SMU Student Achievement

SMU assesses student achievement in alignment with its mission, using a variety of measures to evaluate student success.

 Student Success

 Graduation Rates

SMU uses the IPEDS six-year graduation rate as a key measure of student success because it reflects how effectively first-time, first-year students achieve their educational goals by earning a bachelor’s degree.

 Retention Rates

For 4-year institutions, retention rate is the percentage of first-time bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree-seeking undergraduates from the previous fall who are again enrolled in the current fall.

Post Graduation Outcomes

Career outcomes for graduates are an important measure of post-graduation student success. While these outcomes do not capture the entirety of what students learn or gain from a university education, they do tell a compelling story about how students leverage their knowledge and experience once they leave the institution. At SMU, we take career outcomes very seriously, and employ multiple measures to assess student post-graduation outcomes and success.

Positive student outcomes are defined as students who are either employed, engaged in military or volunteer service, or continuing education 6 months after graduation.