Student Achievement

The mission of Southeastern Louisiana University is to lead the educational, economic, and cultural development of southeast Louisiana. Through its strategic planning process, the University has identified strategic priorities (see Vision 2025) and student achievement goals for accomplishing its mission.

The success of its students is key to accomplishing the University’s mission. To lead the educational, economic, and cultural development of its region, it is important for Southeastern students to be continuously enrolled to complete coursework and earn grades that will allow them to progress towards graduation; graduate; and, when applicable, pass licensing or certification exams required for employment in their chosen fields. Southeastern uses multiple measures for assessing overall student achievement and success.

Southeastern uses the six-year IPEDS graduation rate as one of its measures of student achievement. Because the IPEDS graduation rate, which is a federal reporting standard, includes first-time full-time freshmen only, the measures of undergraduate progress towards graduation focus on first-time full-time degree-seeking freshmen. More information about the IPEDS graduation rate is presented following this section on undergraduate progress towards graduation.

For students to graduate in a timely manner, it is important for them to be continuously enrolled to complete degree requirements. Students who maintain full-time enrollment from their first year to second year and from their first year to third year are more likely to graduate within at least six years. Thus, Southeastern’s goal was to maintain its Fall 2018 first-to-second-year freshmen cohort retention rate of 67.3% (or a 3-year average of 67.3%) through Fall 2019, and increase the rate to 68.5% (or a 3-year average of 68.5%) by 2022-2023, and to 70% (or a 3-year average of 70%) by 2024-2025.

In addition, the University expected to maintain its Fall 2018 rate of 55% through 2019 and increase its first-to-third-year freshman cohort retention rate to 56% (or a 3-year average of 56%) by 2022-2023, and 57% (or a 3-year average of 57%) by 2024-2025.

Most undergraduate programs are structured so that full-time students can graduate in four years. The typical baccalaureate degree program at Southeastern requires 120 credit hours. Thus, to graduate in four years, students must typically complete 30 credit hours of required coursework each academic year. In addition, students are required to maintain a grade point average of at least 2.0. However, Southeastern would like to see its students maintain a somewhat higher grade point average each year, indicating greater acquisition of the knowledge and skills needed upon graduation.

Southeastern is working to increase the percentage of freshman cohort students who complete their first academic year with at least 30 credit hours and a grade point average of at least 2.3. The percentage is expected to increase to 50% by 2019-2020, 52% by 2022-2023, and 54% by 2024-2025.

The University is also working to increase the percentage of freshman cohort students who complete their second and each subsequent academic year with at least 30 credit hours and a grade point average of at least 2.5.

For the second year, the University expects the percentage to increase to 35% by 2019-2020, 37% by 2022-2023, and 39% by 2024-2025.

For the third year, the University expects the percentage to increase to 27% by 2019-2020, 29% by 2022-2023, and 31% by 2024-2025.

For the fourth year, the University expects the percentage to increase to 26% by 2019-2020, 29% by 2022-2023, and 31% by 2024-2025.

Southeastern has implemented a number of initiatives to help students succeed and lessen the likelihood of their being placed on academic probation or suspension. Data from Southeastern and across the nation indicate that first-time full-time freshmen who successfully complete their first year are more likely to graduate. Thus, the University is working to help students develop strategies to prevent being placed on academic probation at the end of their first semester and on academic suspension at the end of their second semester. The second semester is the first time a student may be suspended for failure to maintain the required grade point average.

Southeastern expects to decrease the percentage of freshman cohort students on academic probation at the end of their first semester to 20% by 2019-2020, 18% by 2022-2023, and 17.5% by 2024-2025.

The University expects to decrease the percentage of freshman cohort students on academic suspension at the end of their second semester to 11% by 2019-2020, 10.5% by 2022-2023, and 10% by 2024 – 2025.

*Grading accommodations were implemented in Spring 2020 due to the mid-semester interruption to course format caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on those accommodations, academic standing could not be negatively impacted.

