Benedict College Doubles Graduation Rate to 28%

Benedict College just achieved something remarkable: doubling its four-year graduation rate from 13.7 percent to 28 percent in under a decade. The Columbia, South Carolina HBCU is rewriting the playbook on student success, especially for first-generation and low-income learners.

Between 2007 and 2017, only about one in seven students graduated in four years. Today, that number has jumped to more than one in four, with the most recent cohorts hitting 28 percent and holding steady even through the pandemic.

What makes this even more impressive is who Benedict serves. About 85 percent of students are either Pell Grant recipients or the first in their families to attend college, groups that traditionally face the toughest barriers to completion.

The transformation didn't happen by accident. President Roslyn Clark Artis and her team invested in data-driven support services, expanded academic programs, and built what they call "wrap-around services" to catch students before they fall through the cracks.

When COVID-19 hit, the college could have lost momentum. Instead, they launched virtual academic support and course-sharing partnerships to keep students on track. CARES Act funding helped protect vulnerable students from dropping out during the crisis.

The Ripple Effect

Benedict's success is sending waves through the entire HBCU community. The college's six-year graduation rate now exceeds the national average for Black students by 2.7 percent, a stunning achievement that proves resource constraints don't have to mean limited results.

Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough of the United Negro College Fund called the results proof that Benedict is a premier investment for philanthropic partners. He believes greater support will lead to even more "eye-popping" outcomes across historically Black institutions.

The faculty has stayed laser-focused on career readiness, making sure degrees translate into real opportunities. Dr. Janeen P. Witty noted that the entire campus celebrates these wins as a team effort, not just an administrative checkbox.

Every new cohort continues advancing the mission, with the three-year average now exceeding what used to be a ten-year benchmark. The college has fundamentally shifted its institutional culture since launching these initiatives in 2017, and the momentum shows no signs of slowing.

For thousands of students who might have become dropout statistics elsewhere, Benedict College is proving that the right support can turn potential into achievement.