U-M Student-Athlete Graduation Rates Above NCAA National Average
10/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | General
Oct. 26, 2011
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The NCAA National Office released Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) reports on Tuesday (Oct. 25) for all NCAA Division I institutions. The report includes student-athletes on aid entering school between the 2001-02 and 2004-05 academic years and indicates the percentage of those who graduate within six years. The University of Michigan's four-year rolling average GSR is 82 percent -- up three percent from the 2010 report -- while its four-year rolling average FGR is 76 percent -- an increase of one percent. In the one-year FGR for the 2004-05 incoming class, the most recent year with complete data, 76 percent of U-M student-athletes entering in fall 2004 graduated within six years.
The NCAA also released its overall Division I national averages: the four-year GSR is 80 percent and the 2004-05 incoming class FGR is 65 percent.
Six U-M varsity athletic teams had 100-percent four-year Graduation Success Rates in the 2011 report: field hockey; men's golf; women's golf; men's tennis; women's tennis; and softball.
Since the NCAA began collecting GSR data with the entering freshman class of 1995, two U-M varsity athletic teams have posted perfect 100 percent scores in each annual report: softball and women's tennis.
Both the GSR and FGR are based on the number of student-athletes on aid enrolling in school each year. A number of variables may impact these figures, such as student-athletes who opt for professional or educational opportunities outside of their original institution, coaching staff changes, and student-athletes in good academic standing who choose to leave school early.
The FGR is mandated by the U.S. Government and reflects the number of scholarship student-athletes who enter an institution in a specific academic year and graduate from that same institution within six academic years. It does not factor in transfer students leaving or entering an institution; the FGR counts transfers simply as non-graduates and therefore is typically lower than the GSR.
The GSR was developed by the NCAA as part of its academic reform initiative to more accurately measure the academic success of Division I student-athletes by better accounting for the many different academic paths followed by today's college students. It accounts for students who transfer into an institution, and does not penalize institutions that have student-athletes who choose to transfer out while still in good academic standing. The NCAA began collecting GSR data with the entering freshman class of 1995.
