Employment, Retention, and Graduation Rates

Employment Rates

81.5 percent of New Jersey degree graduates, 76.2 percent of New York degree graduates, 100 percent of Master’s degree graduates and 63.3 percent of New Jersey certificate graduates who graduated during the academic year ending August 31, 2020 were employed in positions related to their programs of study by January 31, 2021.

Overall, 96.0 percent of New Jersey degree graduates, 92.9 percent of New York degree graduates, 100 percent of Master’s degree graduates and 88.9 percent of New Jersey certificate graduates who graduated during the academic year ending in August 31, 2020 were employed in some full-time, part-time, contract, and/or per diem position by January 31, 2021.

Rates are measured 180 days following the end of each academic term. The 2019-2020 academic year included three academic semesters (fall, winter, and spring). These rates include students who graduated at any point in the academic year (end of fall semester + 180 days; end winter semester + 180 days; etc.). For example, students who graduated at the end of the spring semester (August 8, 2020) and were employed within 180 days following the end of that semester (February 4, 2021) are included. However, graduates who did not obtain employment until after the 180 day period following the end of the spring semester (February 4, 2021) are included in the overall calculation, but are not considered employed.

Employment rates of graduates are calculated based on communications between graduates and Career Services staff. Those percentages include all graduates who were employed in a full-time, part-time, contract, and/or per diem position within 180 days after graduation. The numbers include graduates who have found employment through direct referrals provided by Career Services; students whose Berkeley College internships have led to full-time, part-time, contract, and/or per diem employment; students who have found employment on their own, including many who have benefited from coaching and resume assistance offered by Career Services; and students who have remained in positions they held prior to enrolling at and/or while attending Berkeley.

Relationships between occupations and programs of study are determined using a “crosswalk” between Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) published by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Standard Occupational Classification system (SOC) administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. More information about the crosswalk may be found at onetonline.org. Graduates who decline placement assistance from the College and those who cannot be contacted or choose not to provide information are not reflected in the calculations. Reasons for declining placement assistance may include a lack of U.S. work authorization for international students, relocation, continuing education, military service, and medical or other personal issues and preferences.

Note: While graduates of the Interior Design Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), Surgical Technology Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.), Medical Assistant Certificate, Practical Nurse Certificate programs are included in the overall rates described above, individual employment rates for those programs are also calculated in accordance with accreditation or state board requirements (some of which require alternative methodologies as described below).

B.F.A., Interior Design: In connection with its accreditation with the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), Berkeley College collects and publishes Interior Design B.F.A. student achievement information (including student retention rates, graduation rates, acceptance into graduate programs, and employment rates). Interior Design B.F.A. employment rates are calculated using the same methodology as the overall employment rates described above. To view the student achievement information, visit the B.F.A., Interior Design program page.

Surgical Technology A.A.S.: Berkeley College collects and annually reports employment rates for Surgical Technology degree program graduates as required by the Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (“ARC/STSA”). For the academic year August 1, 2018 to July 31, 2019, the “positive placement” rate was 81 percent. ARC/STSA defines a “positive placement” to include graduates who are employed as a Surgical Technologist within one year of graduation, continuing their education and/or serving in the military. Graduates who are not employed for reasons that may include a lack of U.S. work authorization, relocation, and medical or other personal issues are considered “not working” for purposes of this annual report. Job placement information reflects graduates who were in direct contact with the College's Career Services Department.

Medical Assistant Certificate: Berkeley College collects and annually reports employment rates for Medical Assistant certificate program graduates as required by the Medical Assistant Education Review Board (“MAERB”). The MAERB defines a “positive placement” to include graduates who are employed as a Medical Assistant, employed in a related field, continuing their education, and/or serving in the military. MAERB defines a “related field” as one in which the individual is using cognitive, psychomotor, and affective competencies acquired in the education program. A “related field” could include phlebotomist, EKG technician, or other administrative positions within a physician’s office or healthcare facility. The “positive placement” rate for students admitted into this program during the 2017 calendar year was 76.67 percent. Graduates who are not employed for reasons that may include a lack of U.S. work authorization, relocation, and medical or other personal issues are considered “not working” for purposes of this annual report. Job placement information reflects graduates who were in direct contact with the College's Career Services Department.

