Student Achievement

Eight-Year Graduation Rate (Student Achievement Measure-1):

Graduation rates are commonly measured at 150% of normal time (six years for a four-year baccalaureate degree), although it is increasingly common to measure graduation rates at 200% of normal time as well (eight years for a four-year baccalaureate degree). Graduation rates, while not a perfect measure, are important because they provide an insight into how many students are finishing their degrees in a timely manner once they enroll. Both rates for The Baptist College of Florida are reported below.

The 8-year graduation rate reported below is the IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) Outcome Measures 8-year Award Rate. This number represents a large cross-section of students who began their studies in a particular cohort year. This graduation rate tracks the progress of first-time, non-first-time, full-time, and part-time students who began their studies in a particular cohort year.

This rate is The Baptist College of Florida's selected SACSCOC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges) Key Student Completion Indicator or “KSCI.”

Eight-Year Graduation Rate for the 2020-2021 Academic Year:

(*Key Student Completion Indicator) The most current 8-year graduation rate (200% of normal time, based on the 2012 Freshman cohort) is 68%.

Six-Year Graduation Rate (Student Achievement Measure-2):

The Baptist College of Florida also tracks traditional six-year graduation rates reported through the IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System). This graduation rate tracks the progress of first-time, full-time, degree seeking students who began their studies in a particular cohort year.

Six-Year Graduation Rate for the 2020-2021 Academic Year:

The most current 6-year graduation rate (150% of normal time, based on the 2014 Freshman cohort) is 50%.

Freshman-to-Sophomore Retention Rates (Student Achievement Measure-3):

Another helpful measure of student success is the number of first-time, full-time freshmen students who returned for their second year of college. This measure is often called the "Fall-to-Fall" or "Freshman-to-Sophomore" retention rate. As with graduation rates, retention rates are not a perfect measure but do provide insight into how well students are identifying with their college environment and with the mission of the institution. Retention rates, of course, cannot reflect the reasons a student might not return for their sophomore year that are beyond the college's control.

Freshman-to-Sophomore Retention Rates for the 2020-2021 Academic Year:

The overall rate of Freshman to Sophomore retention (first-time Freshmen students who started in Fall 2019 and returned for their Sophomore year in Fall 2020) was 75%.

Senior Exit Interview Program Feedback Rates (Student Achievement Measure-4):

All graduating seniors at The Baptist College of Florida are interviewed before graduation and asked if they feel they have achieved the specific Program Student Learning Outcomes of their major degree. Program Student Learning Outcomes describe what a graduate of a particular academic program should be able to understand, know, or do once they graduate from an academic program.

For example, a graduate of the Bachelor of Arts in Ministry Studies degree program should be able to: 1) demonstrate a knowledge of the Bible and be able to provide contemporary application of that content for a preaching and teaching ministry, 2) demonstrate an understanding of Christian doctrine and be able to support that understanding through effective communication, and 3) apply the knowledge of biblical content and Christian doctrine in practical and pastoral ministry functions.

Senior Exit Interview Program Feedback Rates for the 2020-2021 Academic Year:

Seventeen of BCF's twenty-four academic degree programs were represented by the graduates of the 2020-2021 Academic Year. Ninety-one percent (91%) of responding students stated that their program of instruction at The Baptist College of Florida had fulfilled their academic program's stated Program Student Learning Outcomes.

Senior Exit Interview Job and Graduate School Readiness Feedback Rates (Student Achievement Measures-5 and 6):

All graduating seniors at The Baptist College of Florida are interviewed before graduation and asked if they believe they are ready for either the job market or further education.

Senior Exit Interview Job and Graduate School Readiness Feedback Rates for the 2020-2021 Academic Year:

Of the undergraduate students who completed their studies in the 2020-2021 Academic Year: 

• 93% reported being ready to enter the job market in their field.
• 93% reported readiness to continue their education in graduate school (this number includes a small number of students from Associate degree programs who desired to continue their education in a baccalaureate degree program).
• The total responses in these two categories exceeds 100% (and provides a 186% combined readiness rate) because many students indicated readiness for both the job market and continued education.

Elementary Education Employer Survey Results (Student Achievement Measure-7):

Each year, instructors in the Teacher Education Division contact the principals of schools that employ BCF graduates who have earned the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Elementary Education and who are working as public and private school teachers. Principals are asked to rate these teachers in terms of the Elementary Education Program Student Learning Outcomes (which mirror the State of Florida’s FEAPS—Florida Educator Accomplished Practices). These questions ask about the graduate’s performance in various categories such as: communicating effectively, providing opportunities for students to learn higher-order thinking skills, creating a safe, equitable, and stimulating classroom environment, being knowledgeable of the subject matter, producing learning plans that are developmentally appropriate and engaging, and using appropriate technologies to deliver instruction.

Institutional Goal:

The Baptist College of Florida has set a goal of maintaining at least a 90% positive response rate for ongoing evaluation of the graduates of its Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education program who are serving as public and private school teachers.

Elementary Education Employer Satisfaction Survey Results for the 2020-2021 Academic Year:

According to the June 2021 Employer Satisfaction Survey, 96% of the responses from the respective principals in relation to BCF Elementary Education graduates employed at their schools were positive.