INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – University of Portland posted a 97 percent student-athlete Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for the second consecutive year, according to the latest data released by the NCAA on Wednesday.
Portland's baseball, men's cross country and track & field, men's tennis, men's soccer, women's basketball, women's cross country and track & field and women's rowing teams each posted perfect scores. Portland's remaining five sports reported scores that were higher than the national average.
"Supporting our student-athletes through graduation is our highest priority as an Athletic Department," Portland Vice President for Athletics, Scott Leykam noted. "We have had a lot of success in competition, but 97 percent is the number that really matters. It is a testament to the hard work of the student-athletes we recruit, our coaches for putting them in position to be successful, and our support staff for providing the necessary resources that allows this type of performance."
The GSR measures graduation rates for the most recent six-year graduating class of student-athletes who entered as freshmen during the fall of 2011. The national GSR this year increased by one point to 88 percent.
The Division I Board of Directors created the GSR in response to Division I college and university presidents who wanted data that more accurately reflected the mobility of college students than the federal graduation rate. The federal rate counts any student who leaves a school as an academic failure, no matter whether he or she enrolls at another school. Also, the federal rate does not recognize students who enter school as transfer students.
The GSR formula removes from the rate student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible and includes student-athletes who transfer to a school after initially enrolling elsewhere. This calculation makes it a more complete and accurate look at student-athlete success. The federal graduation rate, however, remains the only measure to compare student-athletes with the general student body.
