Staff
Leslie Weinsheim
Director-Institutional Research, Planning & Development
Institutional Research
Benchmarking
Bench-marking is a process where college performance is measured and compared using many indicators in order to assess effectiveness and promote student success.
The U.S. Department of Education-National Center for Education Statistics maintains IPEDS (Integrated Post-Secondary Data Collection System), which collects data from colleges through a series of surveys each academic year and this data is then used in a variety of ways. The primary way the data is used is by providing interested parties the ability to make more informed choices about college by comparing data in areas like cost, size, location and demographics.
Another way this data can be used is for bench-marking which allows colleges to create a comparison group of similar colleges in order to benchmark in several achievement areas including retention and graduation.
The comparison group for Northeastern is made up of 13 community colleges throughout Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. This group was selected by the college president and institutional research based on demographics that were similar between the colleges.
The first three tables show the overall demographic comparisons between Northeastern and the comparison group for all students. The remaining tables show comparisons for degrees awarded and retention and graduation rates.
The U.S. Department of Education-National Center for Education Statistics maintains IPEDS (Integrated Post-Secondary Data Collection System), which collects data from colleges through a series of surveys each academic year and this data is then used in a variety of ways. The primary way the data is used is by providing interested parties the ability to make more informed choices about college by comparing data in areas like cost, size, location and demographics.
Another way this data can be used is for bench-marking which allows colleges to create a comparison group of similar colleges in order to benchmark in several achievement areas including retention and graduation.
The comparison group for Northeastern is made up of 13 community colleges throughout Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. This group was selected by the college president and institutional research based on demographics that were similar between the colleges.
The first three tables show the overall demographic comparisons between Northeastern and the comparison group for all students. The remaining tables show comparisons for degrees awarded and retention and graduation rates.
Source: U.S. Department of Education National Center of Education Statistics
NOTE: The totals do not always add up to 100% in the comparison group due to the methodologies used to calculate the median range.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
| Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 1% | 1% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 1% |
| Asian | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Black or African American | 3% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 3% |
| Hispanic | 13% | 9% | 14% | 9% | 18% | 10% | 17% | 9% |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| White Non-Hispanic | 70% | 64% | 71% | 65% | 68% | 63% | 72% | 61% |
| Two or More Races | 3% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 3% | 2% |
| Unknown Race/ Ethnicity | 5% | 3% | 5% | 3% | 3% | 4% | 2% | 2% |
| Non-Resident Alien (International) | 4% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 3% |
Northeastern has a higher percentage of Hispanic and White Non-Hispanic students than the comparison group.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
| Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | |
| Female | 55% | 59% | 57% | 59% | 55% | 60% | 59% | 61% |
The comparison group has a higher percentage of females than Northeastern.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
| Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | |
| Unduplicated Headcount | 2,285 | 2,413 | 2,220 | 2,463 | 2,227 | 2,459 | 1,981 | 2,298 |
| FTE (full-time equivalent) | 1,250 | 1,169 | 1,150 | 1,180 | 1,104 | 1,092 | 991 | 1,053 |
| Full-Time Enrollment | 896 | 723 | 851 | 725 | 790 | 716 | 757 | 808 |
| Part-Time Enrollment | 651 | 977 | 641 | 921 | 600 | 982 | 1,224 | 1,480 |
Northeastern's headcount over the 12 month period is smaller than the comparison group. This is most likely due to the larger number of part-time enrollments of the comparison group.
Unduplicated headcount and FTE is measured for the academic year (summer, fall, and spring semesters combined), while full and part time enrollment is measured for the fall semester.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
| Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | |
| Associate's | 273 | 259 | 328 | 238 | 293 | 229 | 269 | 230 |
| Certificates (at least 1 yr but less than 2) | 54 | 65 | 59 | 69 | 68 | 64 | 84 | 55 |
| Certificates (less than 1 yr) | 347 | 75 | 307 | 48 | 319 | 68 | 177 | 47 |
Northeastern awards more Associate degrees than the comparison group and also awards far more certificates of less than one year. The large difference in certificates of less than one year may be due to what are known as stackable certificates that are awarded along with Associate of Applied Science degrees for Career and Technical programs at Northeastern.
| 2017-Fall 2016 Cohort | 2018-Fall 2017 Cohort | 2019-Fall 2018 Cohort | 2020-Fall 2019 Cohort | |||||
| Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | |
| Full-Time, First-Time Degree Seeking | 59% | 57% | 63% | 61% | 65% | 57% | 66% | 59% |
| Part-Time, First-Time Degree Seeking | 27% | 33% | 21% | 37% | 46% | 42% | 18% | 38% |
Northeastern has a higher retention percentage for full-time, first-time students than the comparison group. Retention rates are measured from the first fall enrollment to the following fall enrollment.
Cohort is defined as: All students that are new first time enrolled for the fall semester. Full and part time cohorts are tracked separately and only degree seeking students are counted.
| 2017-Fall 2014 Cohort | 2018-Fall 2015 Cohort | 2019-Fall 2016 Cohort | 2020-Fall 2017 Cohort | |||||
| Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | |
| Graduation Rate | 38% | 35% | 46% | 39% | 48% | 38% | 48% | 40% |
| Transfer Out Rate | 17% | 20% | 12% | 19% | 13% | 16% | 12% | 16% |
Northeastern has higher graduation rates and lower transfer out rates than the comparison group. Graduation rates are measured by tracking the cohort of full-time, first-time degree seeking students during the three year period beginning with the first fall enrollment to completion of program. This three year period is also known as 150% time to completion and is the standard used by the U.S. Department of Education.
| 2017-Fall 2014 Cohort | 2018-Fall 2015 Cohort | 2019-Fall 2016 Cohort | 2020-Fall 2017 Cohort | |||||
| Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 33% | 40% | 33% | 12% | 20% | 17% | 25% | 50% |
| Asian | 100% | 29% | 100% | 25% | 80% | 33% | 100% | 15% |
| Black or African American | 6% | 22% | 17% | 30% | 19% | 24% | 35% | 27% |
| Hispanic | 29% | 35% | 31% | 29% | 26% | 34% | 24% | 33% |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 50% | 0% | 17% | 50% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| White Non-Hispanic | 47% | 38% | 53% | 41% | 58% | 42% | 57% | 45% |
| Two or More Races | 38% | 30% | 13% | 28% | 28% | 21% | 20% | 33% |
| Unknown Race/ Ethnicity | 43% | 37% | 54% | 33% | 67% | 47% | 36% | 28% |
| Non-Resident Alien (International) | 50% | 37% | 50% | 45% | 38% | 43% | 36% | 53% |
For 2017-2019, Northeastern has lower graduation rates for Black and Hispanic students than the comparison group. For 2020, graduation rates for Black students has increased and is higher than the comparison group.
| 2017-Fall 2014 Cohort | 2018-Fall 2015 Cohort | 2019-Fall 2016 Cohort | 2020-Fall 2017 Cohort | |||||
| Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | Northeastern | Comparison Grp | |
| PELL Grant Recipients | 34% | 29% | 32% | 33% | 41% | 32% | 39% | 37% |
| Subsidized Stafford Loan (did not receive PELL) | 51% | 33% | 48% | 38% | 47% | 36% | 53% | 37% |
| Neither PELL nor Stafford | 40% | 41% | 60% | 42% | 55% | 46% | 56% | 41% |
Northeastern has higher graduation rates for PELL grant recipients than the comparison group for three of the four years. Northeastern has higher graduation rates for Stafford loan recipients than for the comparison group.