#BuildingChampions: UM Continues GSR Success

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami recorded a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 92 percent, according to the rates released Thursday by the NCAA.

Miami’s department-wide GSR is tied for third among ACC schools and 10th overall among FBS programs. UM has exceeded the NCAA average GSR in each of the last nine years. In 2012, Miami set a school-record with a 93 percent GSR, a year after establishing a then-record at 89 percent.

“We set a high standard for our Hurricanes to achieve excellence in all academic and athletic pursuits,” said David Wyman, Associate AD for Academic Services. “The growth we have witnessed in our Graduation Success Rates is remarkable and we continue to produce tremendous results.  In less than 10 years, we have improved our rate by 15 percentage points and we are now a national leader in the most important academic performance measure.”

Eight teams compiled GSR marks of 100 percent. Men’s diving and golf each posted their ninth consecutive perfect marks, while women’s tennis recorded its sixth straight GSR score of 100 percent. Baseball, women’s track & field / cross country, rowing, women’s swimming and volleyball also tallied perfect GSR scores. It was volleyball’s third straight year with a perfect GSR; rowing and women’s swimming posted perfect scores for the second straight year.

“I am very proud of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, whose vigilance in academics lays the groundwork for graduation,” said Blake James, Miami AD. “One of our goals as a program is to graduate every student-athlete and I am proud that we are getting close.  By earning a degree from the University of Miami, our student-athletes are ready to achieve excellence in life.  Congratulations to our coaches, staff and especially our student-athletes.”

Baseball had the largest jump of any UM program, improving by 20 points (80 to 100) and has improved by 40 points (60 to 100) since 2010.

The NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) was developed in response to college and university presidents who wanted graduation data that more accurately reflect the mobility among college students today. Both rates improve on the federally mandated graduation rate by including students who were omitted from the federal calculation.

The GSR measures graduation rates at Division I institutions and includes students transferring into the institutions. The GSR also allows institutions to subtract student-athletes who leave their institutions prior to graduation as long as they would have been academically eligible to compete had they remained.

The most recent Division I Graduation Success Rates are based on the four entering classes from 2003-2004 through 2006-07. More than 110,000 student-athletes are included in the most recent four classes using the GSR methodology, as compared to about 79,500 in the federal rate. The NCAA began compiling these figures with the entering freshmen class of 1995.

Earlier this year, three Hurricanes teams received APR Public Recognition Awards for being among the top 10 percent in APR – men’s basketball, women’s cross country and women’s golf. Six teams scored 980 or better out of a possible 1,000 points – baseball (983), men’s basketball (990), men’s tennis (993), women’s cross country (1,000), women’s golf (1,000) and women’s swimming (989).

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