Persistence, Retention, and Attainment of 2011-12 First-Time Beginning Postsecondary Students as of Spring 2017. First Look. NCES 2019-401

This First Look report presents selected findings from the 2012/17 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:12/17), a nationally representative survey of undergraduates who entered postsecondary education for the first time in the 2011-12 academic year. BPS:12/17 covers the experiences of these first-time beginning postsecondary students over 6 academic years, 2011-12 through 2016-17, and provides information about students' demographic backgrounds; enrollment characteristics; transfer experiences; persistence in and completion of postsecondary education programs; transition into employment; and changes over time in their education and career goals, income level, and debt amount, among other indicators. This report provides a first look at students' persistence, retention, and attainment over 6 years, showing the rates at which students had completed postsecondary credentials, the rates at which they had persisted through or left postsecondary education without earning any credential as of spring 2017, and the rates at which they remained in the first institution in which they were enrolled. Both overall rates and rates disaggregated by key enrollment and student characteristics are shown in the tables. The purpose of this report is to illustrate the range of information available in BPS:12/17. The selected findings present examples of the estimates that can be obtained from the data and are not intended to emphasize any particular issue. Readers are cautioned not to make causal inferences about the data presented here. Many of the variables examined are related to one another, and complex interactions and relationships have not been explored.