Colleges With The Highest Graduation Rates

Ever heard of Thomas University? Us either. But according to College Results Online, a website which uses data from National Center for Education Statistics and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to rank U.S. colleges in terms of 6-year graduation rates, Thomas has the highest graduation rate* in the country -- a perfect 100 percent in 2008. (Southeastern University in Washington, D.C. also had a graduation rate of 100 percent in 2008, but the school has been "inactive" since 2009.)

Thomas University President Gary Bonvillian said that the school's high graduation rate can be linked to its retention rate of over 90 percent, a figure which has jumped significantly since 2008 -- according to College Results Online, Thomas' graduation rate at the time was around 42 percent. Bonvillian added that the school is committed to taking a proactive approach to interacting with students, and that it has employed intervention techniques to help students "not just on the academic front, [but] also on the life-issues front."

At College of the Holy Cross, which has a 98.1 percent graduation rate, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean Timothy Austin said graduating -- and doing so in four years -- is a matter of student culture. "Students here don't call themselves freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors," he said. "They call themselves class of [graduation year]. So right from the get-go they are targeting that date when they are going to cross the stage together."

Below, check out the 15 colleges and universities with the highest national graduation rates according to College Results Online. Click here for the full list as well as profiles of each school.

Did your school make the cut? Let us know in the comments section.

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Thomas University: 100 percent

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*Data set includes public and private bachelor's, master's and research level non-profit institutions between zero and 300,000 students.

Comments

[stuckey24]

01:07 PM on 02/14/2011

My husband and I are both proud graduates of Thomas University (classes of 97 and 98). We had some outstanding professors; some of them worked part-time at the major university down the road (FSU). My most influential professor had previously taught at FSU, and when she started her family, she decided to move to a quieter and slower-paced town -- Thomasville! However, not all of the professors were "big" names, and that's what made them special - they were well-qualified and cared for their students, which resulted in our success.
After graduation, my husband and I both received our masters' degrees at the Univ. of Central Florida. Then we went on to the Univ. of Florida, where my husband received his Ph.d and I my Ed.S in Education. My husband is a professor at LA Tech, and is a current recipient of a Fulbright research grant and is teaching at Cardiff Univ. in Wales.

While TU is not well-known across the nation, it has served students for many years (my father was a student in the 60's). The faculty and administration are dedicated to the success of its students, and because it is a small school, the individual attention that students receive is priceless. I'll never forget my husband's and my own graduation; the president stopped both of us on the stage and made a personal comment about us to the crowd (it helped that he was on the basketball team, and I was Miss TU).

[ashpot09]

04:33 PM on 02/13/2011

Although I made an exception today, I tend to avoid reading the comments section on things like this because I have noticed something that makes me sad...

"Educated" people, in the majority of my dealings with them (and I consider myself one as well), seem to have lost their ability to use manners.

Just saying.

[AJCourson]

06:50 PM on 02/11/2011

I've heard of Thomas University. I'm an adjunct there in the Counseling Dept.

[pickle541]

06:26 PM on 02/11/2011

Schools like Williams (and perhaps others that are out in the middle of nowhere) invest quite a lot to ensure that students are supported with resources for social, physical, mental and spiritual health. The deans are very involved in making sure students are happy and ready to dig in academically. There is a sense of belonging that keeps students on track.

[ashpot09]

04:13 PM on 02/13/2011

Just to make sure I'm not misinterpreting this...are you implying that Thomas University is "out in the middle of nowhere?"

[pickle541]

04:00 PM on 02/14/2011

No. I don't know what you're saying.

[1donewrong]

05:47 PM on 02/11/2011

The fact that for the most part their cirriculums aren't rigerous explains a lot, just look at the sitting president as the poster child

[thebigbike]

07:53 PM on 02/11/2011

I see you had some through spellng instruction......

[ashpot09]

04:14 PM on 02/13/2011

Whose curriculum isn't rigorous?

[1donewrong]

04:27 PM on 02/13/2011

any that has quota admissions

[BacSi]

02:13 PM on 02/11/2011

Pretty impressive numbers for these schools.

Good students plus students having enough money so they do not have to work 35 hours a week to pay the bills?

I always thought my sons college----The US Naval Academy----had a high graduation rate.

They started I-Day with approx 1100 students and ended up 4 years later with just slightly under 1000. Maybe 980 or so if memory serves me----close anyway.

Good students----great support system----paid a salary so working outside school was not an issue.

[Arrive2 net]

12:44 AM on 02/11/2011

Schools with great graduation rates deserve much credit, however I have a great admiration for teaching colleges that admit a broader range of students in terms of ability and socioeconomic status, and helps most of them get through. If every new student admitted is in the top percentiles of their high school class, they seem close to sure-fire graduates, but how demanding can it be to keep such students going till graduation? A school with a broader range of student abilities will need to work harder and teach better in order to get them through.

Bernard Schuster
Arrive2.net

[ashpot09]

04:16 PM on 02/13/2011

Just so I'm not misinterpreting this...are you implying that Thomas University most likely has a low number of low income/disadvantaged students?

[Black Guy at Cornell]

09:44 PM on 02/10/2011

If you manage to get into Harvard, you REALLY have to screw around to flunk out; I have a couple of friends from HS that attend and the grade inflation over there is unreal. If you pick the wrong major or come unprepared, Cornell will leave you in the dust. Maybe Cornell needs to work on having a more extensive and reliable support system, though - I'm realistic here.

