Institutional Frequently Asked Questions

There are a handful of general questions frequently posed to the Institutional Effectiveness staff. We have attempted to provide answers to many of these questions here. The responses provided are for the most recent academic year (2021-22) unless otherwise specified and conform to terms as defined.

1. What is Cornell’s enrollment?
Enrollment can be defined in many ways, including total headcount and full-time equivalent students. For 2022-23,

• Total Head-Count Enrollment = 1074
• Total Degree-Seeking Student Enrollment (both part-time and full-time students) = 1058
  
• Total Full-Time Equivalent (total full-time students + 1/3 of total part-time students) = 1057
  

2. What is the ratio of students to faculty?

For 2022-23, Cornell College had a student-to-faculty ratio of 12:1. This ratio represents the number of full-time equivalent students per full-time equivalent faculty member (see Common Data Set for calculation).

3. What is the College’s first-to-second year retention rate?

Of those first-time, full-time students who started Cornell College in 2021-22, 80% returned to the College in 2022-23.

4. What is the College’s 6-year graduation rate?

Of those first-time, full-time students who began their college careers at Cornell in 2016-17, 64% graduated within six years.

5. What percentage of Cornell College tenured or tenure-track faculty hold terminal degrees (e.g., Ph.D., Ed.D., MFA, etc.)?

100 percent (100%) of Cornell’s tenured/tenure-track faculty hold terminal degrees in their fields (2022-23).

6. What are the five most popular majors?

The top five majors for 2021-2022 graduates were: (1) Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2) Kinesiology-Exercise Science, (3) Engineering (4) Computer Science (5) Politics.

7. What are the geographic origins of our students?

For the 2022-23 academic year, 31% of Cornell students hail from Iowa. 15%  come from Illinois,   Minnesota (9%), Colorado (8%), and California (5%) round out the top 5 states.  An additional 2% of students arrive at Cornell from homes outside the U.S.

8. What is the average GPA for the student body?

The College’s average GPA for 2021-2022 was 3.12.

9. What percentage of Cornell students live in campus housing?

Cornell is a residential campus generally housing over 90% of it student population.  93% of the student body were living campus housing in the fall of 2022.