Accreditation

As a Hispanic serving institution with a high proportion of students at or below the poverty line, Miami Dade College (MDC) seeks to apply student achievement measures to close the equity, racial, and gender gaps in educational attainment for minority students. Taken together, the five student achievement indicators selected represent a comprehensive measure of student success that MDC uses for monitoring its effectiveness:

• Graduation rate
• Success rate
• Retention rate
• Continuing education rate
• Job placement rate and earnings

Graduation Rate

The U.S. Department of Education graduation rates, reported through IPEDS, are calculated as the proportion of an incoming cohort of first-time students who start full-time in the fall term and who graduate within 150% of normal time to completion. MDC’s current IPEDS graduation rate (150% time) is 33%. The institutional goal is to continue to increase graduation rates for all undergraduate students, including students from historically underrepresented groups and low-income families.

Success Rate

Miami Dade College tracks success rates of undergraduate students as a measure of student achievement. The Florida Department of Education has developed a success rate metric that measures the proportion of an incoming cohort of first-time students who graduated, are still enrolled in good standing, or left an institution in good standing. Since Miami Dade College’s success rate is consistently higher than the success rate of the collective FCS institutions, the College uses its own trend data to set the threshold of acceptability and goal targets.

Retention Rate

Miami Dade College tracks fall-to-fall retention to determine student progression. Fall-to-fall retention rates are recognized as an industry standard and depict the students who continue enrollment in the subsequent academic year. MDC aspires to increase retention rates for all undergraduate students, including students from historically underrepresented groups and low-income families.

Continuing Education Rate

Miami Dade College monitors the continuing education rate of associate in arts (AA) degree completers as a measure of student achievement. Since the MDC continuing education rate is higher than the average of the Florida College System institutions, the College uses its own trend data to set the threshold of acceptability and goal targets.

Job Placement and Earnings

Miami Dade College monitors job placement rates for associate in science (AS) and baccalaureate degree completers as measures of student achievement. The general goal is to meet or exceed the placement rates of the College’s highest rates in the past five years.