The University of Wisconsin’s new graduation rate has risen to an all-time high according to a press release.
The 2022-23 academic year boasted a 75.5% four-year graduation rate making it 0.4% higher than last year’s rate, according to the press release. The six-year graduation rate also increased by 0.1% to an all-time high of 89.3%. These figures are based on students who started at UW in the fall of 2019 and 2017, respectively.
The number of degrees granted also increased to 12,407 from 12,000 last semester. This includes a record number of bachelor’s and master’s degrees at 8,094 and 2,840, respectively.
In the press release, Provost Charles Lee Isbell, Jr. credited the upward enrollment trend to the dedicated efforts of the admissions office, exceptional teaching by faculty and strong academic advising support across campus.
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The university also credits efforts including investments in student services UW Vice Provost for Data, Academic Planning and Institutional Research Allison La Tarte said.
“Investment in major and career advising for our students helps them stay enrolled and graduate on time,” La Tarte said. “I think it’s also important to note the strong dedication and hardworking students that we have here that contribute to the success on these metrics.”
Though the graduation rate is an institutional metric, the average time for a student to obtain a degree depends on their major, according to a five-year trend in average time-to-degree of different majors at the university. Generally, the majors that take longer than four years are those in the College of Engineering.
Compared to other public universities, UW’s graduation rate is one of the highest in the country. The university’s six-year graduation rate is among the top five in both the American Association of Universities and the Big Ten Conference, La Tarte said.
“For the most recent peer comparison we have — compared to our [Association of American Universities public peers — we were the sixth highest six-year graduation rates and compared to our Big 10 peer group, UW–Madison is the second highest,” said Tarte.
In the future, the university hopes to maintain a graduation rate within a close range of the current rate, La Tarte said. As long as UW can provide students support in academic advising and help them graduate on time, La Tarte believes it will have been a success.
