SECTION 8: Student Achievement

8.1 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT [CR]

The institution identifies, evaluates, and publishes goals and outcomes for student achievement appropriate to the institution’s mission, the nature of the students it serves, and the kinds of programs offered. The institution uses multiple measures to document student success.

JUDGEMENT

Compliance Non-Compliance Partial Compliance

NARRATIVE

The university’s student achievement goals are aligned with its mission.

Mission Statement. North Carolina A&T State University advances knowledge through scholarly exchange and transforms society with exceptional teaching, learning, discovery and community engagement. An 1890 land-grant doctoral research institution with a distinction in STEM and commitment to excellence in all disciplines, North Carolina A&T creates innovative solutions that address the challenges and economic needs of North Carolina, the nation and the world.

The institution is in compliance with this core requirement because its student achievement goals and outcomes are clearly identified in its strategic plans—Preeminence 2020 (former) and Preeminence 2023 (current since Fall 2018), which are published online and in print. And, each year the university scorecard is included in its annual report, called The Executive Summary. The most recent—the 2019 Executive Summary—is linked here. Retention and graduation data are also published in the university’s online Fact Book.

Preeminence 2020, which was adopted in August 2011, included a focus on recruiting and retaining “gifted students by providing an academically challenging environment,” pg. 6. Since 2011, the academic profile of incoming freshmen has improved. The average high school GPA has increased from 3.20 in Fall 2011 to 3.53 in Fall 2019. The average SAT score has increased from 909 in Fall 2011 to 1,045 in Fall 2019. Table 8.1-i details freshmen profile.

Table 8.1-i: Freshmen Profile

College	2011		2019
College	Avg. HS GPA	Avg. SAT Score	Avg. HS GPA	Avg. SAT Score
Center for Academic Excellence	2.87	849	3.37	988
College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences	3.21	878	3.49	1022
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences	3.14	886	3.47	1025
College of Business & Economics	3.25	896	3.48	1030
College of Education	3.28	897	3.54	1029
College of Engineering	3.50	909	3.85	1184
College of Health & Human Sciences	3.13	928	3.50	1022
College of Science & Technology	3.18	1031	3.50	1056
University	3.20	909	3.53	1045

Additionally, since our last reaffirmation, N.C. A&T State University’s student enrollment has increased from 10,795 students in Fall 2010 to 12,556 students in Fall 2019. This represents a 16.3 percent increase over the last 9 years. Table 8.1--ii provides student enrollment data for the university for the last three years. Overall growth is 3.4 percent from AY 18-19 to AY 19-20, with undergraduate enrollment growing by 3.9 percent and graduate enrollment by .3 percent. Undergraduate online enrollment declined by 1.5 percent, but graduate online enrollment grew by 15.5 percent.

Table 8.1-ii: Achievement of Enrollment Data

Enrollment	Benchmark Data (2010)			Targets**	Actual Fall Enrollment Data			Change from F-18 to F-19
Enrollment	N.C. A&T	UNC Peers*	BoG Peers*	Fall 2019	2017	2018	2019	No. Dif.	% Dif.
*Total*	10,795	23,872	14,055	12,515	11,877	12,142	12,556	414	3.4%
*Undergraduate*	9,151	18,786	11,239	10,653	10,341	10,629	11,039	410	3.9%
Online**	-	-	-	427	368	409	403	-6	-1.5%
New Transfers	419	1,759	1,003	954	822	817	795	-22	-2.7%
Rural (In-State)***	-2490			2,551	2,356	2,514	2,626	112	4.5%
Low-Income (Pell, In-State)***	-4758	-	-	4,866	5,162	4,683	4795	112	2.4%
Graduate	1,644	5,086	2,816	1,860	1,536	1,513	1517	4	0.3%
Online***	-	-	-	255	167	194	224	30	15.5%

Source: Institutional Research Data, based on IPEDS Submissions

*Represents average for the institutions. List of institutions in each peer group is provided.

**Targets based on Preeminence 2023—Strategic Plan

***Added to metric in the in Preeminence 2023 Strategic Plan; not included in Preeminence 2020.

Building on the success of the student achievement initiatives from Preeminence 2020, the refreshed strategic plan, Preeminence 2023 continued to emphasized student success, but included additional elements—online enrollment, as well as enrollment of rural and low-income students.

