Owls Remain at the Top of NCAA Graduation Rate Tracking
12/6/2021 11:30:00 AM | General
Women student-athletes lead the way with #2 ranking
The NCAA released its latest data on the graduation success of its member institutions on Thursday and Rice student-athletes can once again be found at the top of the rankings. The newest tabulations reflect graduation numbers among student-athletes who entered school in 2014.
Rice women student-athletes ranked second in the nation in the Federal Graduation Rate among schools at the FBS level, graduating 95% of its participants, one percentage point behind Stanford. Rice also posted the fourth-highest federal rate among African-American students (79%) for the second consecutive year while its entire student-athlete population ranked fifth (85%). Rice was tied with Stanford for third among FBS football programs with a Fed Rate of 88%.
Baseball, women's basketball, men's cross country/track, soccer, men's and women's tennis, and volleyball each graduated all of their student-athletes in the NCAA's GSR tabulations, which reflect the six-year graduation rates for college athletes who entered school in 2014.
The Federal Graduation Rate remains the only measure comparing student-athletes with the general student body. Rice's student-athletes ranked fifth nationally in the latest data, one spot above the performance of the entire Rice student body.
Federal rates also provide a long-term picture of student-athlete academic achievement. The federal rate was first collected with the class that entered college in 1984, and the rate has continued to rise over the past 30 years. When rates were first collected, the general student body earned degrees at a rate higher than that of student-athletes.
The Division I Board of Directors created the GSR in 2002 in response to Division I college and university presidents who wanted data that more accurately reflected the mobility of college students than the federal graduation rate did. The federal rate counts as an academic failure for any student who leaves a school, no matter whether he or she enrolls at another school. Also, the federal rate does not recognize students who enter school as transfer students.
The GSR formula removes from the rate student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible and includes student-athletes who transfer to a school after initially enrolling elsewhere. This calculation provides a more accurate look at student-athlete success.
Rice women student-athletes ranked second in the nation in the Federal Graduation Rate among schools at the FBS level, graduating 95% of its participants, one percentage point behind Stanford. Rice also posted the fourth-highest federal rate among African-American students (79%) for the second consecutive year while its entire student-athlete population ranked fifth (85%). Rice was tied with Stanford for third among FBS football programs with a Fed Rate of 88%.
Baseball, women's basketball, men's cross country/track, soccer, men's and women's tennis, and volleyball each graduated all of their student-athletes in the NCAA's GSR tabulations, which reflect the six-year graduation rates for college athletes who entered school in 2014.
The Federal Graduation Rate remains the only measure comparing student-athletes with the general student body. Rice's student-athletes ranked fifth nationally in the latest data, one spot above the performance of the entire Rice student body.
Federal rates also provide a long-term picture of student-athlete academic achievement. The federal rate was first collected with the class that entered college in 1984, and the rate has continued to rise over the past 30 years. When rates were first collected, the general student body earned degrees at a rate higher than that of student-athletes.
The Division I Board of Directors created the GSR in 2002 in response to Division I college and university presidents who wanted data that more accurately reflected the mobility of college students than the federal graduation rate did. The federal rate counts as an academic failure for any student who leaves a school, no matter whether he or she enrolls at another school. Also, the federal rate does not recognize students who enter school as transfer students.
The GSR formula removes from the rate student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible and includes student-athletes who transfer to a school after initially enrolling elsewhere. This calculation provides a more accurate look at student-athlete success.