The Student Achievement Measure is supported by six sponsoring associations, working together to provide a more comprehensive and accurate picture of student progress and completion as students move across institutions and state boundaries.

East Carolina University

East Carolina University (ECU) is a public, four-year university established in 1907 and located in Greenville, North Carolina. ECU has 12 colleges and schools, 10 of which are degree-granting. Serving a largely rural population in the coastal region of the state, ECU is one of 17 constituent institutions within the University of North Carolina (UNC) System. ECU accomplishes its mission - to be a national model for student success, public service, and regional transformation - through education, research, creative activities, and service. ECU is the fourth largest institution in the UNC System and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees. The UNC System is governed by a Board of Governors, which delegates significant responsibility to ECU's Board of Trustees. The Carnegie Commission on Higher Education classifies ECU as a Doctoral University: High Research Activity. In 2010 and 2015, ECU received the Community Engagement Classification from the New England Resource Center for Higher Education. Facts and Figures ECU offers 86 baccalaureate degree programs, 68 master's degree programs, six professional practice doctoral programs, 13 research/scholarship doctoral programs, 98 certificates, and two specialist degree programs. In Fall 2022, ECU employed over 6,500 personnel (including graduate assistants); over 2,000 of these employees held a faculty appointment. In 2022-2023, ECU conferred almost 7,400 degrees and certificates and, in the most recent data reported to the National Center for Educational Statistics (for fiscal year 2021), had core expenses of almost $600 million. ECU’s total enrollment in Fall 2023 was 26,785 with 21,328 undergraduates and 5,457 graduate students. All 100 counties in North Carolina, 47 states and the District of Columbia, and 69 countries were represented in the student body. Ethnic minorities made up 35 percent of undergraduate students, 29 percent of graduate students, 52 percent of medical students, and 46 percent of dental students.* Almost 30 percent of all students were enrolled in online courses only.

Fall 2017 First-time Full-time Cohort

6-year outcomes for undergraduate bachelor’s-seeking students as of 2023

First-Time Full-Time

First-Time Full-Time Students Starting Fall 2017

Number of students: 4,305

roll over each bar for detail data

62%
13%
3%
5%
17%
WITHIN 6 YEARS
59%
10%
7%
8%
16%
WITHIN 5 YEARS
43%
7%
25%
12%
13%
WITHIN 4 YEARS
view detail data for graph »
Graduated: Reporting institution
Transferred & Graduated: Other Institution
Enrolled: Reporting institution
Transferred & Enrolled: Other Institution
Current Status Unknown

The SAM Full-time Bachelor's Degree model tracks a group of students who started a bachelor's degree program at East Carolina University in the Fall of 2017. The students' progress toward a degree is reported within 4, 5, and 6 years. The same group of students is included in the results for every year.

The sections of the SAM chart represent the proportion of students in the original group with the following five outcomes.

  • Students who started at and graduated from East Carolina University are represented by the darker purple bar with the solid black bar underneath (). (This section of the chart Within 6 Years is approximately the same as the federal graduation rate, but it may differ slightly for each institution.)
  • Students who started at East Carolina University and then transferred to and graduated from another institution are represented by the lighter purple bar with the white stripe underneath ()
  • Students who started at and are still enrolled at East Carolina University are represented by the darker aqua bar with two white stripes underneath ().
  • Students who started at East Carolina University and then transferred to and are still enrolled at another institution are represented by the lighter aqua bar with the bottom white stripe ().
  • Students from the original group whose status is unknown are represented by the green bar with the top white stripe (). These students may have graduated or still be enrolled somewhere, but their status could not be determined conclusively.

