At Lee University, we measure student achievement in alignment with our mission to foster knowledge, appreciation, understanding, abilities, and skills that prepare students for responsible Christian living in a complex world.
Our criteria for evaluating student success include graduation and retention rates, job placement statistics, general education testing, major field tests, and nationally normed self-report studies. As part of our Institutional Effectiveness process, we conduct thorough data analysis, reviewed by relevant faculty and administrative staff. These practices ensure that our students achieve success befitting an institution of higher learning.
Graduation and retention rates are widely recognized as key indicators of student success in higher education. At Lee University, our benchmarks are informed by national comparisons with similar institutions that have high acceptance rates, as well as a select group of peer institutions that are slightly more selective but share cultural similarities within our state.
The wider mission of Lee, discussed in the Expanded Statement of Institutional Purpose, involves serving a wide variety of students from different backgrounds and with varying levels of academic ability. This includes under prepared students as well as high-achieving students. Because of this, our benchmarks are based on the national averages for each criterion, where available. In 2025, Lee University reaffirmed its commitment to student success by setting a five-year minimum standard of 61% and an aspirational goal of 66% for the six-year graduation rate, based on historical performance trends and peer institution benchmarks.
Our most recent rates surpass our five-year averages, except in a few categories with small cohort sizes that are prone to significant percentage fluctuations. These rates are also comparable to national averages for four-year institutions with high acceptance rates. We compute disaggregated graduation rates annually by gender, ethnicity, and low-income status. The data reflect the graduation rates of the last five cohorts for each of these categories, alongside Lee’s five-year average and national comparisons from the most recent National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data. In nearly all comparisons, Lee University’s five-year averages meet or exceed national standards, which serve as our benchmark goals for graduation rates.
View all Graduation Rate data through the link below:
Similar to our graduation rates, the supporting goal of increasing retention rates of full-time, first-year students is also an indicator of student success. The wider mission of Lee, discussed in the Expanded Statement of Institutional Purpose, involves serving a wide variety of students, from different backgrounds and with varying levels of academic ability. This includes underprepared students as well as high-achieving students. Because of this, our benchmarks are based on the national averages for each criterion, where available. In 2025, Lee University established new five-year goals for first-year retention: a minimum standard of 81% and an aspirational goal of 86%, reflecting both recent institutional performance and the average rates of peer institutions.
Lee Freshman retention rate Fall 2024 to Fall 2025: 79.5%
Lee Average Freshman retention rate (past 5 years): 80.5%%
NCES 4-year nonprofit with acceptance rates of 75%-89%, 2022 to 2023 retention rate: 79.9%
View Peer Institution data from the National Center of Education Statistics
Lee Online
Lee Online (distance learning) is designed to serve a much more transient student population who often enter our distance learning programs with college credit from numerous prior learning experiences. Our minimum threshold for retaining Lee Online students from one semester to the next (removing students who graduate) is set at 65% and is based on historical retention rates from this population. Our goal is to increase this number to 75% by improving student success and support services.
The most recent retention rates show improvement in retention, and the recent addition of student success coaches for Lee Online students has contributed to reaching our 2025 goal of 75% retention a few years early.
Lee Online Retention Rates
Fall 2020 to Spring 2021: 71%
Fall 2021 to Spring 2022: 73%
Fall 2022 to Spring 2023: 77%
Fall 2023 to Spring 2024: 74%
Fall 2024 to Spring 2025: 77%
The Center for Calling and Career at Lee University conducts a survey of graduating seniors^ the month prior to graduation regarding employment status after graduation. Lee established a goal in 2014 to increase the job placement rate of graduating seniors from 53%, our minimum threshold, to our goal of 65% by fall 2020.
The average rate for having received or accepted job offers prior to graduation or for continuing education incrementally increased from 53% in 2013 to 61% in 2023. Another 24% were seeking employment but had not secured a job. Twelve percent were employed part-time, and 3% indicated they were not seeking employment. Of those who received or accepted job offers, 85% said the job was “definitely” or “somewhat” related their degree at Lee University. Seventy-two percent indicated this is their dream job. Eighty-nine percent indicated their job was “definitely” or “somewhat” related to their career goals.
The 2023-2024 Alumni Survey reported that 93% of one-year alumni and 97% of five-year alumni (who responded) were employed full-time or enrolled in continuing education full-time.
^The Center for Calling and Career survey was administered in Spring 2023. It is required for all students to respond to the survey. Data presented here include only traditional undergraduate completers.
