The average graduation rate over the past 10 years (2015-2025) is 28.40% where the last year rate was 32%.
The average retention rate of the last 11 years is 52.20% for full-time students and 33.00% for part-time students.
Judging by its graduation rate and retention rate, many students at Palo Alto do not enroll continually (i.e transfer-out or stop studying) and do not complete their studies in time.
The average graduation rate of the last 11 years is 28.40% where the current academic year rate is 32%.
The following table and chart show the changes of graduation rate at Palo Alto College over the past 10 years (2015-2025).
| Year | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 19% | 11% | 27% |
| 2016-17 | 24% | 18% | 28% |
| 2017-18 | 26% | 18% | 31% |
| 2018-19 | 34% | 30% | 38% |
| 2019-20 | 29% | 24% | 34% |
| 2020-21 | 29% | 22% | 33% |
| 2021-22 | 32% | 28% | 35% |
| 2022-23 | 25% | 16% | 31% |
| 2023-24 | 34% | 26% | 38% |
| 2024-25 | 32% | 28% | 35% |
| Average | 28.40% | 22.10% | 33.00% |
The average transfer-out rate of the last 11 years is 16.60% where the current year rate is 12%. The following table and chart illustrate the change of transfer-out rate at Palo Alto College from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Transfer-out Rate |
|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 53% |
| 2016-17 | 16% |
| 2017-18 | 17% |
| 2018-19 | 12% |
| 2019-20 | 11% |
| 2020-21 | 8% |
| 2021-22 | 12% |
| 2022-23 | 11% |
| 2023-24 | 14% |
| 2024-25 | 12% |
| Average | 16.60% |
The average retention rate of the last 11 years is 52.20% for full-time students and 33.00% for part-time students.
The following table shows the changes of retention rate at Palo Alto from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Full-time | Part-time |
|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 63% | 39% |
| 2016-17 | 67% | 43% |
| 2017-18 | 62% | 43% |
| 2018-19 | 63% | 43% |
| 2019-20 | 61% | 41% |
| 2020-21 | 53% | 30% |
| 2021-22 | 60% | 26% |
| 2022-23 | 36% | 41% |
| 2023-24 | 57% | 24% |
| 2024-25 | - | - |
| Average | 52.20% | 33.00% |
The average student to faculty ratio over the last 11 years is 28.90 to 1 where the current academic year ratio is 31 to 1. The following table and chart illustrate the change of student to faculty ratio at Palo Alto College since 2025.
| Year | Student to Faculty Ratio |
|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 24:1 |
| 2016-17 | 28:1 |
| 2017-18 | 29:1 |
| 2018-19 | 27:1 |
| 2019-20 | 29:1 |
| 2020-21 | 31:1 |
| 2021-22 | 32:1 |
| 2022-23 | 28:1 |
| 2023-24 | 30:1 |
| 2024-25 | 31:1 |
| Average | 28.90:1 |
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