SMU Posts 97 Percent Refined Graduation Rate

[PonyPride]

SMU Posts 97 Percent Refined Graduation Rate
Ten Of 15 SMU Programs Score Perfect GSRs
Nov. 9, 2006

DALLAS (SMU) - SMU student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom according to data released today by the NCAA, as a remarkable 97 percent of the 386 SMU scholarship student-athletes who entered SMU between 1990 and 2000 and exhausted their eligibility at SMU earned degrees.

Ten of SMU's 15 athletic programs scored a perfect 100 percent in the NCAA Graduation Success Rates (GSR), and all 15 of SMU's programs rated by the NCAA were equal to or better than the national average. The programs that scored 100 percent were men's and women's swimming, golf and tennis, cross country and track, crew and women's soccer.

"We have set a top-25 standard for SMU Athletics and that extends to the academic successes of our student-athletes," said SMU Director of Athletics Steve Orsini. "A 97 percent refined graduation rate and having all of our teams post GSRs at or above the national average - and 10 to score perfect 100s - shows our dedication to academic achievement and is a tribute to our student-athletes, coaches and SMU's academic support staff."

While SMU sponsors 17 sports, the NCAA issues a GSR for 15 of its programs, combining track and cross country into one program and not rating SMU's equestrian program.

Overall, the freshman class of student-athletes that entered SMU during the 1999-2000 academic year, posted graduation rate of 78 percent - an increase of 11 percent from the graduation rate of the 1998-99 cohort. The rate is seven percent higher than that of the SMU student body (71 percent).

SMU's overall GSR for 1996-2000 is 90 percent, an improvement of one percent over SMU's 1995-1999 GSR.

The GSR is a different measure than the graduation rate previously used by the NCAA. The GSR is an NCAA measurement that improves on the federally-mandated graduation-rate by including transfer data in the calculation. It was developed in response to college and university presidents who wanted graduation data that more accurately reflect the mobility among students in today's higher education climate. It does not count against any institution those individuals who matriculate and then leave while eligible, but does give credit for those who transfer into the institution and ultimately earn a degree.

The data is from the aggregate of entering classes from 1996 through 200, for which the NCAA has compiled sport-by-sport GSR and the comparable graduation rate using the federally-mandated methodology.