Institutional Effectiveness

Graduate Data

How many graduates have training-related employment?  What wages do graduates from particular programs earn?  Do graduates typically work in Iowa?  Find answers to these questions and to many others in graduate follow-up reports:

Additional Student Achievement Data

  • Pass Rates
    • Aviation: October 2019 – September 2021 applicants sitting for the Federal Aviation Administration examination within 60 days of graduation passed on their first attempt at a rate of 100% for both Airman Maintenance Technician Airframe (AMA) and Airman Maintenance Technician Powerplant (AMP).

    • Dental Assistant: 2018-2021 graduates sitting for the Iowa Dental Board Exam have a 100% pass rate.

    • Dental Hygiene: 99% board pass rate on national exams; 95% board pass rate on regional and state exams; 100% pass rate on jurisprudence exam.

    • Medical Assistant: 2020 graduates sitting for the Medical Assistant Certification exam have a 67% pass rate.

    • Nursing: graduates sitting for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for Nursing had the following pass rates by program:
      • Practical Nursing:
        • 2019 = 95%
        • 2020 = 95%
        • 2021 = 95%
      • Associate Degree Nursing:
        • 2019 = 74%
        • 2020 = 80%
        • 2021 = 65%

    • Surgical Technology: graduates sitting for the Certified Surgical Technologist examination had the following pass rates:
      • August 2018 – July 2019 = 54%
      • August 2019 – July 2020 = 80%
      • August 2020 – July 2021 58%

    • Veterinary Technician: 2019-2020 graduates sitting for the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE) have an 85.0% pass rate for first-time test-takers. The three-year (2018-2021) average for first-time test-takers is 89.36%.

  • Retention Rates



Program Completions

Staff at Iowa Western annually measure students’ completions within programs of study on a cohort basis. Each student who begins a program of study may persist to the following academic year as “still here”, graduate, withdraw or change programs.  Staff can measure final program completion rates for a cohort that does not have any “still here” students. 


Outlook for Occupations

Select from the following documents to see local, state, and national levels for occupations that potentially match Iowa Western’s career programs. Iowa, Nebraska, and United States reports also list earnings for given occupations.  

Looking for more information on occupations?