RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University athletics department recently received its annual NCAA graduation success rate report, which included the current federal graduation rates for each of the department’s 17 sports.
According to the NCAA’s graduation success rate (GSR), Eastern Kentucky graduated 82 percent of its student-athletes who entered college in 2001-2004 on scholarship. Eastern’s overall GSR is the highest in the OVC and among all Division I institutions in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In addition, EKU had five sports that had the highest GSR in the OVC and in the Commonwealth – football, men’s golf, soccer, men’s tennis and women’s tennis. Men’s cross country and track and field posted the highest GSR in the Commonwealth.
According to the NCAA, the single-year GSR for student-athletes who began college in 2004 is 82 percent, a new high for the NCAA, three points higher than last year and eight points higher than when GSR collection began a decade ago. NCAA President Mark Emmert also said the GSR for the last four graduating classes (2001-2004) has hit 80 percent, a new high for Division I athletics and one point higher than the last four-year average.
The department’s federal graduation rate number was closely aligned to its GSR counterpart, with 68 percent of 2001-2004 first-time scholarship freshmen student-athletes obtaining their degree within six years. The federal graduation rate does not account for transfers in or out of an athletics department. Additionally, the athletics department’s 2001-2004 four-class average graduation rate was almost double the University’s graduation rate (37 percent).
Eastern Kentucky has the highest male student-athlete four-class average graduation rate in the Commonwealth at 67 percent. EKU also had two sports that had the highest four-class average federal graduation rate in the OVC and the Commonwealth – football and men’s golf. Baseball posted the highest four-class average federal graduation rate in the Commonwealth.
The NCAA developed the Graduation Success Rate as part of its academic reform initiative to more accurately assess the academic success of student-athletes. The rate holds institutions accountable for transfer scholarship student-athletes, unlike the federal graduation rate. The Graduation Success Rate also accounts for midyear enrollees and is calculated for every sport.
Under the calculation, institutions are not penalized for outgoing transfer scholarship student-athletes who leave academically eligible to compete. The outgoing transfers are essentially passed to the receiving institution’s Graduation Success Rate cohort.
By counting incoming transfer scholarship student-athletes and midyear enrollees, the Graduation Success Rate increases the total number of student-athletes tracked for graduation by more than 36 percent. The NCAA also calculates the federal graduation rate for student-athletes. It is the only rate by which to compare student-athletes to the general student body.
This year marks the 10th year that GSR data have been collected. The NCAA began collecting GSR data with the entering freshman class of 1995.
