April 28, 2005

Student-athletes' graduation rates among highest

One of the ongoing debates in college athletics is how to improve the graduation rates of student-athletes. At Northwestern, that debate is a non-issue as the institution continues to graduate student-athletes at a rate among the nation’s highest, according to Mark Murphy, director of athletics. 

In February — in an effort to encourage all Division I athletic programs to continue to improve graduation figures — the NCAA released its preliminary Academic Progress Rate (APR) data, scores that will measure an athletic department’s academic performance and whether a school or sport program is meeting a minimum APR standard, or “cut score.”

Northwestern’s preliminary APR, which is derived from 2003-04 academic data, is an “impressive” 980. The 980 score was the best in the Big Ten Conference. The actual 980 score still leads all Big Ten Conference institutions and falls well above the NCAA established “cut score” of 925.

All 19 Northwestern sports programs recorded a figure above 950, with 10 of the programs achieving a perfect 1,000.

“Success in intercollegiate athletics at Northwestern has long been linked to the educational mission of the institution,” said Murphy. “We take a great deal of pride in graduating our student-athletes while fielding competitive teams, many of whom are ranked among their sport’s best. The APR data is impressive and enlightening, but not surprising.”

The overall NCAA Division I-A average APR was 944, while the overall Division I average was 948. The Big Ten Conference average was 963.

The APR “cut score” of 925 equates to a 50-percent graduation rate. Teams that fall below the 925 mark would be subject to contemporaneous penalties if they have a student-athlete who leaves the institution and would not have been eligible had he or she returned for the next term.

When calculating the APR, each student-athlete can earn two points per academic per term, one for maintaining academic eligibility and one for returning to school for the next term or graduating.