SIUE Ranked Among National Leaders in NCAA Graduation Rates
SIUE is among the top 10 public universities nationally and is Illinois’ top public institution in graduating student-athletes, according to a report released Wednesday, Nov. 4 by the NCAA.
Eight SIUE programs earned a perfect score of 100 percent in the latest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figures. The men’s tennis, men’s track and field/cross country, women’s basketball, women’s golf, softball, women’s soccer, women’s tennis and volleyball teams all earned a perfect score.
In Illinois, SIUE trails only private schools Northwestern and Loyola (Chicago) with the number of perfect scores on the GSR report. Among public state institutions, SIUE is the leader with eight followed by Illinois (6), Illinois State (6), Northern Illinois (6), Western Illinois (4), Illinois-Chicago (3), Eastern Illinois (3), SIU Carbondale (3) and Chicago State (2).
“SIUE’s No. 1 priority always has been the graduation of our student-athletes, and we are committed to the health, safety and welfare of all of our students,” said SIUE Director of Athletics Dr. Brad Hewitt. “Excelling at graduating student-athletes is an expectation in our athletic department. Our position not only leading peer institutions in the state of Illinois, but also being in the top 10 nationally is something of which our faculty, coaches, administration and staff should be very proud.”
The GSR for the group of SIUE student-athletes in the 2005-2008 cohort is 90 percent overall.
Thirty-nine specific teams from the Ohio Valley Conference earned the distinction of a perfect GSR score. SIUE trailed only Belmont, a private school, in the number of perfect scores.
Thirteen SIUE sports exceeded the national average in the GSR report. In addition to the sports with perfect 100 scores, baseball, men’s basketball and men’s soccer posted scores better than the national average.
“Since day one of our transition to the NCAA Division I level, SIUE has emphasized the goal of helping our students reach their full potential and graduating every student-athlete while excelling on the playing field,” said Hewitt. “The University’s support structure and our student services staff have done an excellent job in pursuing their goal of perfection.”
GSR was created in 1995 in response to Division I college and university presidents who wanted a rate that more accurately reflected the mobility of all college students than the federal graduation rate (FGR).
The GSR formula, intended to be a more complete and accurate look at student-athlete success, removes from the rate student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible and includes student-athletes who transfer to a school after initial enrollment elsewhere.
