Peer Institutions
Our institutional research team is CEI’s knowledge hub. We dive deep into data to help community members to answer key research questions. Our content experts use our data to guide important decisions, shape strategies, and evaluate programs so we can move towards our desired future.
Peer Comparisons: Key Metrics
We compare our enrollment, retention, and graduation patterns to our regional peer institutions and national peers. This helps us to understand bigger trends, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and ensure our education is truly meeting the needs of our students.
The following data is taken from CEI’s reporting to the Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System (IPEDS). Like almost every college and university in the country, CEI submits this data and much more. You can answer more research questions here: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data
CEI studies our performance against our national and regional peers. The comparison helps us to learn from each other, set goals, and keep improving our performance. CEI chose peer institutions that share similar characteristics so that CEI can reasonably compare its performance to theirs.
- CEI's national peer institutions have been selected based on three criteria:
- Dual mission colleges that offer associate and bachelor's level degree programs, as well as workforce development
- Based in predominantly rural states in the West and Midwest, but excluding Idaho
- Focused on accessibility and affordability
- Regional institutions have been chosen because they share CEI's geographic region. CEI strives to meet or exceed the high standards of our educational neighbors to ensure that our students get the best start to their career here.
CEI systematically compares its performance to these peers at annual summits that include the board of trustees, executive committees, and members of faculty and staff. These comparisons shape CEI's strategic goals.
Enrollment
Male Enrollment as a Percent of All Students in Fall Enrollment
Hispanic Enrollment as a Percent of All Students in Fall Enrollment
Percent of Full-Time Student Enrollment
Retention
Full-Time Student Retention of First-time Degree/Certificate Seeking Students
Part-Time Student Retention of First-time Degree/Certificate Seeking Students
Graduation Rate
Graduation rate of all first-time, full-time students within 150% of normal time
Graduation rate of Hispanic first-time, full-time students within 150% of normal time
Graduation rate of Pell-grant recipients first-time, full-time students within 150% of normal time
National and Regional Peer Comparisons
CEI studies our performance against our national and regional peers. The comparison helps us to learn from each other, set goals, and keep improving our performance.
Regional Peers
- Boise State University (Boise, ID)
- Brigham Young University-Idaho (Rexburg, ID)
- College of Southern Idaho (Twin Falls, ID)
- College of Western Idaho (Nampa, ID)
- Idaho State University (Pocatello, ID)
- Lewis-Clark State College (Lewiston, ID)
- North Idaho College (Coeur d'Alene, ID)
- The College of Idaho (Caldwell, ID)
- University of Idaho (Moscow, ID)
National Peers
CEI's national peer institutions have been selected based on three criteria:
- Dual mission colleges that offer associate and bachelor's level degree programs, as well as workforce development
- Based in predominantly rural states in the West and Midwest, but excluding Idaho
- Focused on accessibility and affordability
CEI's national peers are:
- Black Hills State University (Spearfish, SD)
- Chadron State College (Chadron, SE)
- Great Basin College (Elko, NV)
- Montana State University-Northern (Havre, MT)
- Northwestern Oklahoma State University (Alva, OK)
- Utah Tech University (Saint George, UT)
- Utah Valley University (Orem, UT)
- Weber State University (Ogden, UT)