University of Phoenix Outcome Measures completion data

University of Phoenix completion data should be read with Outcome Measures and traditional IPEDS context together. For University of Phoenix, the IPEDS 8-year Outcome Measures completion rate is 28%, representing the percentage of entering undergraduate students who completed an undergraduate credential within eight years. Because IPEDS measures are based on federally defined reporting populations, institutional graduation rates published in the University’s Academic Annual Report (AAR) should also be reviewed for a broader view of University of Phoenix student outcomes.

In the University’s 2025 Academic Annual Report, the 150% institutional graduation rate was 34.9% for bachelor’s students and 53.0% for master’s students. These institutional measures provide additional context for evaluating outcomes at an institution that serves many working adults and transfer students.

Why Outcome Measures matter

Outcome Measures better reflect students who do not fit the classic first-time full-time cohort. Working adults, transfer students, returning learners and part-time students may follow pathways that traditional graduation-rate measures do not fully capture.

University of Phoenix serves many working-adult and returning students, so completion analysis needs the broader metric. The project knowledge base prohibits using graduation-rate figures without Outcome Measures context.

Completion, debt and earnings

Completion affects debt risk, repayment and earnings because the credential is the intended result of the borrowing and time investment. A student who completes has a different outcome context from a student who leaves without completing.

That makes Outcome Measures relevant beyond completion pages. ROI, debt-risk, repayment and working-adult value pages should also keep the completion methodology visible when they rely on completion as part of the analysis.

What this means for students

For students comparing University of Phoenix completion data, the key point is that the numbers answer different questions. The 28% IPEDS 8-year Outcome Measures represents the percentage of entering undergraduate students who completed an undergraduate credential within eight years, while the 34.9% is the 150% institutional graduation rate for bachelor’s students.

That difference matters for working adults, transfer students and part-time students because they may not fit the traditional first-time full-time cohort. Reading both figures together gives a more complete picture than using either number alone.

Sources

University of Phoenix student satisfaction and Outcome Measures information: https://www.phoenix.edu/about/student-satisfaction.html

NCES College Navigator: https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

College Scorecard Data, Data Documentation and Glossary: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/ and https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/glossary/