PSAC Among Leaders in Academic Success
NCAA Release
Individual School Academic Success Rates
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference student-athletes continue to graduate at a rate substantially higher than the national average according to data that was released earlier this month by the NCAA. While the national average for Division II student-athletes is a respectable 71%, the PSAC carries a 78% success rate as one of 12 Division II conferences above the national standard.
ASR is calculated by measuring degree completion among freshmen classes over a four-year period. The most recent study focuses on those entering college from 2003-2006.
The PSAC has made gains in each study released by the NCAA over the past five years. Though the league has rounded to a 78% figure in each of the last three years, this year’s mark of 78.165% is over a half percent higher than the actual 77.658% registered from the 2001-04 class. The league also increased from 75% to 76% over the first two cohorts – the four-year studies ending in 2002 and 2003.
“I know I speak for the PSAC Board of Directors when I say a strong academic foundation culminating with a high graduation rate is the top priority for our league," said PSAC Commissioner Steve Murray. "Though we are proud to rank among the top third of Division II, we will continue to strive for even greater success in the years to come.”
As the NCAA’s largest conference which yields the largest enrollment group in the Division II study, the PSAC produced 5,964 graduates among its 7,630 students-athletes. Overall, the PSAC ranks fifth in Division II ASR (Northeast 10, Sunshine State – 86%; Great Lakes Valley – 81; Central Atlantic – 79). However, only six of Division II’s 24 conferences show an enrollment over 4,500, and among the larger leagues, the PSAC is third in ASR, trailing the Northeast 10 and Great Lakes Valley Conferences.
For the second straight year, the PSAC is above the national average in every featured sport group. At 80%, men’s track and field/cross country is 10% higher than its counterparts, rating as the sport group with the highest above average throughout the league. Just behind is women’s track/cross country and football, both of which are 8% higher than the national average. Women’s track/cross country (89%) and women’s basketball (84%) – the league’s top two ASR programs - registered the same rates for the third straight year.
|
Sport |
PSAC ASR % |
NCAA II ASR % |
|
Football |
61 |
53 |
|
Men's Basketball |
65 |
58 |
|
Baseball |
76 |
69 |
|
Men's CC/Track |
80 |
70 |
|
Men's Other Sports |
76 |
72 |
|
Women's Basketball |
84 |
78 |
|
Women's CC/Track |
89 |
81 |
|
Women's Other Sports |
89 |
84 |
Information released in the fall showcases Mercyhurst as the PSAC leader in ASR at 89%, followed by Lock Haven and Millersville, both at 84%. California (83), Slippery Rock (83), East Stroudsburg (81), West Chester (81), Pitt-Johnstown (80), Gannon (79) and Bloomsburg (78) round out the 10 PSAC schools at or above the PSAC average of 78%.
In other data released from the fall, the table below is a list of 25 PSAC sport groups that achieved a 100% Academic Success Rate using the 2003-06 freshman cohorts. Of the 25 programs at 100% ASR women's golf had five institutions reach 100%, while women's lacrosse had four. Men's tennis, women's tennis, and volleyball each had three schools cinch a 100% Academic Success Rate.
California
Women’s Golf
East Stroudsburg
Women’s Lacrosse
Softball
Edinboro
Men's Tennis
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s Swimming
Gannon
Women's Basketball
Women’s CC/Track & Field
Women’s Golf
Women’s Volleyball
Softball
IUP
Women’s Tennis
Women’s Volleyball
Kutztown
Women's Lacrosse |
Lock Haven
Women’s Swimming
Mercyhurst
Men's Tennis
Women’s Golf
Women's Tennis
Millersville
Men's Tennis
Women’s Tennis
Women's Volleyball
Pitt-Johnstown
Women's Golf
Seton Hill
Wrestling
Women's Lacrosse
West Chester
Women’s Golf |
This is the eighth year the NCAA has released graduation data at the Division II level in the form of an Academic Success Rate. The ASR was developed by the NCAA at the request of college and university presidents who believed the Federal Graduation Rate was flawed. Division II’s ASR data is similar to the Division I Graduation Success Rate as it takes transfer students in account. However, given the partial-scholarship financial aid model of Division II, ASR also includes student-athletes not on athletically related financial aid. The result is that ASR captures more than 36,000 non-scholarship student-athletes.
The Federal Graduation Rate accounts for only those who receive athletically related financial aid in their freshman year, and the PSAC continued to thrive under those standards, as well. With a 63% rate, the PSAC ranks third in Division II using the federal model, falling behind The Northeast 10 (70) and the Great Lakes Valley (64). In comparison, the Graduation Rate among all Division II student-athletes stands at 54% and the Graduation Rate among the entire student body is at 48%.
More from the NCAA regarding Academic Success Rates
- ASRs are calculated using a four-year rolling average, as is done with the federal rate.
- The Division II ASR is similar to the Division I Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in that it includes transfers into an institution in the calculation of the rate, but removes from the cohort students who left the institution while academically eligible to compete.
- Additionally, the ASR (unlike the GSR) includes all non-scholarship freshman student-athletes on the roster on the first date of competition.
- Because of including non-scholarship freshmen, ASR captures about two-thirds more student-athletes than the federal rate, largely due to more than 36,000 non-scholarship student-athletes being included in the NCAA calculation.
- All 289 active Division II institutions in 2012-13 submitted their federal graduation rate data for the entering class of 2006.
- Of the 289 active Division II institutions, 286 (99%) submitted additional data for the calculation of the ASR.
- Aggregate data also includes 26 institutions in the Division II membership process.