The four-year graduation trend dipped slightly in that time for Florida Gulf Coast University and the University of West Florida, which both were at 22 percent last year.
Even the University of Florida, which had the highest rate last year, has essentially been stagnant since 2012, when it had a 68 percent four-year graduation rate.
Jason Jones, an assistant vice chancellor for institutional research for the Board of Governors, said state universities are doing a better job of retaining students, which is an indicator that the four-year rate is likely to improve over time.
The system-wide retention rate, which measures students who return to school after their first year, has increased from 82.5 percent in 2012 to 86 percent last year, the report showed.
And the system-wide 47 percent four-year graduation rate does not reflect the fact that about 20 percent of the undergraduate degree programs require more than 120 credit hours of classes, which would be the standard four-year degree, Jones said.
