Statewide or College View Methodology and Definitions

Methodology

A completion rate is the percentage of students in a given cohort (e.g., 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015-2016, etc.) who successfully completed a transfer-level course in English or math within the specified timeframe (e.g., one term, one year, two years, three years). The cohort is defined by the student's starting level and the academic year of the student's first English or math enrollment. A completion rate is also known as throughput.

Prior to fall 2022, completion counts included a successful completion after the first or second attempt. Starting in 2021-2022, completion counts now include a successful completion after all attempts within the specified timeframe.

Successful Transfer-Level Completion Counts

Successful completions include A, B, C (including +/- grades where allowable), P, and CR grades, as well as incomplete grades equivalent to a passing grade (e.g., IA, IB, IC, IPP). Enrollments with grade codes of ID, IF, XX, DR, MW, RD, UD, UG, RD0, RD1, RD2, RD3, RD4, RD5, RD6, RD8, IX, INP and IP were not included in the analysis, as they do not represent valid enrollments or letter grades. Non-successful completions were defined as letter grades F, D (including +/- grades where allowable), W, EW, and NP (see COMIS for definitions of letter grades).

Excused withdrawals (EW) count as a valid enrollment and are considered a non-successful attempt. Refer to the AB 705 Implementation document for a comparison of completion rates with and without EW grades for the 2020-2021 cohort.

Transfer Level Completion Rates: Disaggregated (PPG-1 Methodology)

Users can disaggregate transfer-level completion rates for English and math based on student characteristics to determine if disproportionate impact (DI) is present for the selected subgroup. Student groups who significantly perform below the average rate of all other groups are identified as DI with the Percentage Point Gap (PPG) method. PPG uses the average (excluding the group of interest i.e., PPG-1 method) as a reference taking sample sizes into account. Learn more about the calculation of the PPG-1.

See additional information below on the different disaggregations available in the dashboard.

Definitions/Filters

Timeframe Observed

Displays the timeframe that can be fully observed (e.g., completed) within the timeframe selected (e.g., one term, one year, two years).

College

Students are assigned to a college based on their first course enrollment in the discipline and include completion anywhere in the system. Completion is attributed to the starting college. The “Statewide” option aggregates this information across all colleges in the system.

Subject

English

English courses are defined by the Taxonomy of Program (TOP) code 1501.00 (English). English as a Second Language courses equivalent to a transfer-level English course were not included in the data file. Additionally, courses with pre-transfer CB 21 codes (e.g., "A", "B", "C", or "D") were included as below transfer level. Transfer-level courses with English TOP codes were those courses with a CB21 code of “Y” (not prior to college level) and a CB05 transfer status code indicating that the course transfers to the University of California (UC) and/or California State University (CSU) system.

The CB05 requirement was added in the summer 2023 dashboard update and did not have large impacts for statewide rates; however, a small number of colleges did see a change in completion rates. Refer to the Dashboard Comparison document to view the differences between the 2022 and 2023 versions of the dashboard resulting from the inclusion of the CB05 data field.

Math

Math courses are defined by the TOP code 1701.00 (Mathematics) as well as courses that meet transfer-level math or quantitative reasoning requirements in other TOP code areas including 0103.00 (Plant Science), 0501.00 (Business), 0504.00 (Banking & Finance), 0505.00 (Business Administration), 0599.00 (Other Business and Management), 0506.00 (Business Management), 0701.00 (Information Technology, General), 0702.00 (Computer Information Systems), 0706.00 (Computer Science), 0707.10 (Computer Programming), 0707.30 (Computer Systems Analysis), 0801.00 (Education, General), 1506.00 (Speech Communication), 1509.00 (Philosophy), 1701.00 (Math, General), 1799.00 (Other Math), 1702.00 (Mathematics Skills), 2001.00 (Psychology), 2003.00 (Behavioral Science), 2099.00 (Other Psychology), 2201.00 (Social Sciences), 2204.00 (Economics), and 2208.00 (Sociology). Math courses within other TOP codes were identified in collaboration with the Academic Senate for the California Community Colleges. Additionally, courses with pre-transfer CB 21 codes (e.g., "A", "B", "C", or "D") were included as below transfer level. Transfer-level courses with math TOP codes were those courses with a CB21 code of “Y” (not prior to college level) and a CB05 transfer status code indicating that the course transfers to the UC and/or CSU system.

The CB05 requirement was added in the summer 2023 dashboard update and did not have large impacts for statewide rates; however, a small number of colleges did see a change in completion rates. Refer to the Dashboard Comparison document to view the differences between the 2022 and 2023 versions of the dashboard resulting from the inclusion of the CB05 data field.

Timeframe to Completion

The timeframe to completion represents the period over which the starting cohort is tracked to successful completion of the transfer level course. One-term is completion within the first term of enrollment in the discipline. The one-year timeframe includes students who completed a transfer-level class within one year (365 days) of their initial attempt in the sequence (e.g., Fall-[Winter]-Spring-Summer; Spring-Summer-Fall-[Winter]; etc.). Two- and three-year timeframes extend this logic for two or three years.

Starting Course Level

“At Transfer Level” means the student’s first course of enrollment in the discipline was at transfer level (CB21 = Y).

“Below Transfer: 1 Level” means the student’s first course of enrollment in the discipline was at one level below transfer (CB21 = A).

“Below Transfer: 2 Levels or More” means the student’s first course of enrollment in the discipline was at two levels below transfer or below (CB21 = B, C or D).

First Attempt Term

This filter allows users to look at students whose first enrollment in the discipline was either in the fall term or to look at all starting terms combined.

Disaggregation

This filter allows users to select different student variables to determine the presence of disproportionate impact (see Methodology above). Only student variables available in the COMIS system may be reported in the dashboard. Based on the student variable selected, a set of included subgroups will appear. If disproportionate impact is present for a subgroup, a circle will appear in the visualization around the specific data point. See an outline of student variables below.

Note: Enrollment in special programs (i.e., DSPS, EOPS, veterans, or foster youth) were included as enrolled in the program if enrollment occurred at any point within the timeframe of the data file. Enrollment in the program did not have to take place at the time of enrollment in a math or English course.