Student Outcomes
Measures of Student Success
Mary Baldwin University uses a variety of indicators to evaluate student achievement. These include retention and persistence tracking for undergraduate and graduate students as well as passage rates on professional licensing examinations.
Mary Baldwin’s mission is to empower inclusive leaders to create lives of purpose and professional success in our changing world. Using this data to evaluate student achievement aligns with that mission. Continuous evaluation of student achievement data informs and supports the university’s goals.
KSCI- IPEDS 8-year Graduation Rate
Mary Baldwin University uses this measure as a way to track our strategic efforts toward undergraduate student persistence. Our target is to reach or exceed the level of the IPEDS pre-determined set of comparison schools, without falling below our previous year’s outcome. IPEDS or Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System provides a nationally standardized data collection tool by which institutions can extract individual and comparison data.
2021-2022 (2013-14 cohort) | 2022-2023 (2014-15 cohort) | |
| MBU Graduation Rate | 38%* | 46% |
| IPEDS Comparison Group | 52% | 53% |
| MBU’s Previous Year Rate | 50% | 50% |
*Inconsistency in reporting: IPEDS showed no change for the six- and -eight-year averages and
figures do not align with other 2021-22 IPEDS reporting; therefore, the previous year rate for 2022-23
was maintained at 2021-22 rate.
KSCI- IPEDS 8-year Graduation Rate by those students receiving Pell Grants
Mary Baldwin University serves a high number of Pell eligible and underserved populations. MBU strongly emphasizes social mobility, the ability to move students from marginalized populations to lives of professional success. Using the IPEDS 8-year Graduation Rate disaggregated by those who received Pell grants, allows us to see how these students are doing. The target, again, is to be at or above the IPEDS pre-determined set of comparison schools, while not falling below our previous year’s rate.
2021-2022 (2013-14 cohort) | 2022-2023 (2014-15 cohort) | |
| MBU Graduation Rate -Pell Eligible | 43% | 43% |
| IPEDS Comparison Group | 48% | 51% |
| MBU’s Previous Year Rate | 43% | 43% |
Undergraduate Retention Rate – IPEDS Retention Rates of First-Time, Full-Time bachelor’s degree-seeking students
In addition to serving a high percentage of PELL-eligible students, Mary Baldwin proudly hosts a high percentage of first-generation students. First to second year retention analysis is therefore critical in guiding MBU’s investment of resources in helping students persist. The target is to be at or above the IPEDS pre-determined set of comparison schools, while not falling below MBU’s previous year’s rate.
2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | |
| MBU Graduation Rate -Pell Eligible | 64% | 64% |
| IPEDS Comparison Group | 75% | 69% |
| MBU’s Previous Year Rate | 63% | 64% |
Undergraduate Retention Rate – First-time, Full-time Residential By Gender
Mary Baldwin University began accepting residential male students in 2017, graduating its first cohort in 2021. Mary Baldwin remains predominantly an institution that serves female-identifying students, though the population of male-identifying undergraduate residential students is increasing: Female/Male ratio 75/25 (2020-21); 76/24 (2021-22); 63/37 (2022-23). The target is for male students to persist at rates at or above female students, and we used a 3-year moving average of the female retention rate as the threshold.
2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | |
| MBU Retention Rate -Male students | 60% | 54% |
| MBU Retention Rate- Female students | 64% | 67% |
| MBU’s 3-yr Moving Average: Female students | 64% | 61% |
Graduate and Professional Program Licensure and Certification Exams
Mary Baldwin University offers master’s and doctoral programs that range from health and education disciplines to business and the arts. Many of these programs lead to professional licensure, a key indicator for student and institutional success.
| MDCHS Board Exam Passage Rates | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | |
| OTD -Occupational Therapy: NBCOT Exam | |||
| MBU Rate | 100% | 100% | Goal of 100% passage rate and the national average as a threshold. |
| National Average | 96% | 95% | |
| DPT -Physical Therapy: NPTE Exam | |||
| MBU Rate | 100% | 100% | Goal of 100% ultimate passage rate and the national average as a threshold. |
| National Average | 98% | 95% | |
| MSPA -Physician Assistant: PANCE Exam | |||
| MBU Rate | 96% | 97% | Goal of first-time taker passage rate above the national average and the national average as the threshold. |
| National Average | 92% | 92% |