Two-Thirds Of Indiana College Students Graduate Within Six Years

Indiana Higher Education Commissioner Teresa Lubbers says more Hoosiers are graduating college, but racial achievement gaps persist. (The Statehouse File)

By nearly every measure, more Hoosiers are completing college than ever before.

However, black and Hispanic students are half as likely than white students to graduate on time, according to a new report from the Indiana Commission of Higher Education.

Across the board, about two-thirds of Indiana college students now receive a bachelor’s degree within six years of starting college.

“More students are graduating on time which saves them considerable amount of money,” said Teresa Lubbers, commissioner of higher education. “We calculated that an extra year of college costs about 50,000 dollars a year.”

But, she says, the graduation rate plummets when looking at Black and Hispanic students.

“We still see a significant achievement gap,” Lubbers said. “Black and Hispanic students are about half as likely white students to graduate on time.”

According to the department, most campuses have measures to help Black students graduate on time. Far fewer specifically focus on Hispanic students.

See the full report here.