Fate Data

The data represented in these dashboards are referred to as the Fate Data. It presents the enrollment status of a group of undergraduate students for a given fall semester (10th Day) one year later in the following fall semester. This is not a cohort analysis that follows one set of students over several years.

The Fate model helps to answer the question:

“For students in a given fall semester, in a given college, department, and major, where were they one year later?”Fate Model

Note: The Fate data does not report the university retention rate. Our official retention rate definition is limited to first-time, full-time students whereas Fate data includes all enrolled degree-seeking students.

There are three aggregate-level “fates” – graduated, retained, and not enrolled – and nine more granular “fates” as follows:

• Graduated (includes in major; in other major, same department; in other major, same college; in other major, different college)
• Retained (includes in same major; switched major, same department; switched department, same college; switched college)
• Not Enrolled

Students with multiple majors in different departments will also be counted in the different departments. A student who was a double major, who only dropped one major, will be considered switched within that college, department, and plan (e.g., a student who is a double major in Art and Accountancy and dropped their Accountancy major will be considered a switched major within Art).

Department, college, and university totals are unduplicated with order of preference for students with multiple statuses at that level given to the higher Fates. In a similar fashion, in the rare case when a student ends up with multiple Fates from one Fall to the next, the student is classified according to the highest Fate.

The user is advised to consider the varied structure and composition of departments (the number of programs they have, whether they have limited enrollment or competitive admission, etc.) when reviewing this data to avoid making inappropriate comparisons.