National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2007
« back to 2007 | Back to NCAA News Archive Index
Division I graduation rate continues upward trend
Basketball GSR jumps nearly 8 percent
The NCAA News
Basketball GSR jumps nearly 8 percent
|
The NCAA News
Division I student-athletes continue to perform well in the classroom, and more of them are graduating from college, according to the latest NCAA Graduation Success Rate report.
From 1995-2000, the GSR increased in many sports, including men’s basketball, football and baseball, and women’s basketball, softball and volleyball. In men’s basketball in fact, the GSR jumped nearly 8 percent.
NCAA President Myles Brand regarded the data as good news, adding that the increased GSRs have led to 850 more student-athletes from the entering class of 2000 earning their degrees than did in the 1995 cohort.
Brand attributed some of the success to the NCAA academic-reform movement, which began in 2003 with increased initial-eligibility and progress-toward-degree standards. A few of the graduating classes at the end of the latest GSR cohort were subject to those new benchmarks.
“So in many ways,” Brand said, “these numbers give us a good base, but even so, we’ve seen in this period some effect of our academic reform, and it has been positive.”
The NCAA developed the GSR three years ago to more accurately assess long-term student-athlete academic success. The GSR differs from the federally mandated graduation-rate methodology in that it counts transfers into and out of an institution. Data show the GSR includes 36 percent more student-athletes than the federal graduation rate. The NCAA continues to provide the federal rate, though, since there is no comparable rate to the GSR for the general student body.
The latest GSR figures show that 77 percent of student-athletes who began college from 1997-2000 graduated within six years. That four-class average is unchanged from last year’s data and up from 76 percent two years ago.
But a closer examination of year-by-year data shows that the GSR rose from 67.6 percent for male student-athletes who began college in 1995 to 71.5 percent for those who started their studies in 2000. The GSR for women rose from 84.9 percent to 87.3 percent from 1995 to 2000.
The GSR for men’s basketball rose from 55.8 percent in 1995 to 63.6 percent in 2000, a 7.8 percent increase.
“That is laudable increase,” Brand said. “Nonetheless, men’s basketball still is the lowest of our sports in terms of graduation rate.”
Football increased from 63.1 percent to 66.6 percent for teams competing in the Bowl Subdivision and from 62 percent to 64.7 percent for teams competing in the Championship Subdivision. Baseball increased from 65.3 percent to 67.3 percent.
The GSR for women’s basketball rose from 79.8 percent in 1995 to 80.7 percent in 2000; women’s volleyball rose from 83.2 percent to 88 percent in the same period; and women’s soccer rose from 86.1 percent to 89.6 percent over six years.
Brand, who last year said he wanted Division I to achieve an 80 percent GSR in the future, remains confident that the mark is attainable.
“It is reachable, especially when considering how our academic reforms will affect future cohorts,” Brand said. “Our Academic Progress Rate has caused institutions to redouble their efforts to ensure that student-athletes succeed in the classroom and ultimately earn their college degree.”
From 1995-2000, the GSR increased in many sports, including men’s basketball, football and baseball, and women’s basketball, softball and volleyball. In men’s basketball in fact, the GSR jumped nearly 8 percent.
NCAA President Myles Brand regarded the data as good news, adding that the increased GSRs have led to 850 more student-athletes from the entering class of 2000 earning their degrees than did in the 1995 cohort.
Brand attributed some of the success to the NCAA academic-reform movement, which began in 2003 with increased initial-eligibility and progress-toward-degree standards. A few of the graduating classes at the end of the latest GSR cohort were subject to those new benchmarks.
“So in many ways,” Brand said, “these numbers give us a good base, but even so, we’ve seen in this period some effect of our academic reform, and it has been positive.”
The NCAA developed the GSR three years ago to more accurately assess long-term student-athlete academic success. The GSR differs from the federally mandated graduation-rate methodology in that it counts transfers into and out of an institution. Data show the GSR includes 36 percent more student-athletes than the federal graduation rate. The NCAA continues to provide the federal rate, though, since there is no comparable rate to the GSR for the general student body.
The latest GSR figures show that 77 percent of student-athletes who began college from 1997-2000 graduated within six years. That four-class average is unchanged from last year’s data and up from 76 percent two years ago.
But a closer examination of year-by-year data shows that the GSR rose from 67.6 percent for male student-athletes who began college in 1995 to 71.5 percent for those who started their studies in 2000. The GSR for women rose from 84.9 percent to 87.3 percent from 1995 to 2000.
The GSR for men’s basketball rose from 55.8 percent in 1995 to 63.6 percent in 2000, a 7.8 percent increase.
“That is laudable increase,” Brand said. “Nonetheless, men’s basketball still is the lowest of our sports in terms of graduation rate.”
Football increased from 63.1 percent to 66.6 percent for teams competing in the Bowl Subdivision and from 62 percent to 64.7 percent for teams competing in the Championship Subdivision. Baseball increased from 65.3 percent to 67.3 percent.
The GSR for women’s basketball rose from 79.8 percent in 1995 to 80.7 percent in 2000; women’s volleyball rose from 83.2 percent to 88 percent in the same period; and women’s soccer rose from 86.1 percent to 89.6 percent over six years.
Brand, who last year said he wanted Division I to achieve an 80 percent GSR in the future, remains confident that the mark is attainable.
“It is reachable, especially when considering how our academic reforms will affect future cohorts,” Brand said. “Our Academic Progress Rate has caused institutions to redouble their efforts to ensure that student-athletes succeed in the classroom and ultimately earn their college degree.”
© 2010 The National Collegiate Athletic Association
Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy