When making a decision about which school to enroll at, applicants should examine the student outcomes at all schools being considered. One of the outcomes that should be reviewed is the graduation rates of the school.
Schools are required to calculate graduation rates for federal, state, and accrediting agency purposes. Unfortunately, these oversight agencies do not use the same formula for calculating graduation rates, hence a student may see multiple graduation rates for the same school. In addition, graduation rates can be calculated for the entire school or for individual programs. This may make it challenging for applicants to compare graduation rates between schools because there are many rates, published in numerous places, and may vary significantly because of the methodology used to calculate each graduation rate.
Omega Studios’ School is disclosing all of its graduation rates below, including what agency requires the calculation, the methodology used to calculate the rate and other locations the applicant may see the graduation rates published.
IPEDS/Student Right-to-Know Graduation Rate
Schools are required to calculate graduation rates for full-time, first-time certificate-seeking students.
Omega calculates its institutional Student Right-to-Know graduation rate using a full-year cohort, that is, students who started attendance from September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2013. In order to be included as a graduate, the students in the cohort must complete their program within 150% of normal program length by August 31, 2015. Normal program length is defined as the amount of time it takes students to complete the program as published in the school’s catalog and other publications.
Once a student is in the cohort, they remain in that cohort, even if their status changes, e.g., their status changes to part-time, they withdraw, or transfer to another school. However, there are allowable exclusions, including
- Death of the student
- Permanent disability
- Military deployment
- Service on an official church mission
- Foreign aid service of the federal government
The following formula is used to calculate the Student Right-to-Know completion rate:
Number of students in the cohort who completed their program within 150% of normal time for completion
————————————————————————————
Number of students in the cohort (minus permitted exclusions)
Omegas Student Right-to-Know graduation rate is 75% (55 graduates/73 students in the cohort X 100)
Agency requiring the rate: U.S. Congress and U.S. Department of Education, in compliance with the Student Right-to-Know Act.
Other places published: IPEDS Data Center, College Navigator
Gainful Employment (GE) Program On-time Completion/Graduation Rate
Schools must calculate an on-time completion/graduation rate for each gainful employment program it offers students.
Omega discloses its GE Program on-time completion/graduation rate on the GE Program Disclosure template
provided by the U.S. Department of Education, available on the program homepage on Omega’s website.
The formula for calculating the on-time completion/graduation rate for each GE program follows:
The number of students who completed the GE Program during
the most recently completed award year within normal time
—————————————————————————————–
The total number of students who completed the GE Program
in the most recently completed award year
Multiply by 100 to get the percentage.
Example: During the 2014-2015 award year 100 students completed the GE Program but only 75 of them completed in normal time. Divide 75 by 100 to get .75. Then multiply .75 times 100 to get 75. Thus for this program, 75% is the completion rate.
The on-time completion/graduation rates follow:
Comprehensive Recording industry Program (DAY): No rate calculated, less than 10 students in the cohort
Comprehensive Recording industry Program (EVE): No rate calculated, less than 10 students in the cohort
Audio for the Music Industry Program (DAY): 79%
Audio for the Music Industry Program (EVE): No rate calculated, less than 10 students in the cohort
Audio for Film and Television Program (DAY): No rate calculated, less than 10 students in the cohort
Audio for Film and Television Program (DAY): No rate calculated, less than 10 students in the cohort
Agency requiring the rate: U.S. Department of Education, in compliance with the Gainful Employment Regulations
Promulgated by the Department.
Other places published: Omega website, program brochure, individual homepages of each program. There are also
links to the disclosures from webpages containing general, academic, admissions.
Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) Graduation Rates
Omega School submits its annual report to MHEC each October. MHEC determines the graduation rate as the
number of completers divided by the number of Exited. These statistics reflect students who enrolled in the program
between 7/1 of the previous year to 6/30 of the current year. Following are Omega’s graduation and placement
statistics released for the period 7/1/15-6/30/16.
| Program | Enrolled | Exited | Complt | Cmpl % | Empl | Empl % |
| Omega Studios’ School of Applied Recording Arts and Sciences | ||||||
| Audio Engineering for Film and Television | 3 | 3 | 3 | 100.000% | 1 | 33.333% |
| Audio Engineering for the Music Industry | 52 | 38 | 29 | 76.316% | 12 | 41.379% |
| Audio Production Techniques | 4 | 3 | 2 | 66.667% | 1 | 50.000% |
| Comprehensive Recording Industry | 92 | 50 | 35 | 70.000% | 23 | 65.714% |
| Electronic Music Synthesizers and MIDI | 3 | 2 | 2 | 100.000% | 2 | 100.000% |
| Essential of Music Business and Artist Management | 3 | 2 | 2 | 100.000% | 0 | 0.000% |
| Recording Engineering and Studio Techniques | 7 | 6 | 5 | 83.333% | 3 | 60.000% |
| Sound Reinforcement for Live Performance | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100.000% | 1 | 100.000 |
MHEC explanation of data
Enrolled: students in attendance as of 7/1 to 6/30
Exited: withdrawals and graduates enrolled as of 7/1 with a last day of attendance between 7/1 & 6/30
Complt: graduates ÷ students in attendance 7/1-6/30 – LOA and students still enrolled
Cmpl % = complt ÷ exited x 100
Empl: graduates employed in training related occupations
Empl%: Empl ÷ compl x 100
*A Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) Graduation and Placement Rates
ACCSC requires its schools to report graduation rates on an annual basis. Their formula divides the number of
students who completed the program by the number enrolled. ACCSC establishes the time frame (cohort) for these
statistics each year. Following are Omega’s statistics posted in its 2016 Annual Report.
2016 ACCSC ANNUAL REPORT DISCLOSURES – GRADUATION AND PLACEMENT RATES
Program: AUDIO ENGINEERING FOR FILM AND TELEVISION – DAY
The completion rate reported to ACCSC as part of its 2016 Annual Report for the AUDIO ENGINEERING FOR FILM
AND TELEVISION – DAY Program (12 month Day Program) is 100%. The placement rate is 100%.
The reporting timeframe for ACCSC is October 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014. In this timeframe, 5 students started.
Of those, 0 students withdrew or transferred to another program, and 0 transferred in from another program for a
total of 5 (100%) student graduated within 150% of the program length. Of the 5 students, 0 pursued further
education and 5 (100%) students obtained training related employment.
Program: AUDIO ENGINEERING FOR FILM AND TELEVISION – EVENING
The completion rate reported to ACCSC as part of its 2016 Annual Report for the AUDIO ENGINEERING FOR FILM
AND TELEVISION – EVENING Program (15 month Evening Program) is 100%. The placement rate is 100%.
The reporting timeframe for ACCSC is July 1, 2013 through April 30, 2014. In this timeframe, 1 students started. Of those, 0 students withdrew or transferred to another program, and 0 transferred in from another program for a total of 1 (100%) students who graduated within 150% of the program length. Of the 1 students, 0 pursued further education and 1 (100%) students obtained training related employment. The report date for the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) Annual Report – 2016 is fixed by ACCSC at July 2016. The reporting period used to calculate the Graduation and Employment rates is dependent upon the length of the program in months. Therefore, the reporting period may be different for each variation of a program.
Program: AUDIO ENGINEERING FOR THE MUSIC INDUSTRY – DAY
The completion rate reported to ACCSC as part of its 2016 Annual Report for the AUDIO ENGINEERING FOR THE
MUSIC INDUSTRY – DAY Program (10 month Day Program) is 74%. The placement rate is 86%.
The reporting timeframe for ACCSC is January 1, 2014 through October 31, 2014. In this timeframe, 19 students
started. Of those, 5 students withdrew or transferred to another program, and 0 transferred from another program
for a total of 14 (74%) students who graduated within 150% of the program length. Of the 14 students, 0 pursued
further education and 12 (86%) students obtained training related employment.
Program: AUDIO ENGINEERING FOR THE MUSIC INDUSTRY – EVENING
The completion rate reported to ACCSC as part of its 2016 Annual Report for the AUDIO ENGINEERING FOR THE
MUSIC INDUSTRY – EVENING Program (12 month Evening Program) is 60%. The placement rate is 67%.
The reporting timeframe for ACCSC is October 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014. In this timeframe, 6 students started.
Of those, 3 students withdrew or transferred to another program, and 0 transferred in from another program for a
total of 3 (60%) students who graduated within 150% of the program length. Of the 3 students, 0 pursued further
education and 2 (67%) students obtained training related employment. The report date for the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) Annual Report – 2016 is fixed by ACCSC at July 2016. The reporting period used to calculate the Graduation and Employment rates is dependent upon the length of the program in months. Therefore, the reporting period may be different for each variation of a program.
Program: COMPREHENSIVE RECORDING INDUSTRY – DAY
The completion rate reported to ACCSC as part of its 2016 Annual Report for the COMPREHENSIVE RECORDING
INDUSTRY – DAY Program (12 month Day Program) is 100%. The placement rate is 78%.
The reporting timeframe for ACCSC is October 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014. In this timeframe, 12 students started.
Of those, 2 students withdrew or transferred to another program, and 0 transferred in from another program for a
total of 10 (83%) students who graduated within 150% of the program length. Of the 10 students, 1 pursued further
education and 7 (78%) students obtained training related employment.
Program: COMPREHENSIVE RECORDING INDUSTRY – EVENING
The completion rate reported to ACCSC as part of its 2016 Annual Report for the COMPREHENSIVE RECORDING
INDUSTRY – EVENING Program (15 month Evening Program) is 100%. The placement rate is 100%.
The reporting timeframe for ACCSC is July 1, 2013 through April 30, 2014. In this timeframe, 2 students started. Of
those, 0 students withdrew or transferred to another program, and 0 transferred in from another program for a total
of 2 (100%) students who graduated within 150% of the program length. Of the 2 students, 0 pursued further
education and 2 (100%) students obtained training related employment. The report date for the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) Annual Report – 2016 is fixed by ACCSC at July 2016. The reporting period used to calculate the Graduation and Employment rates is dependent upon the length of the program in months. Therefore, the reporting period may be different for each variation of a program.
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