University of Phoenix Graduation Rate and Completion Fields on College Scorecard

College Scorecard shows University of Phoenix-Arizona completion information through published federal fields, including a graduation-rate field on the school profile and related completion data defined in United States Department of Education documentation. [1][2] The graduation-rate number is not the full completion picture by itself, because federal completion measures use defined cohorts, measurement periods, and student-status categories. [2][3][4]

What College Scorecard shows on the University of Phoenix-Arizona profile

The United States Department of Education College Scorecard school profile for University of Phoenix-Arizona is the federal consumer-facing source for the institution’s displayed graduation and completion-related fields. [1] The profile presents completion information alongside other outcome and finance fields, including cost, debt, earnings, and repayment fields; College Scorecard documentation supplies field definitions, and downloadable data files supply bulk institution-level values. [1][2][5]

For completion questions, the visible graduation-rate field on the College Scorecard profile gives a source-defined institutional indicator, not a universal statement about every student who ever attended University of Phoenix. [1][2] College Scorecard fields are tied to defined data elements and cohorts, so the field label and the underlying documentation matter when interpreting the number. [2][5]

This page is a field-interpretation guide rather than a current-value report. Use the College Scorecard profile for the current displayed value, and use the downloadable institution-level files for the same type of source-defined institutional data in bulk form. [1][5]

Why a single graduation-rate field needs cohort context

Graduation-rate fields in federal education data are built around specific student cohorts, not all possible student pathways. [2][4] The National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Graduation Rates survey component focuses on first-time, full-time, degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate students and measures completion within specified time periods. [4]

That cohort definition matters for interpretation. [4] A first-time, full-time graduation-rate measure does not describe students outside that defined group, such as students who entered with prior postsecondary enrollment or students whose attendance status differs from the field’s cohort definition. [4]

The NCES IPEDS Outcome Measures survey component adds important completion context because it includes degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate cohorts separated by first-time or non-first-time status and full-time or part-time attendance status. [3] Outcome Measures reporting therefore captures additional completion-status categories that are relevant when a completion discussion extends beyond the first-time, full-time cohort used in the Graduation Rates component. [3][4]

A first-time, full-time graduation rate and an Outcome Measures completion rate answer different questions. The traditional IPEDS Graduation Rates cohort focuses on students beginning college for the first time and attending full time. Students who previously attended another postsecondary institution are outside that first-time cohort.

This distinction is important when interpreting University of Phoenix outcomes because a graduation-rate figure should not be generalized beyond the students included in its federal cohort. In particular, traditional IPEDS Graduation Rates measures may not capture students who previously attended another postsecondary institution. IPEDS Outcome Measures provides additional context by separately reporting outcomes for first-time and non-first-time undergraduate students.

How Outcome Measures changes the completion discussion

Outcome Measures is important because it broadens the view of completion beyond a single first-time, full-time graduation-rate frame. [3] The IPEDS Outcome Measures component reports outcomes for four undergraduate degree- or certificate-seeking cohorts: first-time full-time, first-time part-time, non-first-time full-time, and non-first-time part-time students. [3]

That structure is especially relevant when interpreting completion information for non-first-time students, part-time students, or students with prior postsecondary enrollment, because those pathways do not all fit inside one first-time, full-time cohort definition. [3][4] A College Scorecard graduation-rate field can be accurate for its defined cohort while still not representing every student status category reported through Outcome Measures. [1][2][3]

Outcome Measures also separates completion interpretation from a simple yes-or-no reading of attendance. [3] IPEDS Outcome Measures reporting includes award-status and enrollment-status information within its survey design, so completion analysis can involve more than one outcome category. [3]

What Outcome Measures reports for University of Phoenix

For University of Phoenix-Arizona, the IPEDS eight-year Outcome Measures completion rate in 2026 is 28% for the applicable reported cohort. That figure should be identified specifically as an Outcome Measures completion rate rather than substituted for a traditional first-time, full-time graduation rate because the measures use different cohort definitions.

