Eastern Michigan Athletics

Graduation Success Rate Remains Near All-Time High
10/16/2019 3:27:00 PM | General, SASS
EMU posted an 84 percent graduation rate among student-athletes
Complete Release with Data (PDF).
NCAA Database.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The NCAA on Wednesday, Oct. 16, announced Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and Federal Graduation Rate for the 2009-10 to 2012-13 freshman cohorts for all Division I institutions, as part of the annual NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program. This year's Eastern Michigan-specific data revealed an overall multi-year GSR of 84 percent, bested only by last year's record-setting 85 percent. The total is a 12-point jump from numbers released in 2010-11.
Overall, EMU's score was boosted by six programs that matched or exceeded program-record GSR scores. The 2018 numbers represent scholarship student-athletes over a six-year period starting with freshmen that entered college in 2012. The record-equaling GSR comes on the heels of 12 programs posting record performances in Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores announced in May.
In the GSR, 10 Eastern Michigan athletic teams improved or matched last year scores. Baseball, women's golf, gymnastics, tennis, and volleyball each boasted a 100-percent rate.
"Academic success and degree completion are high-priority items for this department," Vice President/Director of Athletics Scott Wetherbee said. "I want to commend our student-athletes for their efforts and ability to balance all of the academic and athletic demands, our coaches for their focus on education first and recruiting talented students to our teams, and our staff for their ongoing support of our student-athletes' academic endeavors."
The GSR is a NCAA measurement that enhances the federally mandated graduation-rate by including student-athlete transfer data in its calculation. It was developed in response to colleges and universities who asked for graduation data that more accurately reflects the mobility among students in today's higher education climate. The report provides information about two groups of students at college or university: (1) all undergraduate students who were enrolled in a full-time program of studies for a degree and (2) student-athletes who received athletic aid from the college or university for any period of time during their entering year.
Among Mid-American Conference schools, Eastern Michigan was first in five sport categories -- baseball, women's golf, gymnastics, tennis, and volleyball.
Wednesday's GSR report gives graduation information about students and student-athletes who entered EMU in 2012. This is the most recent graduating class for which the required six years of information is available. The GSR differs slightly from the federal graduation rates for several reasons. The GSR is designed to assess the graduation of scholarship student-athletes who initially enroll at an institution during a particular fall or spring semester and earn a baccalaureate degree within six years of their initial collegiate enrollment.
The GSR adds to the first-time freshmen, those students who entered mid-year, as well as student-athletes who transferred into an institution and received athletic aid. In addition, the GSR subtracts students from the entering cohort who are considered allowable exclusions, as well as those who left the institution prior to graduation, or had athletic eligibility remaining and would have been academically eligible to compete had they returned to the institution.
The GSR is also different from the Academic Progress Rate (APR), which is a measure of eligibility, retention and graduation for continuing academic progress for current student-athletes on a term-by-term, year-by-year basis.
The federal graduation rate, while less inclusive than the GSR, provides the only measure of historic academic comparison between student-athletes and the general student body. Using this standard, EMU student-athletes outperformed their peers in the student body by 15 percent.
More student-athletes than ever are graduating from college, according to the most recent Division I Graduation Success Rate data released today by the NCAA. The single-year rate for student-athletes who enrolled in college in 2012 increased 1 percentage point to 89%, the highest ever.
When the Graduation Success Rate was created nearly two decades ago, then-NCAA President Myles Brand set an aspirational goal of 80%. Student-athletes first surpassed that goal with the release of the rates in 2011.
"College athletes continue to meet and exceed the benchmarks set for academic achievement," NCAA President Mark Emmert said. "They have surpassed the original goal by nearly 10 percentage points, a phenomenal achievement that highlights the commitment these students have to succeed in all areas of life."
Graduation Success Rates for Eastern Michigan's women's programs continue to excel. All nine programs posted GSRs of 71 percent or better, with six boasting scores above 90 percent.
On the men's side, baseball topped the chart at 100 percent with basketball and cross country/track posting a GSR figures of 75-or-better percent.
