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 2020 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 1,660 757 45.6% 305 18.4%
  Community Colleges in Illinois* 27,969 9,514 34.0% 4,726 16.9%
             
Gender Disaggregation          
  Female 835 412 49.3% 146 17.5%
  Male 825 345 41.8% 159 19.3%
             
Race/Ethnicity Disaggregation          
  American Indian or Alaska Native 3 -- -- -- --
  Asian 221 115 52.0% 43 19.5%
  Black or African American 44 17 38.6% 8 18.2%
  Hispanic/Latino 465 189 40.6% 52 11.2%
  Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander -- -- -- -- --
  White 844 396 46.9% 185 21.9%
  Two or more races 53 23 43.4% 12 22.6%
  Race and ethnicity unknown 30 16 53.3% 5 16.7%
             
Financial Aid Disaggregation          
  Recipients of a Pell Grant 548 242 44.2% n/a n/a
  Recipients of a Subsidized Stafford Loan that did not receive a Pell Grant 18 -- -- n/a n/a
  Did not receive either a Pell Grant or Subsidized Stafford Loan 1094 512 45.6% n/a n/a

Source: IPEDS Graduation Rate Survey
*State totals are from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) for the 2019 IPEDS cohort
- - Values with less than 5 are masked

Completion data released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) in spring 2024 disclose how full-time students who entered Harper College in fall 2019 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 (71.7%) than both the State-wide average (61.6%) and the average for our peer institutions** (64.2%). 

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: 4/26/24