Aces Finish Second In The MVC In GSS
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Recently the NCAA released its most up-to-date Graduation Success Rate (GSR) report and the University of Evansville came in second among schools in the Missouri Valley Conference. Evansville’s score of 96 tied Bradley for the second-highest total in the league and was two behind Belmont, who finished with a 98.
Evansville’s rate of 96 was six points above the national average of 90. Scores are from the most recent graduating class for which the required six years of information is available. A graduation rate (percent) is based on a comparison of the number of students who entered a college or university and the number of those who graduated within six years.  The NCAA Graduation Success Rate measures an athletics department’s ability to graduate student-athletes through accounting for transfer students, which expands on the Federal Graduation Rate, which only measures the graduation of freshmen.
“This accomplishment is a testament to the work put in by our student-athletes, coaches, and staff,†UE Athletics Director Ziggy Siegfried exclaimed. “The University of Evansville is committed to academic success and our GSR numbers reflect that goal.â€
Multiple Purple Aces programs acquired perfect scores of 100. Those programs include baseball, men’s cross country/track & field, men’s golf, women’s cross country/track & field, women’s golf, women’s soccer, women’s swimming and diving and volleyball. 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.
THE CRITERIA
A school earns an academic unit by meeting any ONE of the three standards.
- Graduation Success Rate for a most recently available year is equal to or greater than 90 percent. The average of single-year rates for all teams is used.
- The 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 the 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.