East Carolina University | Bachelor's Seeking Model - First-Time Full-Time

OUTCOMES FOR STUDENT STARTING AT
EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY IN FALL 2017 BY SUMMER 2023
 
2017-18
 
2018-19
 
2019-20
WITHIN 4 YEARS
2020-21
WITHIN 5 YEARS
2021-22
WITHIN 6 YEARS
2022-23
+ view details
Bachelor's degree from East Carolina University 0% 0% 4% 43% 59% 62%
+ Associate and/or Certificate degree from East Carolina University 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
= Total Graduated from East Carolina University 0% 0% 4% 43% 59% 62%
+ view details
Bachelor's degree from another institution 0% 0% 0% 4% 7% 8%
+ Associate and/or Certificate degree from another institution 0% 1% 2% 3% 3% 5%
= Total Graduated from another institution 0% 1% 2% 7% 10% 13%
Enrolled at East Carolina University 98% 80% 66% 25% 7% 3%
+ view details
Enrolled at another 4-year institution 0% 5% 8% 6% 3% 2%
+ Enrolled at another 2-year institution 0% 7% 8% 6% 4% 3%
= Total Transferred and enrolled
at another institution
0% 12% 17% 12% 8% 5%
Current Status Unknown 2% 7% 11% 13% 16% 17%
Full-Time Transfer

Full-Time Transfer Students Starting Fall 2017

Number of students: 1,462

roll over each bar for detail data

72%
10%
1%
3%
14%
WITHIN 6 YEARS
67%
7%
8%
5%
13%
WITHIN 4 YEARS
17%
3%
68%
6%
6%
WITHIN 2 YEARS
view detail data for graph »
Graduated: Reporting institution
Transferred & Graduated: Other Institution
Enrolled: Reporting institution
Transferred & Enrolled: Other Institution
Current Status Unknown

The SAM Full-time Bachelor's Degree model tracks a group of students who started a bachelor's degree program at East Carolina University in the Fall of 2017. The students' progress toward a degree is reported within 4, 5, and 6 years. The same group of students is included in the results for every year.

The sections of the SAM chart represent the proportion of students in the original group with the following five outcomes.

  • Students who started at and graduated from East Carolina University are represented by the darker purple bar with the solid black bar underneath (). (This section of the chart Within 6 Years is approximately the same as the federal graduation rate, but it may differ slightly for each institution.)
  • Students who started at East Carolina University and then transferred to and graduated from another institution are represented by the lighter purple bar with the white stripe underneath ()
  • Students who started at and are still enrolled at East Carolina University are represented by the darker aqua bar with two white stripes underneath ().
  • Students who started at East Carolina University and then transferred to and are still enrolled at another institution are represented by the lighter aqua bar with the bottom white stripe ().
  • Students from the original group whose status is unknown are represented by the green bar with the top white stripe (). These students may have graduated or still be enrolled somewhere, but their status could not be determined conclusively.

East Carolina University | Bachelor's Seeking Model - Full-Time Transfer

OUTCOMES FOR STUDENT STARTING AT
EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY IN FALL 2017 BY SUMMER 2023
 
2017-18
WITHIN 2 YEARS
2018-19
 
2019-20
WITHIN 4 YEARS
2020-21
 
2021-22
WITHIN 6 YEARS
2022-23
+ view details
Bachelor's degree from East Carolina University 0% 17% 53% 67% 71% 72%
+ Associate and/or Certificate degree from East Carolina University 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
= Total Graduated from East Carolina University 0% 17% 53% 67% 71% 72%
+ view details
Bachelor's degree from another institution 0% 0% 2% 3% 5% 5%
+ Associate and/or Certificate degree from another institution 5% 3% 3% 4% 4% 4%
= Total Graduated from another institution 5% 3% 5% 7% 9% 10%
Enrolled at East Carolina University 93% 68% 26% 8% 2% 1%
+ view details
Enrolled at another 4-year institution 0% 3% 4% 3% 2% 2%
+ Enrolled at another 2-year institution 0% 3% 3% 2% 1% 2%
= Total Transferred and enrolled
at another institution
0% 6% 7% 5% 4% 3%
Current Status Unknown 2% 6% 9% 13% 14% 14%