Student Achievement & Success

The mission of Francis Marion University is to make available excellent educational programs for the people of the region and the state. Student achievement is a vital part of the mission of Francis Marion (FM), and to evaluate student success, the University uses student achievement data, including student retention and graduation rates, external program accreditation, pass rates on pre-licensure and licensure examinations, student and alumni satisfaction surveys, and where appropriate, job placement rates.

Evaluation of student achievement data supports the overall mission of the University, its priorities (as set forth in its strategic plan and annual accountability report), and its degree programs.

Freshmen Cohort Graduation Rates                  All Students                        Student-Athletes #

2012-13 Graduation Rate                                                     40%                                                 100%

Four-Class Average                                                                40%                                                  47%

Student-Athlete Academic Success Rate                                                                                      73%

Click Here to view the NCAA’s full report

 


The NCAA Graduation Rates Institution Report have been prepared by the NCAA, based on data provided by the institution in compliance with NCAA Bylaw 18.4.2.2.1 (admissions and graduation-rate disclosure) and the federal Student Right-to-Know Act.  Please note, the NCAA will make this report public.

The report gives graduation information about the most recent six-year graduating class of students and student-athletes who entered as freshmen in 2012-13.  The graduation rate (percent) is based on a comparison of the number (N) of students who entered a college or university and the number of those who graduated within six years.  For example, if 100 students entered and 60 graduated within six years, the graduation rate is 60 percent.

The Graduation Rates Institution Report provides information about two groups of students:

  1. All Students. All undergraduate students who were enrolled in a full-time program of studies for a baccalaureate degree; and
  2. Student-Athletes. Student-athletes who received athletics aid from the school for any period of time during their entering year.  [Note:  Athletics aid is a grant, scholarship, tuition waiver or other assistance from a college or university that is awarded on the basis of a student’s athletics ability.]

Two different measures of graduation rates are presented in this report:  Federal Graduation Rate and NCAA Division II Academic Success Rate (ASR).  The Federal Graduation Rate indicates the percentage of freshmen who entered and received athletics aid during a given academic year who graduated within six years.  The ASR adds to the first-time freshmen, those students who entered midyear, first-time freshmen who did not receive athletics aid but participated in athletics, and student-athletes who transferred into an institution and participated in athletics.  Both the Federal Graduation Rate and the ASR subtracts students from the entering cohort who are considered allowable exclusions (i.e., those who either die or become permanently disabled, those who leave the school to join the armed forces, foreign services or attend a religious mission).  In addition, the ASR subtracts those who left the institution prior to graduation, had athletics eligibility remaining and would have been academically eligible to compete had they returned to the institution.

The box at the top of the Graduation Rates Institution Report provides the most recent class (i.e., 2012-13) and four-class (i.e., 2009-10 through 2012-13) Federal Graduation Rate for all students and for student-athletes who received athletics aid at this school.  Additionally, this box provides the ASR data for the last four classes (i.e., 2009-10 through 2012-13) of student-athletes.

1. Graduation-Rates Data. The second section of the report provides Federal Graduation Rate and ASR data for all students, student-athletes and student-athletes by sport group. (Note:  Pursuant to the Student Right-to-Know Act, when a cell containing cohort numbers includes only one or two students, the data in that cell and one other will be suppressed so that no individual can be identified.)

a. All Students.  This section provides the freshman-cohort graduation rates for all fulltime, degree-seeking students by race or ethnic group.  It shows the rate for men who entered as freshmen in 2012-13 and the four-class average, which includes those who entered as freshmen in 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13.  The same rates are provided for women.  The total for 2012-13 is the rate for men and women combined and the four-class average is for all students who entered in 2009-10, 201011, 2011-12 and 2012-13.

b. Student-Athletes.  This section provides the 2012-13 and four-class freshman-cohort graduation rates and the four-class ASR for student-athletes in each race and ethnic group who either received athletics aid or participated in athletics their initial year at the institution.  Information is provided for men and women separately and for all student-athletes.

c. Student-Athletes by Sports Categories.  This section provides the identified graduation rates as in 1-b for each of the eight sports categories.  (The small letters indicate the value of N according to the legend at the bottom of 1-c.)

 

2. Undergraduate-Enrollment Data.

a. All Students.  This section indicates the total number of full-time, undergraduate baccalaureate degree-seeking students enrolled for the 2018 fall term and the number of men and women in each racial or ethnic group (not just freshmen).

b. Student-Athletes.  This section identifies how many student-athletes were enrolled and received athletics aid for the 2018-19 academic year, and the number of men and women in each racial or ethnic group.

c. Student-Athletes by Sports Categories.  This section provides the enrollment data as identified in 2-b for each of the eight sports categories.

Francis Marion’s Office of Institutional Research collects data on completion of state licensing examinations. These data are presented annually in the Annual Accountability Report which is submitted to the Office of the State (SC) Budget and are as follows:

  • The School of Education submits Praxis reports for students who have completed the exam. An average of 85% of FMU’s education students who took the Praxis II test in during the 2012-2013 academic year had a passing grade. There was a 100% passing rate on the following sections:
    • Art: Content Knowledge
    • Elementary Education: Content Area Exercises
    • English Language Literary Composition: Essays
    • Math: Content Knowledge
    • Middle School: Language Arts
    • Middle School: Mathematics
    • Middle School: Science
    • Middle School: Social Studies
  • From 2009-2012 the pass rates of graduates from the Francis Marion Nursing Program on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Licensing Exam (NCLEX) have exceeded the national and state averages. The pass rate for the examination within two attempts has been 100%.

Annual Pass Rates for Graduates of Registered Nursing Programs on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Licensing Exam (NCLEX):

Comparison for National , South Carolina, and FMU percentages

Graduating seniors take a Senior Exit Survey (77.6% response rate) which includes a question concerning post-graduation employment. Twenty two percent of the students who graduated in December 2013 indicated that they had been offered full-time employment. This value is consistent with the rates for previous semesters and data collected by the Career Development Office.

In a 2007 survey of alumni who graduated during the 2003-04 academic year, the following percentages of alumni reported obtaining their first full-time employment within the indicated timeframe:

Chart for percentages of job placements

The high participation rate of regional employers in career fairs sponsored by the Career Development Office indicates that these employers find FM graduates to be qualified and motivated employees.

Chart for number of employers participating in career fairs