ϲʹAthletes 97% Graduation Rate — Among Highest in the Country
ϲʹ has the highest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of all 11 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) colleges and universities and the 12th-highest in the nation according to the latest data released by the NCAA this afternoon. ϲʹhad a GSR of 97 percent with 17 of its varsity programs above the national average of Division I student-athletes that enrolled between 2003-06. In Connecticut, the only institution with a higher GSR than ϲʹwas Yale with a GSR of 98.
Among the top 15 in the nation, along with Fairfield, were Brown University, Dartmouth College, University of Notre Dame, Duke University, Harvard and College of the Holy Cross.
Fifteen of Fairfield’s 19 varsity programs during that time period (2003-06) had a 100 percent success rate for the student-athletes. Those programs were: men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, field hockey, women’s lacrosse, softball, men’s swimming & diving, and volleyball. Two teams, baseball and women’s rowing had a GSR above 90 percent.
Gene Doris, director of athletics at Fairfield, had this to say of the report, “ ϲʹ and its athletics program takes great pride in the recently released NCAA Graduation Success Rate report. This speaks to the values that ϲʹembraces, including a commitment to the whole person — body, mind, and spirit. We recruit outstanding quality scholar athletes to our program and, once here, the faculty, staff and administration are strongly committed to the success of these young men and women, on the court, in the classroom and beyond.”
Nationally, the GSR reached 81 percent for all student-athletes, a new high for Division I and one point higher than the last four-year average. All 11 MAAC schools had a GSR at or above the national average, with four, including Fairfield, above 90 percent. Siena College had a GSR of 93 percent while Manhattan College and Rider University each had a GSR of 92 percent. Brown University, Dartmouth College, and the University of Notre Dame were that national leaders with a GSR of 99 percent. Eight schools, including Yale University, Harvard University, and the College of the Holy Cross, had a GSR of 98 percent.
The NCAA began compiling data with the entering freshman class of 1995 and developed the GSR in order to more accurately assess the academic success of student-athletes. The GSR includes transfer students and student-athletes who leave in good academic standing. The GSR measures graduation over six years from initial college enrollment.
