How to read this dashboard
The strategic plan runs from 2023–24 through 2027–28. Baselines are from 2022–23, the last year before the plan took effect. The “2026” column is the latest available figure as of October 2026; for rates that lag, such as graduation, the cohort is named. Sources are the fall 2026 fact book, Career Services and Research & Sponsored Programs.
- Met — at or past the five-year target.
- On track — moving at a pace that reaches the target by 2028.
- Watch — improving, but too slowly.
- Behind — flat or moving the wrong way.
Two changes since the 2025 dashboard. The career-outcomes rate moved from On track to Behind after the class of 2025 survey. The first-generation graduation gap moved to Met after the December 2025 report. No targets were changed. The plan does not allow a target to be lowered mid-cycle without a vote of the steering committee, which includes students, staff and a tribal-nation liaison, and the committee has not been asked.
Applied learning in every major
| Metric | Baseline | 2026 | Target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Majors requiring an applied capstone, co-op or clinical | 31 of 38 | 38 of 38 | 38 of 38 | Met |
| Graduates completing an internship, co-op or clinical | 91% | 96% | 98% | On track |
| Share of those placements that are paid | 58% | 67% | 75% | On track |
| Students on funded research or sponsored projects, per year | 300 | 410 | 450 | On track |
The remaining unpaid placements are mostly in education and human services, where student teaching and fieldwork are unpaid by custom. A stipend pilot for student teachers is in the FY2028 budget request.
Career outcomes
| Metric | Baseline | 2026 | Target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employed or in graduate school within six months | 89% (class of 2021) | 91% (class of 2025) | 95% | Behind |
| Knowledge rate (outcomes verified) | 64% | 78% | 80% | On track |
| Programs publishing outcomes individually | 22 | 49 of 49 | All | Met |
| Median starting salary, all bachelor’s graduates | $51,200 | $58,900 | $60,000 | On track |
The outcomes rate was 94 percent for the class of 2024 (the figure still shown on quick facts until the class of 2025 survey closes) and fell to 91 percent for the class of 2025, as reported in September. About a point of the drop comes from verifying more graduates; the rest is concentrated in arts and communication programs, which have their own improvement plans.
Closing outcome gaps
| Metric | Baseline | 2026 | Target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-year retention, all students | 80% | 83% | 85% | On track |
| Retention gap, first-generation vs. continuing-generation | 7.8 points | 4.1 points | under 3 points | Watch |
| Six-year graduation gap, first-generation vs. all students | 7 points | 2 points | 2 points or less | Met |
| Six-year graduation rate, Pell recipients | 60% | 65% | 70% | Watch |
| Undergraduates graduating with no federal debt | 52% | 58% | 60% | On track |
Most of the graduation gain is credited to the First-Generation Student Center and the early-alert advising model. The retention gap closed fast for three years and has stalled at about four points; the Office of Inclusive Excellence is leading the response.
Regional economic partnership
| Metric | Baseline | 2026 | Target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employer-partnered capstones per year | 148 | 212 | 260 (240 in 2026–27) | On track |
| External research and contract funding | $6.2M | $9.1M | $10M | On track |
| Multi-year workforce agreements with regional employers | 0 | 2 | 4 | On track |
| Graduates working within about 100 miles | 58% | 61% | 65% | Watch |
The two workforce agreements are the manufacturing pipeline agreement signed in September and the rural health partnership with Porter County Health.
Summary
Of 17 metrics: 3 met, 10 on track, 3 to watch, 1 behind. The cabinet reviews this page each January and May; a metric marked Behind for two reviews gets a written plan, posted here, with a named owner. Chancellor Vandehey discussed the career-outcomes and retention-gap results in her State of the University address.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. The strategic plan, its metrics, baselines, targets and statuses are invented; nothing on this page measures a real institution’s performance.