EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On Thursday, the NCAA released Graduation Success Rate (GSR) data and the top score in the Missouri Valley Conference belonged to the University of Evansville. This marks the fourth year in a row that UE has led or tied for the top conference score.
With a score of 97, the Purple Aces paced the MVC with two schools finishing just behind with tallies of 96. The NCAA GSR report gives graduation information for students and student-athletes who entered college in 2014, the most recent class for which the required six years of information is available. It also breaks down the GSR by sport, using a four-year class average (2011-2014) called a cohort rate to provide a big enough sample.
"This recognition is a testament to the coaches and student-athletes at the University of Evansville," UE Director of Athletics Mark Spencer said. "As a department, we are committed to providing a student-athlete experience that is second to none and the scores that our department has achieved are a reflection of that commitment."
Beginning in Spring 2020, a portion of Division I revenue was distributed to member schools based on the academic achievement of student-athletes. The model allows schools with higher graduation rates and academic success to qualify for more funds.
Evansville had multiple sports finish with perfect scores of 100. Those programs included men's basketball, men's golf, men's cross country and track and field, women's golf, softball, women's soccer, women's swimming and diving, women's cross country and track and field along with volleyball.
"We are quite proud of this achievement sitting atop the MVC for a fourth consecutive year," UE Senior Associate AD for Internal Operations Sarah Solinsky exclaimed. "This is accomplished with the commitment of our coaches recruiting high quality student-athletes and our University's team effort in supporting our student-athletes in their pursuit of academic excellence."
THE CRITERIA
A school earns an academic unit by meeting any ONE of the three standards.
- Graduation Success Rate for most recently available year is equal to or greater than 90 percent. The average of single-year rates for all teams is used.
- Difference between student-athlete and student body percentages in the most recently published Federal Graduation Rate is equal to or greater than 13 percentage points.
- Academic Progress Rate for previous year is equal to or greater than 985. The average of single-year scores for all teams is used to determine eligibility for this standard.
NCAA GSR INFORMATION
All colleges and universities are required by NCAA legislation and federal law (the Student Right-to-Know act from 1990) to report student graduation rates, and those institutions offering athletics aid are required to report for their student-athletes as well. The NCAA acquires student-athlete graduation rate data from the Department of Education's Integrated Post-Secondary Data System Graduation Rate Survey (IPEDS-GRS).
The student-athlete graduation rate calculated directly based on IPEDS-GRS (which is the methodology the U.S. Department of Education requires) is the proportion of first-year, full-time student-athletes who entered a school on athletics aid and graduated from that institution within six years. This federal rate does not account for students who transfer from their original institution and graduate elsewhere; they are considered non-graduates at both the college they left and the one from which they eventually graduate.
The NCAA GSR differs from the federal calculation in two important ways. First, the GSR holds colleges accountable for those student-athletes who transfer into their school. Second, the GSR does not penalize colleges whose student-athletes transfer in good academic standing. Essentially, those student-athletes are moved into another college's cohort.
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