Still enrolled is the Outcome Measures status for students who have not yet received an award but remain enrolled at the institution at the end of the tracking window.
How it works
At the four-, six-, and eight-year marks the institution determines which members of each Outcome Measures cohort have received an award, which are still enrolled, and which are neither. The still-enrolled count is submitted to IPEDS. Analysts add the still-enrolled percentage to the award percentage to estimate the share of the cohort that has either finished or remains active. Public data tools display the figures separately.
Example: of a part-time first-time cohort, 30 percent have received an award by year eight and 15 percent are still enrolled. The combined 45 percent indicates greater ongoing engagement than the award rate alone suggests.
How it differs
Graduation rate counts only completers. Persistence rate measures short-term continuation. Stop-out rate focuses on those who left and returned. Still enrolled is a point-in-time status at the end of a multi-year federal window for students who have neither completed nor left.
Common errors
Interpreting a low graduation rate as total failure without checking the still-enrolled share. Assuming still-enrolled students have the same completion probability as new students. Confusing still enrolled at the reporting institution with enrollment at a different institution.
References
- 1. IPEDS Outcome Measures still-enrolled statusStudents enrolled at the eight-year mark
- 2. Interpretation of completion dataContext for non-completers
Still enrolled is the Outcome Measures status for students who have not yet received an award but remain enrolled at the institution at the end of the tracking window.