Student Achievement at UHD
As a regional public institution with University of Houston System (UHS), state, and federal accountability responsibilities, UHD’s expectations of student success are formulated within the context of UHS, state reporting, and the Texas Legislative Budget Board (LBB) state budgeting process and peer benchmarks drawn from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). UHD uses these reports and processes to identify goals and outcomes and related thresholds and targets for the institution’s student success metrics. The assessment of student achievement plays a critical role in the University’s ongoing improvement efforts, system and state reporting, and the institution’s planning and budgeting processes.
In The Business of Student Achievement
An integral part of the University of Houston-Downtown's (UHD) mission is to enhance student retention and graduation and the University closely monitors student progress. UHD is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). One condition of SACSCOC accreditation requires that UHD provide students, constituents, and the public with information about “its goals for student achievement and the success of students in achieving those goals.” (SACSCOC Interpretation of Core Requirement 8.1-Student Achievement).
UHD’s Evaluation Measures for Student Success
Thresholds of acceptability, which are the minimum baselines, and aspirational targets of achievement (goals) as well as outcomes (results) are documented below.
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FTIC First-Year Retention
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Transfer First-Year Retention
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FTIC Six-Year Graduation
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Transfer Four-Year Graduation
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Total Undergraduate Degrees Awarded
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Total Master’s Students’ Graduation Rate (Five-Year)
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Pass Rate on Certification Exam (Teacher Certification)
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Course Completion Rate
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Percent of Graduates (graduate and undergraduate) Enrolled in Graduate Courses or Employed in Texas in One Year
The Data of the Following is Below
Definition: The FTIC first-year retention rate is determined using the IPEDS full-time FTIC retention methodology. The outcome reflects the one-year, fall-to-fall retention rate of FTIC students who began in Fall 2023 and remained enrolled in Fall 2024.
Source: IPEDS and UHD Progress Card
Threshold: UHD Progress Card baseline year (2007-2008) performance of 56% is the threshold for this metric
Goal: UHD’s Strategic Plan projects an increase in FTIC first-year retention rates from 64% for the 2020 entry cohort to 75% for the 2025 entry cohort over the 2022-2027 period. For FTICs who started in Fall 2023 and retained in Fall 2024, the target is 73%.
Outcome: The Fall 2023 FTIC cohort achieved a retention rate of 67.9% in Fall 2024. This
is above the threshold of acceptability but below the goal.
Figure 1
Definition: This data reflects students who have 60+ earned hours and begin as full-time transfer
students in fall semester (this definition is in alignment with LBB and is also used
on UHS Progress card and UHD strategic plan). The outcome reflects the one-year, fall-to-fall
retention rate of transfer students who began in Fall 2023 and remained enrolled in
Fall 2024.
Source: UHD Progress Card
Threshold: UHD Progress Card baseline year (2007-2008) performance of 75.56% is the
threshold for this metric.
Goal: UHD’s Strategic Plan projects an increase in transfer first-year retention rates
from 78% for the 2020 entry cohort to 85% for the 2025 entry cohort over the 2022-2027
period. For transfer students who started in Fall 2023, the target is 83%.
Outcome: For the 2023 cohort of transfer students, the one-year retention rate is
82.1%. This is above the threshold of acceptability but below the goal.
Figure 2
Definition: The FTIC first-year graduation rate is determined using the IPEDS full-time FTIC graduation methodology. The outcome reflects FTIC students who began in Fall 2018 and graduated in 2023-2024.
Source: UHD Progress Card
Threshold: UHD Progress Card baseline year (2007-2008) performance of 15.42% is the threshold for this metric
Goal: UHD’s Strategic Plan projects an increase in FTIC six-year graduation rates from 30% for the 2016 entry cohort to 48% for the 2021 cohort over the 2022-2027 period. For the FTIC cohort that began in Fall 2018, the target is 36%.
Outcome: For FTIC cohort that began in Fall 2018, the six-year graduation rate is 33.20%.
This is above the threshold of acceptability but below the goal.
Figure 3
Definition: This data reflects students who have 60+ earned hours and begin as full-time transfer students in fall semester (this definition is in alignment with LBB and is also used on UHS Progress card and UHD strategic plan). The outcome reflects the graduation rate of transfer students who began in Fall 2020 and graduated in 2023-2024.
Source: UHD Progress Card
Threshold: UHD Progress Card baseline year (2007-2008) performance of 64.10% is the threshold for this metric
Goal: UHD’s Strategic Plan projects an increase in transfer four-year graduation rates from 67% for the 2018 entry cohort to 75% for the 2023 cohort over the 2022-2027 period. For the transfer cohort that began in Fall 2020, the target is 70%.
Outcome: For transfer cohort that began in Fall 2020, the four-year graduation rate is 67%. This is above the threshold of acceptability but below the goal.
Figure 4
Definition: The number of bachelor’s degrees awarded.
Source: UHD Fact Book
Threshold: UHD Progress Card baseline year (2007-2008) performance of 1,939 is the threshold for this metric.
Goal: 2,900
Outcome: 2,954. This is above both the threshold and the goal.
Figure 5
Definition: The graduation rate for master’s students is calculated over a five-year period, starting from their initial enrollment in the fall of an academic year and targeting graduation by the summer term of the fifth year.
Source: UHD Strategic Plan
Threshold: UHD’s Strategic Plan identifies Master’s students entering UHD in Fall 2021 as the cohort setting the baseline graduation rate at 70%.
Goal: Subsequent cohorts are expected to demonstrate an increased 5-year graduation rate incrementally with a 2-3% increase each year until the final year of the strategic plan (2027) achieves its target of 76% graduation rate.
Outcome: As of 2023-2024 academic year, the Fall 2021 entry cohort’s 4.5-year graduation rate stands at 73%, exceeding the threshold and remaining on track with the goal.
Figure 6
Definition: The percentage of students who passed the teacher certification exams.
Source: UHD Progress Card, Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Threshold: The threshold is 80% pass rate, determined by averaging TEA’s minimum performance standards: 75% for content-based TExES exams and 85% for TExES (PPR) pedagogy exam.
Goal: 90% pass rate.
Outcome: 93% for the 2024-2025 reporting year. This is above both the threshold and the goal.
Figure 7
Definition: This metric combines both graduate and undergraduate SCHs.
Source: UHD Progress Card
Threshold: UHD Progress Card baseline year (2007-2008) performance of 92.64% is the threshold for this metric.
Goal: 96%, which is informed by institutional data as well as data from the Texas Higher Education Accountability System.
Outcome: 96%, which exceeds the threshold and meets the goal.
Figure 8
Definition: The percentage of students who passed the teacher certification exams.
Source: UHD Progress Card, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
Threshold: the threshold was set at 78.382%, which is the same as the Strategic Plan’s baseline value.
Goal: 81.3% by 2027-2028.
Outcome: 80.2%, which is above the threshold and remains on track with the goal.
Figure 9