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Student Right to Know

ACE student outcomes and graduation rate data

It’s your right to understand the data.

The Student Right-to-Know Act, passed by Congress in 1990, requires institutions eligible for Title IV funding, under the Higher Education Act of 1965, to calculate completion or graduation rates of certificate or degree-seeking, full-time students entering that institution, and to disclose these rates to current and prospective students.

The institutional statistics that are used as the “industry standard” by post-secondary higher education institutions to provide institutional or program outcomes under the Act can be found in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) used by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

The components commonly utilized to evaluate a college’s or university’s overall performance are completion/graduation rate, retention rate and time-to-completion, and are based on the percentage results of first-time, full-time bachelor’s-degree-seeking students during the most recent available academic year. However, ACE serves mostly a working adult population and thus does not have first-time, full-time students. As such, ACE calculates completion and retention rates per program and per degree level. In addition, ACE calculates accreditor reporting criteria or standards and state-level institutional reporting as applicable to provide information and comparison.

Although ACE is eligible to participate in Title IV funding, the College has chosen not to participate to keep educational costs low. Learn more about our Tuition and ROI.


2024 Student Right to Know

Satisfaction Metrics

American College of Education takes great pride in having satisfied students and employers. We believe it is our duty to make the academic experience at ACE a meaningful and satisfying one. The following charts show how our students and employers of ACE graduates rate their satisfaction.

Student Surveys

Student Satisfaction

I am satisfied with my experience with ACE thus far.

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2023 Student Satisfaction Survey


Student Choice

If I had to do it over, I would enroll at ACE again.

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2023 Student Satisfaction Survey

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2023 Graduate Exit Survey


Employer Surveys

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2022 Biennial Employer Survey.


Student Assessment Measures: Education

ACE offers multiple programs that are approved in specific states as leading to initial teacher or administrative certification, licensure or endorsement.

Receipt of initial teacher or administrative certification, licensure, or endorsement may also require the passage of specific tests, determined by that jurisdictional authority to receive licensure or endorsement. The following represents a comparison of ACE pass rates and the average state pass rate as provided by the identified state where ACE is listed as a State Department of Education approved and recognized Education Program Preparation Provider. American College of Education’s goal, as stated in the Strategic Plan, is to “beat” the state averages in each state where a program leads to licensure.

Data reflect the specified licensure exam results available from September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2023 unless otherwise stated.

Source: 2023 Educational Testing Service/tlcs.ets.org for Indiana and Pearson Integrated EdReports/EdReports.org for other states

Enrollment, Completion and Retention Metrics

American College of Education is a college committed to helping as many students as possible achieve their career goals by providing high-quality education at an affordable cost. American College of Education is committed to not only starting students in a program, but to retaining those students and getting them to their ultimate goal of earning the credential they desire. The statistics below provide information regarding ACE’s enrollment, completion, and retention metrics.

Fall Enrollment by Degree Type

August 1, 2023 – October 31, 2023

This section shows total enrollment of students by degree level.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), 2023, Fall Enrollment
Note: Students enrolled in a Micro-Credential program are reported in the Certificate count.


Fall Enrollment by Program

August 1, 2023 – October 31, 2023

Certificates and Degrees Conferred by Degree Type

July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023

This section shows the number of conferred credentials by degree level.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), 2023, Completions
Note: Students enrolled in a Micro-Credential program are reported in the Certificate count.

Certificates and Degrees Conferred by Program

July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023

Fall Demographics by Degree Type

August 1, 2023 – October 31, 2023

All student demographic data is self-reported. This data includes students by degree level.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), 2023, Fall Enrollment
Note: Students enrolled in a Micro-Credential program are reported in the Certificate count.

Fall Demographics by Program

August 1, 2023 – October 31,2023

Annual Retention Rate by Degree Level

January 2023 Census Date – January 2024 Census Date

ACE calculates an annual retention rate for all certificate and degree-seekers actively enrolled at some point during the previous year, beginning with the January Census (less graduates), who remain in an active status as of the January term census date of the reporting year.

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics
Note: Students enrolled in a micro-credential program are reported in the certificate count.

Annual Retention Rate by Program

January 2022, Census Date – January 2023 Census Date

Graduation Rate by Degree Type

Graduations between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023

American College of Education calculates an annual graduation rate, which establishes rates of completion based on a student’s initial enrollment in a cohort, using expected time-to-completion for their program and the most current start cohort for reporting (e.g., 2020 start cohort for the master’s level). Students are only reported once at the degree level, even if enrolled in more than one program at that level.