[CosmicIrony]

09:18 AM on 02/11/2011

I went to Cornell in 1968, grad in 1971, and I felt that while Cornell offered great opportunities, students were assumed to be able to handle things on their own. So I guess things haven't really changed.

[dmgoss]

02:09 PM on 02/11/2011

UC Berkeley was the same way for me--very little support, and an attitude that assumed a successful Cal student could figure it out on their own and act accordingly. Anything I received there in terms of counseling or aid I received by grooming relationships with faculty. Otherwise, I was SOL, cuz there were always a few thousand more every year where I came from...

[ashpot09]

04:19 PM on 02/13/2011

At Thomas University, neither is true. You get the grade that you deserve, but because our University is so small (and we have an outstanding Student Support Services and Academic Resource Center, and most- if not all- professors are willing to give you the tutoring you need) you are not left in the dust. But if you do not do your work, you will be warned that you may be left behind. You don't get away with being lazy here.

[marsjunkiegirl]

05:02 PM on 02/13/2011

@ashpot: Would you stop hyping Thomas University? You must be one of their admissions reps. I've never even heard of that school, and it's certainly not in US News and World Report's top 20. Think that says it all.

[runfellow]

06:47 PM on 02/10/2011

So wait, maybe I'm reading this wrong, but how can a school have a "retention rate" of over 90% and have a six-year graduation rate of 100%? Wouldn't the retention necessarily have to be 100%? I just don't get how a school can have absolutely no drop outs for an entire four year (or more) period. You mean to say that not one student flunked? Doesn't that speak ill of your university rather than help it? It means there's some serious grade inflation going on, if you ask me. Unless I'm looking at how they figured it wrong.

[Just a passerby]

09:34 AM on 02/11/2011

The piece isn't clear, but if you read carefully, it states that Thomas has a very high 6-year grad rate, and in one year - 2008 - they had a 100% grad rate.

[ashpot09]

04:22 PM on 02/13/2011

It is VERY rare to see a student flunk at TU- but not because of grade inflation. Because of the outstanding Student Support Services and Academic Resource Center, and the fact that most- if not all- professors are willing to work with you to give you the tutoring you need. We have a lot of students that realize they're failing and go back and do the work they missed (or redo it) and submit a Request of Incomplete or Grade Change Form, so some students do flunk, but they correct themselves because they are very highly motivated and we provide the avenues for them to correct their actions. There is, however, a limit to how many times you will be helped out by those avenues.

[MSaxe]

06:16 PM on 02/10/2011

So what does this mean?

That the students that go to these schools have families that can afford to pay for them come what may? And their parents are whipping their @sses to finish.

[Benedictus70]

10:42 PM on 02/10/2011

Kids who get into schools like Harvard or Stanford tend to be fairly ambitious and not the type who wouldn't finish up (of course there are always exceptions, hence why the rates aren't 100%). They also tend to be in a higher economic/social bracket, so the sorts of things that cause others to drop out (unplanned pregnancy, family problems, lack of money, health crisis, etc.) tend to not happen to them, or at least can be handled better.

[ashpot09]

04:24 PM on 02/13/2011

Hmmmmm. Well, let's see. Neither of my parents have college degrees. Together, they make $60,000 a year. They need me to work and make money to support myself, although I live with them. We often struggle to make ends meet, and struggle with me trying to go to college at the same time. There has often been talk of taking a semester off to help out financially.

But why am I still a student? Because TU made me believe in myself. TU made me believe that I can have a better life for myself and my future family, and that I deserve it. I can't afford TU, but they help me out through scholarships. If it weren't for TU, I wouldn't be going to college and probably never would.

[Benedictus70]

04:12 PM on 02/10/2011

Way to go Notre Dame and Princeton.

[local21]

05:58 PM on 02/10/2011

I thought ND had a good grad rate but 95.8 % is top notch.

[Tails]

03:15 PM on 02/10/2011

I thought Rice here in Houston was around 95%.

[local21]

05:59 PM on 02/10/2011

93.1

[UpperRight90]

02:23 PM on 02/10/2011

My B.S. detector is going haywire. There's no way that Thomas University has 100% graduation rate. I just don't buy since iIlness, death, financial upheaval, homesickness, unintended pregancies, drug or alcohol problems and the like will derail the pursuit of a college degree. Not to mention, not everyone is prepared for college or wants to work once they are there.

[palindrom]

12:08 PM on 02/12/2011

What's their enrollment? If it's tiny, then maybe they had a whole class where nothing bad happened to any of the small number of students.

[Courtney Mills]

09:27 AM on 02/13/2011

Well, I guess your detector is messed up then. Or maybe it is your ability to read correctly. The article said that it has the "highest graduation rate in the country* - 100% percent in 2008." Meaning that only in 2008 did Thomas have a 100% graduation rate.
I have been at Thomas University (TU) since January of 2006. I received my bachelors while playing softball and working part-time there. I am currently working on my master's degree there as well. During my time at TU, I became severely ill and was unable to attend class for about two months. The professors worked with me to ensure that I did not miss anything. I am also currently pregnant. It is an "unintended pregnancy," which by my understanding from your post, makes people drop out of school. If anything, it has made me want my master's degree more than ever and the professors at TU have been more than happy to work with me to guarantee that I finish this semester without my pregnancy interfering. As for "financial upheaval," who doesn't have financial problems these days? There are things called scholarships, financial aid, and student loans.