Northwest College continues to shepherd more students than the state average to graduation each year thanks to a variety of programs its put in place.

Of NWC’s 281 first-time, full-time, degree or certificate-seeking students starting in Fall 2019, 42% graduated within three years (state average: 38%), according to a report from college data specialist Lisa Smith, who spoke to the board in March at its annual Cody meeting.

Completion has been a national focus, she said in her report, so rates are increasing across the country.

The college has instituted a number of retention and completion efforts over the past decade, such as first-year seminars, co-requisite math and English courses, course maps for student program completion, a dedicated academic and career adviser, and the HELP alert system, which, she said, “have helped NWC students graduate in increasing rates over the past decade.”

Smith said by combining completion and transfer rates, for the most recent six cohorts, 56%-60% of students completed or transferred within three years of starting at NWC. She noted that as larger percentages of students have graduated within three years, smaller percentages of students have transferred without a degree.

President Lisa Watson said while some national education stories recently have focused on lower numbers of students transferring from community colleges to four year universities, she said NWC’s higher rate is similar to the other state colleges.

“I would argue in Wyoming that is not true,” she said. “We’d love to see better, but we could do a lot worse.”