This data reflect students who completed a program of study by December 31, 2023

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics
Note 1: Doctoral programs were launched at ACE in 2013. This cohort is the first to reach the 10 year threshold for expected time-to-completion for reporting.
Note 2: The Specialist programs at ACE are designed to offer transfer pathways to and from the doctorate programs. Meaning, the College expects to see a higher percentage of transfers in and out of the program.

Graduation Rate by Program

Graduations between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023

5-Year Master’s Degree Graduation Rate Trend

5-Year Master’s Degree Graduation Rate and Total N by Cohort Graduation Year

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics
Note: As both Bachelor’s and Specialist degree levels are in their third year of graduation rate reporting, based on time-to-completion expectations, only Master’s degree level rates are shown for the last 5 years.


Continuing Education, Employment, and Earnings Metrics

After students graduate from American College of Education they are invited to participate in an exit survey to help ACE better serve its students by gaining an understanding of what ACE did well, what it could improve upon, and what graduates plan on doing with their degree. The statistics below provide information regarding ACE’s continuing education, employment, and earnings metrics as reported to the institution by its graduates.

Further Certificates or Degrees by Degree Level

Graduations between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023

Students were asked if they plan to pursue any further certificates or degrees after completing this credential at ACE. The percentage of students responding yes is reported below.

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2023 Graduate Exit Survey
Response Rate: 36.4% of graduates surveyed answered this question.

Further Education School of Choice by Degree Level

Graduations between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023

Students that answered that they were planning on pursuing further certificates or degrees were also asked where they intended to pursue those degrees. The percentage of students responding that they would choose ACE is reported below.

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2023 Graduate Exit Survey
Response Rate: 41.9% of graduates surveyed answered this question.

Additional State Licensure by Degree Level

Graduations between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023

Students were asked if they anticipate pursing additional licensure for their state as a result of this degree. The percentage of students responding yes or that they already have is reported below.

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2023 Graduate Exit Survey
Response Rate: 89.4% of graduates surveyed answered this question.

Additional State Licensure Timeline by Degree Level

Graduations between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023

Students that answered that they were planning on pursuing additional state licensure were also asked when they plan on doing so. Their responses are reported below.

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2023 Graduate Exit Survey Response Rate: 67.3% of graduates surveyed answered this question.

Employment Rate at Graduation by Degree Level

Graduations between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023

Students were asked to indicate their level of employment at the time of graduation/completion. The percentage reporting that they were employed full-time is reported below.

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2023 Graduate Exit Survey
Response Rate: 87.1% of graduates surveyed answered this question.

Employed in Field by Degree Level

Graduations between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023

Students were asked if they were employed in their field. The percentage reporting responding yes is reported below.

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2023 Graduate Exit Survey
Response Rate: 87.1% of graduates surveyed answered this question.

Career Change by Degree Level

Graduations between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023

Students were asked if they made or anticipate making a career advancement or change in profession after completing their program at ACE. The percentage of students responding yes or that they already have is reported below.

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2023 Graduate Exit Survey
Response Rate: 88.3% of graduates surveyed answered this question.

Career Change Included a Pay Raise by Degree Level

Graduations between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023

Students that answered that they made or were planning on making a career advancement or change were also asked if the change came with a pay raise. The percentage of students responding yes is reported below.

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2023 Graduate Exit Survey
Response Rate: 53.4% of graduates surveyed answered this question.

Career Change Salary Increase by Degree Level

Graduations between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023

Students that indicated they would receive a pay raise as a result of making a career advancement or change were asked to specify that raise in US Dollars per year. Their responses are reported below.

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2023 Graduate Exit Survey
Response Rate: 20.1% of graduates surveyed answered this question.

Annual Salary by Degree Level

Graduations between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023

Students were asked to provide their annual salary in US Dollars at the time of graduation. Their responses are reported below.

Source: ACE college systems, Department of Institutional Analytics, 2023 Graduate Exit Survey
Response Rate: 45.6% of graduates surveyed answered this question.

Click here for the IDOE EPP Comparative Data Matrix.
Click here for annual reporting measures required by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).


Information provided by the Department of Institutional Analytics: 2024

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