The University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) identifies, evaluates, and publishes goals and outcomes for student achievement appropriate to the institution's mission, the nature of the students it serves, and the kinds of programs offered. The institution uses multiple measures to document student success. As a public institution, the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) evaluates its success of student achievement on an ongoing basis, based on its strategic plan and mission. These four goals are aligned with Educational Attainment, one of the four themes of the strategic plan, and they are aligned with UHCL’s mission to place “its highest priority on serving a diverse body of students in every aspect of their university experience.”
Goal 1: Graduation Rates
| Outcome #1 | Criteria | Target | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increase graduation rates. | Track six-year and four-year graduation rates for first-time in college, full-time, degree seeking students. | 60% of FTIC students will graduate in six years; 60% of FTIC students will graduate in four years. | The first year for 6-year data was 2020 when the graduation rate was 52%, below the 60% threshold. The effects of Hurricane Harvey and COVID-19 prevented many in these small cohorts from completing their programs on time. |
Six-Year Grad Rates
UDGD, First Time in College, Full-Time, Degree-Seeking
| Cohort Fall 2012 (2018) | Cohort Fall 2013 (2019) | Cohort Fall 2014 (2020) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | n/a | n/a | 55.21 |
| Black or African American | n/a | n/a | 25.00 |
| Hispanic | n/a | n/a | 50.72 |
| Asian American | n/a | n/a | 57.14 |
| Other | n/a | n/a | 54.55 |
| Female | n/a | n/a | 56.62 |
| Male | n/a | n/a | 42.42 |
| Total | n/a | n/a | 51.98 |
Four-Year Grad Rate
UDGD, First Time in College, Full-Time, Degree-Seeking
| Cohort Fall 2014 (2018) | Cohort Fall 2015 (2019) | Cohort Fall 2016 (2020) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 35.42 | 35.64 | 30.38 |
| Black or African American | 8.33 | 25.00 | 31.25 |
| Hispanic | 24.64 | 23.08 | 32.65 |
| Asian American | 42.86 | 25.00 | 8.00 |
| Other | 36.36 | 30.77 | 22.22 |
| Female | 36.03 | 33.06 | 33.06 |
| Male | 19.70 | 25.23 | 23.30 |
| Total | 30.69 | 29.39 | 28.63 |
| Outcome #2 | Criteria | Target | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increase graduation rates. | Track six-year and four-year transfer graduation rates. | 60% of transfer students will graduate in six years; 60% of transfer students will graduate in four years. | The six-year graduation rate for transfer students was 73%, a decrease from the past two years. The four-year graduation rate was 67%, an increase over the past two years. |
Six-Year Grad Rate
UDGD, First Time Transfer, Full-Time, Degree-Seeking
| Cohort Fall 2012 (2018) | Cohort Fall 2013 (2019) | Cohort Fall 2014 (2020) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 77.89 | 80.00 | 72.38 |
| Black or African American | 50.00 | 63.04 | 65.63 |
| Hispanic | 77.14 | 73.03 | 76.47 |
| Asian American | 73.68 | 85.42 | 80.00 |
| Other | 72.73 | 75.00 | 68.85 |
| Female | 76.99 | 79.26 | 77.48 |
| Male | 71.43 | 72.22 | 65.32 |
| Total | 74.96 | 76.73 | 73.18 |
Four-Year Grad Rate
UDGD, First Time Transfer, Full-Time, Degree-Seeking
| Cohort Fall 2014 (2018) | Cohort Fall 2015 (2019) | Cohort Fall 2016 (2020) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 66.67 | 64.41 | 68.73 |
| Black or African American | 54.69 | 55.00 | 66.67 |
| Hispanic | 66.97 | 68.45 | 64.00 |
| Asian American | 77.50 | 80.43 | 78.57 |
| Other | 63.93 | 43.48 | 67.44 |
| Female | 70.86 | 67.09 | 70.91 |
| Male | 57.26 | 60.17 | 62.35 |
| Total | 66.05 | 64.48 | 67.37 |
Goal 2: Retention Rates
| Outcome #1 | Criteria | Target | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Promote student retention. | Track on-year retention rates for FTIC students and for transfer students. | 75% of FTIC students will be retained after one year (the goal for retention is set at the mean for the last 6 years plus the standard deviation). | In 2020, both groups exceeded the target retention measure. While transfer rates at UHCL are typically higher, the dip in 2018-2019 is unusual. |