STUDENT SUCCESS

The university has multiple measures of student success including retention rates, graduation rates, and placement rates. Each is briefly discussed below. For the purposes of this report, the benchmark data for the fall 2010 are being used as are the targets established in Preeminence 2020 (the strategic plan) as this report covers only two years of the current strategic plan (Preeminence 2023). In cases where the metrics were not included in the Preeminence 2020 plan, the Office of Institutional Research was asked to provide the 2010 data from the university’s archived IPEDS data. These include data for STEM, low-income and rural students.

Retention Rates. One of the university’s main student success metrics is first-year student retention rate. And North Carolina A&T State University has set its performance target at 85 percent, for first-time full-time freshman cohorts. This goal was set 2010, based on historical data available the institution’s performance and the performance of its two peer groups—the UNC Peers and the Board of Governors Peers—list provided. The data are presented in Table 8.1-iii.

As shown in Table 8.1-iii, the university’s retention rates fluctuated somewhat over the years, but generally increased from the benchmark rate of 72 percent to its current rate of 79.4 percent, but has not yet reached the goal of 85 perce3nt. Efforts to continually improve the retention rate have been ongoing for several years. In fall 2018, the institution developed a Student Success Strategies that includes working with vulnerable student groups, such as males, rural and socio-economically challenged students and students on probation. The university has also strengthened its Honors Program to serve the highly talented students. One specific strategy is the Male Mentoring Program and another is embedding professional advisors in each College.

Graduation Rates. The university selected the IPEDS “Traditional” Overall Graduation Rate as its main indicator of student completion and student success. Table 8.1-iii also presents the institution’s graduation rates. The benchmark being used is the 2010 graduation rates, published in Preeminence 2020 Strategic Plan. Comparable data are included for the university’s UNC Peer institutions and its Board of Governors (BOG) Peer institutions. The target set for the institution considered its historical data, the performance of its UNC and BOG Peers, and the fact that it desires to set stretch goals.

Performance data are provided here for the last five years (Fall 2015 to Fall 2019), and data for Fall 2011 to Fall 2019 are provided as a linked document. Disaggregated data are provided for male and female students, STEM students, rural students, and PELL- eligible in-state students. Bold text denotes target that have been met. As the university achieves its goals, they are revised and updated as evidenced by its two strategic plans in the last 10 years. Table 8.1.iii presents a basic summary of the university’s performance on the student success indicators for the most recent five-year period—fall 2015 to spring 2020. Data for nine years, going back to 2011 are also linked here.

Placement Rates. In addition to retention and graduation rates, the university considers placement rates to be a strong indicator of student success. While the institution has had a fully functioning Career and Placement Center for many years, reporting of placement data was not including on the scorecard for Preeminence 2020, but was added for Preeminence 2023. It should be noted that the very low placement rates in earlier years was more a factor of response to the placement survey than it was of employment. With more effective ways of gather the placement data, the Office of Career Services has been able to verify the placement of much larger percentages of students. The placement data are included in Table 8.1-iii. The data are for placements in jobs, the military, or graduate education up to 90 days after spring graduation. It is not surprising that students who graduate in four years have higher placement rates.

Table 8.1-iii: Performance Relative to Student Success Indicators (Preeminence-2020 Targets)

