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Student Achievement

An integral part of UWF’s mission is to enhance educational access and attainment, as well as personal and professional development, for students.

The University of West Florida identifies, evaluates, and publishes goals and outcomes for student achievement appropriate to UWF’s mission and Strategic Plan, the nature of the students it serves, and the types of programs offered. These measures include graduation rates (6-year, 4-year, AA transfer), academic progress rate, and professional licensure and certification exam pass rates for undergraduate and graduate degree programs as appropriate. The University uses this information in its ongoing assessment and planning activities that aim to improve student achievement, and these indicators are published annually in the UWF Accountability Plan and used by the Florida Board of Governors (FLBOG) in the state’s performance funding model.

UWF is dedicated to improving student achievement and reviews multiple measures as approved by the UWF Board of Trustees and the FLBOG. The annual Accountability Plan is an opportunity for UWF to ensure alignment of institutional priorities with the University mission and Strategic Plan by setting goals for improvement of student achievement measures. While the full UWF Accountability Plan is available for viewing, below are a few of the measures of interest:

  • FTIC Four-Year Graduation Rate (full-time, first time in college students)
  • Academic Progress Rate (second fall retention rate with at least a 2.0 GPA for FTIC students)
  • University Access Rate (percent of undergraduates with a Pell grant)
  • FCS AA Transfer Three-Year Graduation Rate (full- and part-time students)
  • FTIC Pell Recipient Six-Year Graduation Rate (full- and part-time students)
  • Percent of Baccalaureate Graduates Completing 2+ Type High Impact Practices
  • Percent of Bachelor’s Graduates Enrolled or Employed ($40,000+)
  • Median Wages of Bachelor’s Graduates Employed Full-Time
  • Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded (first majors only)
  • Graduate Degrees Awarded (first majors only)
  • Professional licensure or certification exam pass rates

Select Student Achievement Metrics (from the 2026 UWF Accountability Plan)

FTIC Four-Year Graduation Rate (full-time, first time in college students)
Years 2017-21 2018-22 2019-23 2020-24 2021-25 2022-26 2023-27 2024-28 2025-29 2026-30
Actual 47.4 47.0 48.1 53.7 54.7 - - - - -
Approved Goals 41.0 45.0 48.0 50.0 54.0 55.0 56.0 57.0 58.0 -
Proposed Goals - - - - - 55.0 56.0 57.0 58.0 59.0
Academic Progress Rate (second fall retention rate with at least a 2.0 GPA for FTIC students)
Years 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 2028-29 2029-30
Actual 80.8 83.5 86.8 87.8 88.9 - - - - -
Approved Goals 83.0 84.0 85.0 86.0 88.0 88.0 89.0 89.0 90.0 -
Proposed Goals - - - - - 89.0 89.0 89.0 90.0 90.0
University Access Rate (percent of undergraduates with a Pell grant)
Years Fall 2020 Fall 2021 Fall 2022 Fall 2023 Fall 2024 Fall 2025 Fall 2026 Fall 2027 Fall 2028 Fall 2029
Actual 35.7 35.5 35.5 36.3 41.7 - - - - -
Approved Goals 36.0 36.0 36.0 36.0 38.0 38.0 38.0 38.0 38.0 -
Proposed Goals - - - - - 38.0 38.0 38.0 38.0 38.0

Note: Beginning 2024-25, changes were implemented to expand federal financial aid eligibility as part of the FAFSA Simplification Act.

FCS AA Transfer Three-Year Graduation Rate (full- and part-time students)
Years 2018-21 2019-22 2020-23 2021-24 2022-25 2023-26 2024-27 2025-28 2026-29 2027-30
Actual 56.5 58.5 52.3 61.2 64.1 - - - - -
Approved Goals 54.0 57.0 58.0 58.0 62.0 63.0 64.0 65.0 66.0 -
Proposed Goals - - - - - 64.0 64.5 65.0 66.0 66.0

Note: House Bill 2524 passed during the 2022 Florida Legislative session changed this metric from a two-year graduation rate to a three-year graduation rate.

FTIC Pell Recipient Six-Year Graduation Rate (full- and part-time students)
Years 2015-21 2016-22 2017-23 2018-24 2019-25 2020-26 2021-27 2022-28 2023-29 2024-30
Actual 45.0 50.6 57.2 53.6 58.8 - - - - -
Approved Goals 45.0 50.0 53.0 55.0 57.0 60.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 -
Proposed Goals - - - - - 60.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0
Percent of Bachelor’s Graduates Enrolled or Employed ($40,000+)
Years 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 2028-29
Actual 72.5 74.1 79.8 80.1 80.1 - - - - -
Approved Goals - - 75.0 78.0 80.0 81.0 81.0 82.0 82.0 -
Proposed Goals - - - - - 81.0 81.0 82.0 82.0 83.0
Median Wages of Bachelor’s Graduates Employed Full-Time
Years 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 2028-29
Actual 45,500 48,800 53,000 54,000 54,600 - - - - -
Approved Goals 41,000 46,000 49,000 50,000 54,500 55,000 55,500 56,000 56,500 -
Proposed Goals - - - - - 55,000 55,500 56,000 56,500 57,000
Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded (first majors only)
Years 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 2028-29 2029-30
Actual 2,393 2,241 2,175 2,200 2,227 - - - - -
Approved Goals 2,410 2,430 2,200 2,250 2,100 2,125 2,150 2,200 2,225 -
Proposed Goals - - - - - 2,200 2,200 2,200 2,225 2,250
Graduate Degrees Awarded (first majors only)
Years 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 2028-29 2029-30
Actual 1,128 1,147 1,490 1,494 1,616 - - - - -
Approved Goals 1,035 1,050 1,250 1,300 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 -
Proposed Goals - - - - - 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500

For more information on graduation and retention at the University of West Florida, please visit UWF’s Institutional Research page for information on the following topics: