National college completion rates have increased for the third consecutive year, according to a new report.

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has been tracking this data for the past six years and the latest numbers are an all-time high. According to the report, the overall national six-year completion rate increased by 1.5 percentage points this year, reaching 58.3 percent.

“Coming on top of last year’s gains, these across-the-board improvements are some of the most encouraging data on student success that we’ve seen in a long time,” Doug Shapiro, the executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, said in a news release.

“Retention and completion rates have increased because students have access to more of the programs, tools and support they need to succeed.”

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center also recently released data for students completing college within eight years. According to the report, 60.4 percent of students who enrolled in two- and four-year colleges in fall 2010 graduated within eight years – a 5.6 percentage point jump for this group over the past two years.

Read the full six-year completion rate report and the eight-year completion rate report.

Ashley Dobson is NACAC’s communications manager for content and social media. You can reach her at adobson@nacacnet.org.