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Student Success Rates
The Department of Media & Journalism is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. As a nationally-accredited program, student success is closely monitored. Both retention and graduation rates are good indicators of student satisfaction.
Public Accountability: Student Success Rates
Retention
Retention rates show the percentage of students who remain at an institution or in a major after they begin coursework.
| 1st Year | 2nd Year | 3rd Year | ||||
| Entering | USD | Department | USD | Department | USD | Department |
| Fall 2014 | 73.8% | 83.8% | 65.6% | 84.4% | 64.3% | 58.3% |
| Fall 2015 | 74.6% | 80.0% | 67.4% | 81.6% | 45.6% | 70.8% |
| Fall 2016 | 72.4% | 79.4% | 57.6% | 84.0% | 56.6% | 71.0% |
| Fall 2017 | 74.4% | 88.9% | 67.5% | 72.7% | 59.7% | 66.7% |
| Fall 2018 | 77.7% | 87.1% | 68.4% | 74.2% | - | - |
| Fall 2019 | 80.5% | 85.7% | - | - | - | - |
Graduation
Graduation rates reflect a commitment to ensuring that students successfully complete their degrees. The graduation rate is calculated by dividing the number of graduating students by the number of students in a cohort. The media and journalism percentages include journalism and strategic communication majors.
| 3rd Year | 4th Year | 5th Year | 6th Year | |||||
| USD | Department | USD | Department | USD | Department | USD | Department | |
| Fall 2012 | 2.5% | 5.9% | 40.0% | 55.9% | 54.1% | 64.7% | 57.6% | 67.6% |
| Fall 2013 | 2.5% | 5.0% | 41.6% | 50.0% | 56.5% | 60.0% | 58.8% | 65.0% |
| Fall 2014 | 2.8% | 3.8% | 42.9% | 46.2% | 56.5% | 57.7% | 59.6% | 61.5% |
| Fall 2015 | 3.4% | 8.0% | 42.9% | 57.1% | 64.0% | - | - | - |
| Fall 2016 | 4.1% | 6.5% | 44.3% | 45.2% | - | - | - | - |