For more information on Graduation Success Rates, please visit www.ncaa.org.
NCAA Database.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The NCAA on Wednesday, Oct. 16, announced Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and Federal Graduation Rate for the 2009-10 to 2012-13 freshman cohorts for all Division I institutions, as part of the annual NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program. This year's Eastern Michigan-specific data revealed an overall multi-year GSR of 84 percent, bested only by last year's record-setting 85 percent. The total is a 12-point jump from numbers released in 2010-11.
Overall, EMU's score was boosted by six programs that matched or exceeded program-record GSR scores. The 2018 numbers represent scholarship student-athletes over a six-year period starting with freshmen that entered college in 2012. The record-equaling GSR comes on the heels of 12 programs posting record performances in Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores announced in May.
In the GSR, 10 Eastern Michigan athletic teams improved or matched last year scores. Baseball, women's golf, gymnastics, tennis, and volleyball each boasted a 100-percent rate.
"Academic success and degree completion are high-priority items for this department," Vice President/Director of Athletics Scott Wetherbee said. "I want to commend our student-athletes for their efforts and ability to balance all of the academic and athletic demands, our coaches for their focus on education first and recruiting talented students to our teams, and our staff for their ongoing support of our student-athletes' academic endeavors."
The GSR is a NCAA measurement that enhances the federally mandated graduation-rate by including student-athlete transfer data in its calculation. It was developed in response to colleges and universities who asked for graduation data that more accurately reflects the mobility among students in today's higher education climate. The report provides information about two groups of students at college or university: (1) all undergraduate students who were enrolled in a full-time program of studies for a degree and (2) student-athletes who received athletic aid from the college or university for any period of time during their entering year.
Among Mid-American Conference schools, Eastern Michigan was first in five sport categories -- baseball, women's golf, gymnastics, tennis, and volleyball.
Wednesday's GSR report gives graduation information about students and student-athletes who entered EMU in 2012. This is the most recent graduating class for which the required six years of information is available. The GSR differs slightly from the federal graduation rates for several reasons. The GSR is designed to assess the graduation of scholarship student-athletes who initially enroll at an institution during a particular fall or spring semester and earn a baccalaureate degree within six years of their initial collegiate enrollment.
The GSR adds to the first-time freshmen, those students who entered mid-year, as well as student-athletes who transferred into an institution and received athletic aid. In addition, the GSR subtracts students from the entering cohort who are considered allowable exclusions, as well as those who left the institution prior to graduation, or had athletic eligibility remaining and would have been academically eligible to compete had they returned to the institution.
The GSR is also different from the Academic Progress Rate (APR), which is a measure of eligibility, retention and graduation for continuing academic progress for current student-athletes on a term-by-term, year-by-year basis.
The federal graduation rate, while less inclusive than the GSR, provides the only measure of historic academic comparison between student-athletes and the general student body. Using this standard, EMU student-athletes outperformed their peers in the student body by 15 percent.
More student-athletes than ever are graduating from college, according to the most recent Division I Graduation Success Rate data released today by the NCAA. The single-year rate for student-athletes who enrolled in college in 2012 increased 1 percentage point to 89%, the highest ever.
When the Graduation Success Rate was created nearly two decades ago, then-NCAA President Myles Brand set an aspirational goal of 80%. Student-athletes first surpassed that goal with the release of the rates in 2011.
"College athletes continue to meet and exceed the benchmarks set for academic achievement," NCAA President Mark Emmert said. "They have surpassed the original goal by nearly 10 percentage points, a phenomenal achievement that highlights the commitment these students have to succeed in all areas of life."
Graduation Success Rates for Eastern Michigan's women's programs continue to excel. All nine programs posted GSRs of 71 percent or better, with six boasting scores above 90 percent.
On the men's side, baseball topped the chart at 100 percent with basketball and cross country/track posting a GSR figures of 75-or-better percent.
For more information on Graduation Success Rates, please visit www.ncaa.org.
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