STUDENT SUCCESS	N.C. A&T	BOG PEERS	UNC PEERS	N.C. A&T GOAL 2020	PERFORMANCE
Metrics	Benchmark 2010	MEAN (2010)	MEAN (2010)	N.C. A&T GOAL 2020	Fall 2015	Fall 2016	Fall 2017	Fall 2018	Fall 2019
First-Year Retention Rate	72%	73.9%	78.6%	85%	74.7%	75.2%	78.6%	77.0%	79.4%
STEM	79.0%	-	-	-	79.1%	77.6%	79.6%	78.9%	81.4%
Males	70.0%	-	-	-	70.6%	70.7%	76.2%	73.3%	76.0%
Females	74.3%	-	-	-	78.0%	78.6%	80.3%	79.5%	81.6%
Rural	67.0%	-	-	-	71.5%	73.7%	76.3%	75.2%	72.1%
PELL-Eligible (In-state)	69.9%	-	-	-	71.7%	73.4%	76.0%	72.5%	74.4%
Graduation Rates					Spring 2016	Spring 2017	Spring 2018	Spring 2019	Spring 2020
Four-Year Graduation Rate	16.4%	18.9%	28.4%	35%	25.8%	24.7%	26.0%	28.7%	33.8%
STEM	13.6%	-	-	-	25.4%	21.6%	21.9%	22.2%	28.7%
Males	8.4%	-	-	-	16.4%	18.6%	16.8%	18.9%	23.2%
Females	23.5%	-	-	-	32.4%	29.5%	33.2%	36.3%	41.5%
Rural	12.4%	-	-	-	23.0%	19.8%	24.7%	22.7%	31.3%
PELL-Eligible (In-state)	16.4%	-	-	-	21.9%	20.8%	22.3%	23.2%	29.2%
Five-Year Graduation Rate	35.4%	-	-	45.5%	37.8%	45.9%	45.3%	45.6%	47.6%
STEM	35.9%	-	-	-	40.7%	48.1%	44.5%	49.3%	43.3%
Males	27.9%	-	-	-	31.2%	35.5%	38.8%	37.4%	37.6%
Females	43.2%	-	-	-	43.1%	53.2%	50.5%	52.2%	55.4%
Rural	29.9%	-	-	-	31.4%	42.9%	37.9%	43.0%	41.8%
PELL-Eligible (In-state)	36.1%	-	-	-	30.7%	41.8%	40.8%	40.9%	42.4%
Six-Year Graduation Rate	38.0%	44.4%	54.9%	55.0%	44%	43.33%	53.06%	51.00	53.4
STEM	45.2%	-	-	-	44.1%	44.3%	53.1%	51.0%	50.0%
Males	34.4%	-	-	-	50.0%	48.9%	58.4%	55.6%	57.3%
Females	49.5%	-	-	-	37.5%	38.7%	46.0%	45.3%	45.0%
Rural	36.9%	-	-	-	43.4%	37.4%	49.1%	45.1%	49.0%
PELL-Eligible (In-state)		-	-	-	42.0%	38.0%	50.4%	47.9%	48.4%
Placement Rates	-	-	-	70%*	Spring 2016	Spring 2017	Spring 2018	Spring 2019	Spring 2020
Graduated in 4 years	-	-	-	-	3.4%	21.8%	42.2%	39.5%	75.0%
Graduate in 5 years	-	-	-	-	13.5%	6.4%	24.2%	32.3%	54.9%
Graduate in 6 years	-	-	-	-	4.9%	12.7%	8.6%	21.8%	37.5%

Source: Institutional Research Data, based on IPEDS submissions.

*70% employed, in graduate programs or in the military by 90 days after spring commencement.

Each year the university also monitors the professional licenses earned by students in the areas of teaching and nursing, two professions that require licenses to obtain appropriate employment. Table 8.1-iv presents a summary of licenses earned and pass rates for the period fall 2015 to spring 2020.

Table 8.1-iii: Performance on Licensure Exams

Licensing Exam	Candidates Tested	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020
ETS Praxis II	Undergraduate Completers	9/9 (100%)	21/21 (100%)	20/20 (100%)	22/23 (100%)	*
	MAT Completers	13/13 (100%)	18/18 (100%)	26/26 (100%)	20/22 (91%)	*
NCLEX Test	Undergraduates	23/25 (92%)	9/10 (90%)	21/24 (88%)	33/34 (97%)	30/34 (88%)

*Data not yet available

North Carolina A&T State University identifies, evaluates, and publishes goals and outcomes for student achievement, appropriate to its mission, its students, and it programs. And, the university has demonstrated that it uses multiple methods to identify, evaluate, document and publish student success. The primary method of sharing student achievement data at N. C. A&T are the university’s scorecards, published each year, for the year just passed. The scorecards are a part of the university’s annual report, called Executive Summary (the last six listed in the bottom right of the document). These reports are posted online for 2014 to 2019 and are also available in print.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

1. Strategic Plans

a. Preeminence 2020

b. Preeminence 2023

2. 2019 Executive Summary

3. University Scorecards

a. 2017-18

b. 2018-19

4. University Scorecard Showing Performance Data for Board of Governors and UNC Peers (2014)