Graduated

The graduation rate takes the number of graduated students divided by the number of enrolled students to produce a percentage.

Enrolled students are all students in a course as of the final date under applicable state regulations on which the school is required to provide the student with a full tuition refund. Enrolled students do not include students who died, became incarcerated, or were called into active military duty during the course.

Graduates are all students who met the published graduation requirements and received a certificate of completion. Create three fields for each question on the first-day intent survey, and track students' responses there. Also create a field to track which students are hired by the school itself.

Employed

The employed rate takes the number of students who found gainful employment in-field divided by the number of graduated students.

Students who responded to the pre-class survey, who did not intend to start a new in-field job within 180 days of graduation, or who are not authorized to work in the country of study, are excluded from the calculation.

Median Salary

The median salary is the middle salary when all salaries are sorted from least to greatest. Salary includes only base compensation and excludes bonuses, equity, relocation, and any other non-base compensation.

The following applies only to CIRR-verified outcomes. All membership data is based on six standards.

CIRR Standards

Membership in CIRR requires the following six standards:

1. Advertising and disclosing honestly. CIRR schools follow a set of truth in advertising rules that prohibit misleading outcomes claims.
2. Collecting students’ intent. No later than the first day of class, CIRR schools survey students as to their intent after graduating. This information, along with a list of all enrolled students, is submitted to auditors immediately. Surveying intent by the first day of class and submitting to an auditor prevents schools from manipulating their results later.
3. Tracking enrollment and graduation. For every enrolled student, CIRR schools track their on-time and late graduation rates as part of their outcomes reports.
4. Tracking job outcomes. After students graduate, CIRR schools follow up with job-seeking students to track what jobs they find and when.
5. Reporting students’ outcomes. Every six months, CIRR schools release standardized reports of student outcomes.
6. Auditing outcomes data. Once a year, CIRR schools have their outcomes report reviewed by an approved third party that checks to make sure there is evidence for the outcomes the school claims.

How CIRR Works

No later than the first day of class, CIRR schools survey students as to their intent after graduating. Students who enroll to learn, not to earn, are excluded from calculations. After students graduate, CIRR schools follow up with job-seeking students to track what jobs they find and when. Every six months, CIRR schools release standardized reports of student outcomes. Once a year, CIRR schools have their outcomes report reviewed by an approved third party that checks to make sure there is evidence for the outcomes the school claims.