EMU Athletics Equals Record Graduation Success Rate

NCAA's GSR Searchable Database.

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- For the second straight year, the Eastern Michigan University Department of Athletics posted a program record in the classroom recording an 81 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) when the NCAA announced GSR numbers for all Division I institutions Tuesday, Nov. 15. EMU's record-tying overall score was boosted by eight programs that matched or exceeded program record GSR scores.

EMU matched its department record 81 percent GSR posted last year. The 2016 numbers represent scholarship student-athletes over a six-year period starting with freshmen that entered college in 2009. The record-equaling GSR comes on the heels of 12 programs posting record performances in Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores announced in April.

In the GSR, Eastern Michigan athletic teams improved in eight sports including: baseball, wrestling, women's golf, women's gymnastics, softball, women's swimming & diving, women's tennis, and volleyball. Women's gymnastics, softball, women's swimming & diving, women's 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 Heather Lyke 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, our staff for their ongoing support of our student-athletes' academic endeavors and our faculty for their commitment to helping us create champions in the classroom."

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 athletics 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 six sport categories -- wrestling, women's gymnastics, softball, women's swimming & diving, women's tennis and volleyball. The Eagles finished among the top six MAC schools in 12 sports while overall the department finished with the eighth-best GSR in the league.

Tuesday's GSR report gives graduation information about students and student-athletes who entered EMU in 2009. 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 midyear, 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 athletics 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 18 percent.

Nationally, African-American student-athletes, both men and women, outperform their peers in the student body by wide margins. African-American male college athletes earned a federal graduation rate 11 percentage points higher than African-American men in the student body (52 percent to 41 percent). For African-American female student-athletes, the difference is 17 percentage points (66 percent to 49 percent).

"Division I student-athletes have attained extraordinary academic success over the last 15 years. They continue to graduate at rates equal to or higher than the student body," said NCAA President Mark Emmert. "Every time standards rise, college athletes meet the challenge and continue to do well, especially minority student-athletes who outpace their peers in the general student body by an enormous amount. We'd like the federal rate to increase, and everyone in higher education has a responsibility to work toward improved graduation rates for all students."

Graduation Success Rates for Eastern Michigan's women's programs continue to excel. All 10 programs posted GSRs of 83 percent or better, with eight boasting scores above 90 percent.

On the men's side, baseball, basketball, golf, swimming & diving, and wrestling posted GSR figures of 75 percent or better.

For more information on Graduation Success Rates, please visit www.ncaa.org.

EMU Graduation Success Rate Report
Sport	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16
Baseball	68	77	74	68	73	85	81	84	87
Men's Basketball	40	40	40	50	71	60	59	79	77
Men's Cross Country/Track	87	83	69	55	61	65	61	50	50
Football	53	52	49	51	52	59	59	65	62
Men's Golf	57	57	86	100	91	80	80	78	83
Men's Swimming/Diving	87	86	79	82	77	85	75	76	79
Wrestling	50	52	44	58	59	69	60	70	84
Women's Basketball	69	73	73	85	93	93	100	100	91
Women's Cross Country/Track	81	95	88	88	67	55	60	83	85
Women's Golf	86	86	83	71	75	72	86	86	86
Women's Gymnastics	92	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Rowing	N/A	100	86	77	67	72	79	100	88
Soccer	81	80	82	90	100	100	94	94	89
Softball	83	78	82	90	94	100	100	100	100
Women's Swimming/Diving	100	100	100	89	86	87	96	100	100
Women's Tennis	88	88	89	91	89	89	80	100	100
Volleyball	82	83	82	85	100	100	100	100	100
Overall	72	73	72	74	74	77	75	81	81

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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