One-Year Retention Rate
| Outcome #2 | Criteria | Target | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Promote student retention. | Compare retention rate with national peers, per IPEDS. | UHCL will be in the top five of the 11-member UHCL National Peer Group. | UHCL's 80.5% retention rate placed it fifth in the group of 11 national peer institutions. Six universities reported lower rates (52% to 79%) and 4 universities reported higher rates (81% to 87%). |
|
IPEDS Unit ID
|
UHCL National Peer Group Institution Name
|
Full-time
Retention
Rate, 2019
|
|---|---|---|
| 161873 | University of Baltimore, Baltimore MD | 87 |
| 407009 | Arizona State University-West, Glendale AZ | 86 |
| 171137 | University of Michigan- Dearborn, Dearborn MI | 81 |
| 138354 | University of West Florida, Pensacola FL | 81 |
| 225414 | University of Houston-Clear Lake, Houston TX | 80 |
| 148654 | University of Illinois at Springfield, Springfield IL | 79 |
| 165820 | Fitchburg State University, Fitchburg MA | 74 |
| 126580 | University of Colorado, Colorado Springs CO | 70 |
| 151342 | Indiana University-South Bend, South Bend IN | 68 |
| 224147 | Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi TX | 60 |
| 145336 | Governors State University, University Park IL | 52 |
Goal 3: Course Completion Rates
| Outcome #1 | Criteria | Target | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Improve course completion rates. | Track the percentage of semester credit hours completed over the number attempted. | UHCL seeks to improve its course completion rates by surpassing the average plus the standard deviation, which would be 94.8% completion. | The drop in the percentage of courses completed between the 2017-2018 school years may be the result of Hurricane Harvey, which impacted the Houston area severely in August of 2017, causing many students to drop courses. Since then the percentage of courses completed has increased but only slightly. The goals reflect the trend increase. |
Goal 4: Licensing Examinations
| Outcome #1 | Criteria | Target | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ensure UHCL students will be prepared for professional practice. | Track passing rates of the Universal CPA Exam over three years. | UHCL will be in the top half of comparison of THECB Master's University Peer Group. | Of 144 students who tested for the Uniform CPA Examination in 2020, 43% of UHCL students passed the sections they tested in. This places UHCL 6th when compared to 11 members of the THECB's Master's University Peer Group. |
| THECB Master's University Peer Group |
# of
Candidates
Tested
|
# of
Sections
Tested
|
# of
Sections
Passed
|
% of
Sections
Passed
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of North Texas at Dallas | 114 | 122 | 69 | 56.56% |
| University of Texas - Tyler | 80 | 85 | 47 | 55.29% |
| Angelo State University | 55 | 56 | 27 | 48.21% |
| University of Texas - Permian Basin | 63 | 71 | 34 | 47.89% |
| Texas A & M University - Central Texas | 9 | 11 | 5 | 45.45% |
| University of Houston - Clear Lake | 144 | 151 | 65 | 43.05% |
| University of Houston - Victoria | 38 | 41 | 16 | 39.02% |
| Midwestern State University | 37 | 40 | 15 | 37.50% |
| University of Houston - Downtown | 207 | 219 | 69 | 31.51% |
| University of Texas - Brownsville | 18 | 18 | 5 | 27.78% |
| Texas A & M University - Texarkana | 12 | 12 | 2 | 16.67% |
| Outcome #2 | Criteria | Target | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ensure UHCL students will be prepared for professional practice. | Track passing rates of the Universal CPA Exam over three years. | Maintain a ratio of at least 6.0 for Number of CPA Exam Candidates from July of Year X+1 through June of Year X+2/Number of Accounting MS Graduates from September of Year X. | In 2020, UHCL reported that 144 students sat for the CPA exam, a three-year decrease of 55%. |
| UHCL Student Testing Statistics |
# of
Candidates Tested
|
# of
Sections
Tested
|
# of
Sections
Passed
|
% of
Sections
Passed
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 144 | 151 | 65 | 43.05% |
| 2019 | 197 | 225 | 91 | 40.44% |
| 2018 | 221 | 272 | 110 | 40.44% |
| 2017 | 261 | 330 | 121 | 36.67% |