions.        

Threshold of Acceptability: The NSC total completion rates of PELL and Non-PELL recipients will be no more than 5% lower than the average rates for national 2-year public institutions.

Source: NSC PDP Dashboard

Frequency of Assessment: Annually

PELL Status	Institution	Cohort 2016-17	Cohort 2017-18
PELL	BRCC	40%	30%
	Virginia	36%	37%
	National	35%	35%
Non-PELL	BRCC	50%	49%
	Virginia	49%	49%
	National	44%	44%

Conclusion: In the 2017-18 cohort, 30% of students who received PELL grants completed their degree within six years, which is 5% below the completion rate of national 2-year public institutions’ PELL recipients. However, it still meets the acceptable threshold. On the other hand, 49% of non-PELL grant recipients completed their degree within six years, meeting our target rate of Virginia’s 2-year public institutions’ non-PELL recipients.