Mississippi State University (MSU) is committed to educating all levels of the workforce and leaders of the future. This is reflected in the Mission Statement, a portion of which reads: "Mississippi State University is a public, land-grant university whose mission is to provide access and opportunity to students from all sectors of the state's diverse population, as well as from other states and countries, and to offer excellent programs of teaching, research, and service." The results of these excellent programs are competent and informed citizens and professionals equipped to lead in industry and in their communities through traditional academic programs, experiential learning, opportunities for leadership development, and community service.

MSU evaluates success with respect to student achievement by considering graduation rates, number of degrees awarded, pass rates on licensing examinations, and first destination placement rates, among other criteria. These data are connected to the institution’s goals and outcomes. MSU has also identified appropriate targets with criteria for minimum thresholds. These targets and criteria are informed through peer comparisons and through the institution’s historic performance in these areas. All student success data are published on the Institutional Research and Effectiveness web site, which is linked from other high-level pages and open to the public.

Graduation Rates

MSU’s goal is to serve the whole student with an intended outcome to help all students complete their academic program goals. Our chosen student success indicator is the National Student Clearinghouse 6-year graduation rate that shows what percentage of students who began their bachelor’s degrees at MSU complete that bachelor’s degree, even if they ultimately graduated from another four-year institution.

Table 1. National Student Clearinghouse 6-year Graduation Rate

First-year Cohort starting Fall 2013-2017	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Graduated: MSU	61%	64%	59%	63%	63%
Transferred and Graduated: Other Institution	11%	10%	13%	13%	11%
Enrolled: MSU	3%	3%	3%	2%	2%
Transferred and Enrolled: Other institution	6%	5%	5%	5%	4%
Current Status Unknown	19%	18%	20%	17%	20%

Licensing Examinations

Not only does MSU want to increase the percentage of graduates and the number of degrees awarded, but also seeks for those graduates to master the content knowledge of their chosen disciplines. Several disciplines offer licensure examinations, which demonstrate mastery of content. Although these outcomes must be measured at the program level, they also include state and professional licensure and examinations, which are shared publicly.

Praxis II Success Rates

Table 2. Praxis II Success Rates

	Number taking the test	Number passing assessment	Institutional Pass Rate	Statewide Pass Rate
2015-2016	228	215	94%	93%
2016-2017	245	224	91%	91%
2017-2018	233	218	94%	92%
2018-2019	242	219	90%	90%
2019-2020*	257	200	78%	81%
2020-2021*	96	71	74%	53%
2021-2022	334	315	94%	88%

* Covid-19 years show anomalous data

Architecture Licensure Exam Results

Table 3. Architecture Licensure Exam

Division Name	2021	2022	2023
Construction & Evaluation	64%*	64%	58%
Practice Management	59%*	59%*	56%*
Programming & Analysis	34%	62%*	75%*
Project Development & Documentation	60%*	64%*	67%*
Project Management	60%	81%*	59%
Project Planning & Design	39%	38%	59%*

* Above the National Average

Board of Registered Foresters Exam

Table 4. Board of Registered Foresters Exam

Year	Students Taking Exams	Students Passing Exams	Percent Passing
2014	29	21	72.4%
2015	30	19	70.7%
2016	28	17	60.7%
2017	33	27	81.8%
2018	32	27	84.4%
2019	43	27	62.8%
2020	51	46	90.2%
2021	37	31	83.8%
2022	26	23	88.5%
2023	30	27	90%

Veterinary Licensing Examination

Table 5. North American Veterinary Licensing Exam Results

Year	Students Taking Exam(s)	Students Passing Exam(s)	Percent Passing	Target
2015	79	78	99%	98%
2016	83	82	99%	98%
2017	81	80	99%	98%
2018	82	79	96%	98%
2019	91	90	99%	98%
2020	87	85	98%	98%
2021	91	90	99%	98%
2022	92	94	97.9%	98%
2023	87	94	92.6%	98%

Graduate Student Research

MSU’s emphasis on discovery, innovation, and creativity is reflected in its status as a doctoral-granting institution with very high research activity. MSU’s graduate student exit survey informs scholarly or scientific inquiry at the university level. Questions related to graduate students' participation in peer-refereed activity used to be collected only at the unit level, but it was added to the Graduate Exit Survey for the 2017-18 year. Table 12 indicates the average number of research activity and the total number of students engaged in that activity. Data from the first year serves as baseline data and as minimum threshold. The desired target was for the average amount of scholarship and the total number of graduate students engaged in scholarship to increase every year.

Table 6. Results of the Graduating Graduate Student Exit Survey

	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021	2021-2022	2022-2023	2023-2024
Presentations at international conferences	2.3 (n=203)	2.3 (n=209)	2.2 (n=177)	2.4 (n=172)	2.2 (n=215)	2.1 (n=194)	2.4 (n=233)
Presentations at regional conferences	2.5 (n=334)	2.7 (n=344)	2.6 (n=318)	2.6 (n=279)	2.4 (n=335)	2.5 (n=325)	2.5 (n=375)
Journal articles submitted	2.4 (n=296)	2.4 (n=316)	2.5 (n=276)	2.6 (n=261)	2.7 (n=388)	2.4 (n=341)	2.7 (n=371)
Journal articles accepted	2.2 (n=216)	2.4 (n=195)	2.3 (n=192)	2.3 (n=181)	2.6 (n=270)	2.2 (n=246)	2.5 (n=279)
Grants submitted	2.1 (n=137)	2.0 (n=133)	1.8 (n=121)	2.0 (n=120)	2.0 (n=213)	2.0 (n=173)	2.0 (n=172)
Grants awarded	1.9 (n=114)	1.8 (n=110)	1.7 (n=103)	1.9 (n=108)	1.9 (n=191)	1.8 (n=173)	1.8 (n=168)

First Destination Placement Rates

What happens to MSU students once they graduate is very important to the university. Career management pertains to connecting collegiate and professional experience to career goals and to identifying areas for improvement or professional growth. Following the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) guidelines, the institution tracks employment and graduate school enrollment data by college to indicate what percentage of graduates have begun their careers six months after they graduate from the university. Successful career outcomes include students who have secured employment, are continuing their education, are participating in volunteer or service organizations (e.g., PeaceCorps), or have joined the U.S. Military. (Refer to the Career Center web site for more information)

Table 7. First Destination Survey Results from 2022-23 graduates six months after graduation

College	Graduates*	Surveys	Knowledge Rate**	Successful Career Outcomes***
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences	652	496	76%	94%
College of Architecture, Art & Design	168	154	92%	89%
College of Arts & Sciences	1366	1015	74%	92%
Bagley College of Engineering	1039	780	75%	95%
College of Business****	1114	916	82%	93%
College of Education	1111	818	74%	91%
College of Forest Resources	147	114	78%	92%
College of Veterinary Medicine	131	105	80%	100%
Academic Affairs	151	111	74%	90%
Total	5831	4461	77%	93%

* Total Graduates counts students with majors in more than one college only once.
** Knowledge rate = the percent of graduates for which reasonable and verifiable information was collected.
*** Successful Career Outcome = Employed + Enrolled + Volunteering + Military / Total – Not seeking or continuing education.
**** Combines College of Business and Adkerson School of Accountancy

Last Updated: September 24, 2024