The rate of students completing college within six years of first enrolling has been declining in recent years, according to a report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
The report found a national completion rate of 52.9 percent for student who enrolled fall 2009. That was down 2.1 percentage points compared to the 2008 cohort of students.
The report attributes the decline in part to the Great Recession, which drove more students to college. Despite the lower rate, the total number of 2009 cohort graduates produced six years later still increased by about 71,000 students over 2008, according to the report.
Meanwhile, UGA’s six-year graduation has been on the rise, up now to 85.3 percent.