IPEDS also reports a combined completion-and-transfer-out measure of 54.6% for the applicable University of Phoenix cohort in 2026. That figure should not be described as a 54.6% completion rate: it combines students who completed a credential with students reported as transferring to another institution.

Why “100 percent minus graduation rate” is not a complete completion measure

A noncompletion question cannot be answered accurately by subtracting a displayed graduation rate from 100 percent without checking the field definition. [2][3][4] Federal completion surveys include cohort rules, time periods, exclusions, enrollment-status categories, and award-status categories that affect what a completion field does and does not count. [2][3][4]

A student not counted as completed in one graduation-rate field may belong to a different reporting category, such as a transfer-status, enrollment-status, or non-first-time cohort category, depending on the federal survey and field definition. [3][4] That is why completion information for University of Phoenix-Arizona should be read through both the College Scorecard profile and the IPEDS Outcome Measures context. [1][3]

The Graduation Rates component and the Outcome Measures component answer related but different questions. [3][4] Graduation Rates provides a traditional first-time, full-time completion measure, while Outcome Measures expands completion reporting across additional attendance and prior-enrollment categories. [3][4]

Reading the College Scorecard graduation field correctly

A careful reading starts with the exact College Scorecard profile label and the current value shown for University of Phoenix-Arizona. [1] The next step is to match that field to College Scorecard documentation or institution-level data files so the cohort, measurement period, and field definition are understood before the number is reused. [2][5]

The field should be treated as an aggregate institutional indicator. [1][2] It does not predict whether an individual student will complete a program, and it does not isolate individual variables such as enrollment intensity, transfer history, program selection, financial circumstances, or personal schedule. [2][3]

The field also should not be used as a stand-alone measure of University of Phoenix outcomes. [1][2][3] Completion questions are best read together with related federal fields, including net price, debt, repayment, and earnings, because College Scorecard organizes those measures as separate source-defined indicators. [1][2]

What the federal sources do and do not establish

College Scorecard establishes the published federal profile and data-field context for University of Phoenix-Arizona. [1][2][5] It does not establish a guaranteed completion outcome for any individual student. [2]

IPEDS Graduation Rates establishes a defined first-time, full-time graduation-rate framework. [4] It does not, by itself, describe every student who entered with previous postsecondary experience or attended under a different enrollment-intensity category. [4]

IPEDS Outcome Measures establishes broader completion-status context by reporting across first-time, non-first-time, full-time, and part-time undergraduate degree- or certificate-seeking cohorts. [3] It does not replace the College Scorecard profile, but it provides necessary context for interpreting completion beyond a single displayed graduation-rate field. [1][3]

A source-based way to interpret University of Phoenix completion outcomes

University of Phoenix completion outcomes can be evaluated using multiple sources, but the population, cohort and methodology behind each measure should be identified. College Scorecard and IPEDS provide federally reported, cohort-defined measures. The graduation-rate field shown in College Scorecard is useful for understanding the specific cohort it measures, but it should not be generalized into a completion rate for all University of Phoenix students. IPEDS Outcome Measures can provide additional federal context for students who previously attended another postsecondary institution. [1][2][3][4]

University of Phoenix also publishes institutional data and student outcomes outside of College Scorecard including in its Academic Annual Report. These University-published measures can provide additional context about the University’s student population and completion outcomes, but they should be presented using the definitions, populations and time periods associated with the specific UOPX publication rather than treated as directly interchangeable with federal graduation or completion measures.

A completion review can therefore use both federal and University-published sources: College Scorecard for its displayed institutional measures, College Scorecard documentation for definitions and methodology, NCES IPEDS for federal cohort data, and University of Phoenix publications for additional institution-reported outcomes. [1][2][3][4] Using the sources together—and clearly identifying what each measure represents—provides a more complete picture than relying on a single graduation-rate field.

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard institution profile for University of Phoenix-Arizona: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?484613-University-of-Phoenix-Arizona=

2. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard Institution-Level Data Documentation: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/assets/InstitutionDataDocumentation.pdf

3. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS Outcome Measures survey component: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/survey-components/11

4. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS Graduation Rates survey component: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/survey-components/9

5. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard data files: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/