Southwestern College

What are the graduation rates for students at Southwestern College?

Southwestern College's reported six-year graduation rate is 36% for the applicable cohort of first-time, full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates. Its four-year rate is 29%. These are measures of what happened to defined entering cohorts, not estimates of every current student's probability of graduating.

The college's reported first-year retention rate is 56%, meaning that just over half of the measured first-time cohort returned the following fall. Retention and graduation measure different things, and neither figure alone explains why students leave or how well an individual program supports completion. Standard first-time graduation-rate measures also do not fully describe outcomes for transfer students and many adult learners.

Applicants comparing programs should ask for a degree plan showing course availability, required internships or clinical placements, and the expected number of terms. That is especially useful when a program's sequence could make changing majors or missing a required course extend time to completion.

What is the earning potential for graduates at Southwestern College?

Federal College Scorecard program figures offer a limited view of earnings roughly one year after completion. They describe graduates in the measured federally aided population whose earnings could be observed; they are not starting-salary offers or promises about what a future graduate will make.

• Registered nursing: reported median earnings of $57,402.
• Business administration, management, and operations: $57,248.
• Criminal justice and corrections: $50,283.
• Computer programming: $49,688.
• Teacher education for specific levels and methods: $30,802.

These are field-specific, one-year measures, not a fair ranking of the long-term value of majors. Graduate study, local labor markets, hours worked, prior experience, and the occupations graduates enter can change the picture substantially. A small college can also have small program cohorts, so students should look at program size and career pathways alongside any published earnings figure.