Southeastern uses the traditional, nationally-recognized six-year Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Graduation Rates measure as one means of assessing student achievement. The six-year IPEDS graduation rate is a federal reporting standard. The IPEDS graduation rate is the percentage of first-time full-time degree-seeking freshmen who graduate within six years of their initial summer or fall semester of full-time coursework at a university. Students taking 12 credit hours or more in a semester are considered full-time.

For example, Southeastern’s IPEDS graduation rate reported in the 2019-2020 academic year includes data from students who began their baccalaureate studies as first-time full-time students at Southeastern in Fall 2013 or the prior summer. Those students are referred to as the 2013 freshman cohort. The IPEDS graduation rate covers the time frame from summer/fall 2013 through the 2018-2019 academic year. The IPEDS graduation rates reported in 2019-2020 (2013 cohort) does not include students who began as first-time full-time students during any other semester or term, or who transferred to Southeastern from another college or university, or who began Southeastern as a part-time student.

Southeastern’s goal is to increase its six-year IPEDS graduation rate to 42% (or a 3-year average of 42%) by the 2020-2021 reporting year of the 2014 cohort (2019-2020 = sixth academic year), 42.5% (or a 3-year average of 42.5%) by the 2023-2024 reporting year of the 2017 cohort (2022-2023 = sixth academic year), and 43% by the 2025-2026 reporting year of the 2019 cohort (2024-2025 = sixth academic year).

Although Southeastern did not meet its IPEDS graduation rate goal for the 2014 cohort, the University is optimistic about meeting the goal for the 2017 through 2019 cohorts given their performance on the measures of undergraduate progress towards graduation presented earlier. The University is especially optimistic regarding the 2019 cohort given the number of different measures on which that cohort exceeded goals, including first-to-second year retention rates, completion of the first academic year with at least 30 credit hours and a GPA of at least 2.3, and the percentage on academic probation at the end of their first semester.

The IPEDS cohort graduation rate is an important measure of student success in that it is the standard measure for reporting data at the federal level. However, those data are limited to students who began their baccalaureate studies as a full-time degree-seeking student in a fall semester at Southeastern. In contrast, the total number of degrees awarded as a measure of student achievement includes all students. To help achieve its mission, Southeastern seeks to increase the number of baccalaureate and master’s degrees we award relative to the number awarded in 2017 – 2018.

Southeastern has set goals of awarding 1,826 baccalaureate degrees in 2019 – 2020, between 1,826 and 1,900 in 2020 – 2021 and in 2021 – 2022, 1,900 in 2022 – 2023, between 1,900 and 1,950 in 2023 – 2024, and 1,950 in 2024 – 2025.

Southeastern has only met this goal once and continues to monitor our numbers and implement strategies that we think will increase our numbers. Nationally, there has been a decrease in enrollment and completion, so we may need to consider revising our goals.

Southeastern has set goals of awarding 271 master’s degrees in 2019 – 2020, between 271 and 300 in 2020 – 2021 and 2021 – 2022, 300 in 2022 – 2023, between 300 and 325 in 2023 – 2024, and 325 in 2024 – 2025.

Some professions require passage of a licensure or certification exam in addition to a degree. Some of Southeastern’s professional degree programs use state and/or national exams for entry into the major. For others, discipline-specific accrediting agencies require minimum passage rates among the program’s graduates.

Southeastern students have historically performed well on professional licensure and certification exams. The University’s goal is to maintain its high passage rates and document that those rates are at or above the national pass rate. Please note that there are variable lag times between when students take an exam and when the institutional and/or national pass rates are available, depending on the particular exam.

The following data are presented by either calendar year or academic year, depending on how the national rates are calculated.

(Master’s degree program in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner concentration)

(Bachelor’s degree program in Nursing)

(Bachelor’s degree program in Athletic Training)

*To improve Southeastern’s pass rate on the BOC exam, Athletic Training faculty are developing collaborative study sessions for Athletic Training seniors.

(Passage required for entry into a K-12 Teacher Education major)