USC Sets School Record for Graduating Athletes

The upshot for the 2005-2008 cohort was that 32,071 students were included in the GSR and not in the federal rate, and 23,220 students were excluded from the GSR but included in the federal rate. This report is a huge win and aligns with the goals we set forth in our Strategic Plan.

The Bulls athletic department announced Thursday it has posted a collective 83-percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR), matching the school record established past year.

The NCAA argues that the GSR is a better measure, but the FGR is the measurement that most accurately reflects whether a freshman athlete who enters a given school graduates from that school within the next six years.

The university shines in graduating African American student-athletes, ranking second in the Pac-12 in both overall and in the African American male GSR. Five of these Red Storm teams achieved ideal graduation success rates of 100 percent; women’s volleyball, women’s tennis, women’s soccer, men’s tennis and men’s golf. Among public institutions, NIU ranks tied for third in football GSR with Alabama, Texas-Antonio and Utah State, behind only UCF (90 percent) and UCLA (89).

Four ASU teams lead the Pac-12 Conference, including men’s basketball at 90% and with three at 100% (women’s golf, softball, and women’s tennis). “Next year, when the 2005 figure will no longer be part of the calculation, our football GSR will rise significantly”. Men’s basketball improved on the all-time high 64 percent GSR set by the program last year jumping to 80 percent this year. The university’s football Graduation Success Rate was 58 percent, but the dismal rate “is a victim of our on-field success back then”, USC’s Magdi El-Shahawy said.

Critics contend the federal numbers are more accurate than the NCAA-generated Graduation Success Rate, which includes transfer students who earn diplomas at other schools. Athletes who transfer in good standing do not count against the school’s GSR. “Providing NIU student-athletes with the tools to succeed in the classroom and beyond takes a team effort, involving the students, coaches, our coordinators in SAASS and the faculty and academic advisors throughout campus”.