*The Alumni Survey was administered in Spring 2024 to students who completed their bachelor’s degree in Fall 2022, Spring 2023, and Summer 2023 (one-year alumni cohort) and Fall 2018, Spring 2019, and Summer 2019 (five-year alumni cohort). The response rate was 17% for one-year alumni and 14% for five-year alumni.
As an institution that values a liberal arts education, Lee University is committed to fostering strong general education competencies in its graduating seniors. Each year, the university utilizes a variety of assessment tools to measure these essential skills. One commonly used measure is the ETS Proficiency Profile, which evaluates general education knowledge and skills across key areas such as reading, writing, mathematics, and critical thinking. Lee students have consistently performed above the national average in both total scores and subscale areas on the Proficiency Profile. Given the diversity of our student population, national norms serve as our primary benchmark. Our goal is for Lee’s student performance—both overall and within each skill area—to meet or exceed these national averages. The charts below present the most recent scores for both traditional and online students, along with comparisons to national means and longitudinal data.
Proficiency Profile Longitudinal Report
In addition to general education knowledge, Lee University also emphasizes the importance of core reasoning skills essential for effective decision-making and problem-solving. To assess these skills, the university administers the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST). This assessment measures how well individuals use evidence and logic to draw sound conclusions in academic and real-world contexts. Similar to the Proficiency Profile, Lee students consistently score above the national average on the CCTST. The charts below highlight the latest performance data for both traditional and online students, including comparisons to national benchmarks and trends over time.
To evaluate discipline-specific knowledge and learning outcomes, many of Lee University’s academic programs participate in national major field tests as part of their annual assessment process. Where available, programs administer these standardized exams to graduating seniors to benchmark student achievement against national norms. Lee University currently participates in ETS Major Field Tests for the following disciplines: Business, English (Literature), Mathematics, Music, Political Science, and Sociology. In addition, the university uses ACAT (Area Concentration Achievement Tests) in Biology, History, Human Development, and Psychology. As with our general education assessments, Lee’s benchmark for major field testing is the national average. Our goal is for the average score in each program to meet or exceed the national average .
Lee University tracks passage rates for programs with licensing examinations. These exams are a common metric of student achievement for accreditation organizations and our programs. Lee often uses these pass rates as a means of assessing student learning outcomes in the assessment process and are compared with statewide pass rates for each content area. Minimum thresholds are established by the accrediting bodies for professional licensures since programs should meet the minimum standards of accreditation. Goals are created for each licensure based upon the program requirements and accreditation standards.
Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT), Behavioral and Social Sciences
Teacher Licensure, College of Education
Athletic Training Program, Health Exercise Sciences & Secondary Education, College of Education
School Counseling Graduate Program, Behavioral and Social Sciences
School of Nursing
NCLEX RN Passage Rates
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) has established minimum thresholds for licensure passage rates of 70% or better and the State of Tennessee requires an 85% average passage rate. Lee University School of Nursing utilizes these rates to establish minimum thresholds while establishing a goal that 90% of students will pass the NCLEX exam the first time. The testing format was revised in 2024 causing a large increase in average pass rates.
| NCLEX NR Pass Rate | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Lee Results | 97% | 96.84% | 100% | 100% |
| Lee Goal | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% |
| State of TN Minimum Threshold | 85% | 85% | 85% | 85% |
| National Pass rate | 83% | 80% | 80% | 91% |
| TN state Pass rate | 88% | 86% | 86% | 95% |
FNP Certification Passage Rates
FNP Certification passage rates are used to measure student achievement for graduates of Lee’s DNP programs.
| FNP Certification Pass Rate | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Lee Results | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| CCNE Threshold | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% |
| AANP National Pass rates | 91% | 81% | 83% | 83% |
| ANCC Pass rates | 86% | 86% | 85% | 83% |
Student engagement represents two critical features of collegiate quality. The first is the amount of time and effort students put into their studies and other educationally purposeful activities. The second is how the institution deploys its resources and organizes the curriculum and other learning opportunities to get students to participate in activities that decades of research studies show are linked to student learning.
Through its student survey, The College Student Report, the National Survey of Student Engagement or NSSE annually collects information at hundreds of four-year colleges and universities about student participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college. To focus discussions about the importance of student engagement and to guide institutional improvement efforts, NSSE created 10 Engagement Indicators within four broad themes: Academic Challenge, Learning with Peers, Experiences with Faculty, and Campus Environment.
The table below compares average scores for Lee students with those in our comparison groups.