Practical Nurse Certificate: Berkeley College collects and annually reports on employment rates for Practical Nurse certificate program graduates as required by the New Jersey Board of Nursing. For the reporting period beginning September 1, 2019 and ending August 31, 2020, 23.73 percent of graduates found employment as Licensed Practical Nurses within twelve months after graduation. Job placement information reflects graduates who were in direct contact with the College's Career Services Department.

LPN to B.S.N.: Berkeley College collects and annually reports on employment rates for LPN to B.S.N. degree program graduates as required by the New Jersey Board of Nursing. For the reporting period beginning September 1, 2019, and ending August 31, 2020, 28.21 percent of graduates found employment as Registered Professional Nurses within twelve months after graduation. Job placement information reflects graduates who were in direct contact with the College's Career Services Department.

Graduate and Professional Education

Federal law requires colleges to make available information regarding the types of graduate and professional education in which graduates of the institution’s four-year degree programs enroll.

In communications between graduates and Career Services staff, students graduating from Berkeley College with Bachelor's degrees between September 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020 have reported pursuing the following: (i) Master, Health Care Management; (ii) Master, Environmental Sustainability; (iii) Master, Criminal Justice (iv) Juris Doctor (v) Master of Cybercrime Investigation & Cyber Security (vi) Master in Business Administration (vii) Master, Business Science, User Experience Design (viii) Master in Education; (ix) Master, Global Science.

First-to-Second Year Retention Rates

The retention rate is a measure at which students persist in their educational program at an institution. For Berkeley College, this is the percentage of first-time Bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree-seeking undergraduates from the previous fall who are again enrolled in the current fall.

The retention rate, as reported to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (“IPEDS”), for first-time, full-time (“FTFT”) freshman Bachelor’s degree-seeking students who enrolled in fall 2019 and continued their enrollment in fall 2020 was 64 percent for New Jersey students and 68 percent for New York students. The retention rate for first-time, part-time freshman Bachelor’s degree-seeking students who enrolled in fall 2019 and continued their enrollment in fall 2020 was 75 percent for New Jersey students and 100 percent for New York students.

Among FTFT freshman Associate’s degree-seeking students enrolled in fall 2019, 60 percent of the New Jersey students and 49 percent of the New York students continued their enrollment in fall 2020. Among FTFT freshman certificate-seeking students enrolled in fall 2019, 35 percent of New Jersey students either graduated or continued their enrollment in fall 2020.

Graduation Rates

Federal law requires colleges that participate in certain financial aid programs to report the percentage of first-time degree or certificate-seeking students who successfully completed those programs within one and a half times the “normal time” (for example, that would be six years for a Bachelor’s degree program or three years for an Associate’s degree program). These rates do not include part-time students or students who previously attended another post-secondary institution.

Overall
The overall graduation rate, as reported to IPEDS, for FTFT degree-seeking undergraduate students who entered in fall 2014 and successfully completed their programs within 150 percent of “normal time” was 48 percent for New Jersey students and 31 percent for New York students.

Bachelor’s Degree Programs
The graduation rate, as reported to IPEDS, for FTFT freshman Bachelor’s degree-seeking students who entered in fall 2014 and successfully completed their programs by August 31, 2020, was 36 percent for New Jersey students and 29 percent for New York students.

Additional information is available on the College Navigator:
New York: http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=berkeley+college&s=all&id=189228
New Jersey: http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=berkeley+college&s=all&id=183789

Associate’s Degree and Certificate Programs
The graduation rate, as reported to the New York State Education Department, for FTFT Associate’s freshman degree-seeking students who entered in fall 2017 and successfully completed their programs by August 31, 2020, was 32 percent for New York students.

Among FTFT freshman associate’s degree-seeking students who entered in fall 2017, 38 percent of New Jersey students successfully completed their programs by August 31, 2020. Among FTFT freshman certificate-seeking students who entered in fall 2017, 59 percent of New Jersey students successfully completed their programs at Berkeley College and graduated by August 31, 2020.

For information about graduation rates broken down by gender, ethnicity, and Pell grant recipients, go to https://berkeleycollege.edu/pdf/disagg-rates-2021.pdf.