Ohio State Student-Athletes Post Graduation Success Rate of 89 Percent – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | General
Nov. 4, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In graduation data released by the NCAA Wednesday, Ohio State student-athletes have a four-class average (2005-08) of 89 percent in the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and, in the 2008-09 cohort, have a Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) of 75 percent.
“This set of graduation statistics underscores the extent to which our programs foster the all-around success of our student-athletes,” John Davidson, Ohio State Faculty Athletic Representative and Professor in Germanic Languages and Literatures, said. “Regardless of whether one looks at the GSR or the FGR, one finds that the overwhelming majority of Ohio State student-athletes graduate. The data also shows that students from this cohort who transferred to other institutions, or who left because professional opportunities presented themselves, were on track to graduate. This is indicative of the culture valuing meaningful academic success that pervades athletics at Ohio State.”
The GSR and FGR metrics provide slightly different perspectives on graduation. The FGR assesses only first-time full-time freshmen in a given cohort and only counts them as academic successes if they graduate from their institution of initial enrollment within a six-year period. It makes no accommodation for transfers into or out of an institution. The rate is limited because it ignores the large number of transfer students in higher education, but it is still the only rate that allows a direct comparison between student-athletes and the general student body. GSR begins with the federal cohort, and adds transfer students, mid-year enrollees and certain non-scholarship students to the sample. Student-athletes who leave an institution while in good academic standing before exhausting athletics eligibility are removed from the cohort of their initial institution.
For the four-class average (classes entering Ohio State between 2005-08), the GSR for Buckeye student-athletes was 89 percent for the third year in a row and greater than the recent Division I average (86 percent). More specifically, 21 Ohio State programs are equal to or ahead of the national GSR for their sports. Of those, eight teams have a 100 percent GSR: men’s fencing, men’s golf, men’s gymnastics, men’s tennis, men’s volleyball, women’s tennis, women’s volleyball and rifle. Another seven of those teams are above 90 percent in the GSR: men’s lacrosse, women’s rowing, women’s lacrosse, softball, women’s soccer, women’s swimming and women’s track/cross country.
During that four-class time period , the federal rate for OSU student-athletes (75 percent) was well above the D1 average of 67 percent and two percent higher than the general student body at Division I institutions.
“The GSR factors in more of the aspects that impact individuals participating in Division I sports and tracks their academic success more extensively than the FGR,” Davidson said. “It offers a more complete picture of the academic achievements of student-athletes.”
Of the Ohio State programs, the men’s tennis and women’s fencing programs have a 100 percent FGR, with women’s ice hockey, women’s lacrosse and women’s track/cross country above 90 percent.
The Ohio State football program has a GSR of 81 percent, ahead of the 78 posted the last two years and the 74 percent from three years ago. It is also above the 75 percent for FBS programs nationally.
“The results of the dedication to academics among our student-athletes, coaching staffs, and sports administration, as well as the tremendous work of our academic support services, can be seen in these reports,” Davidson said.
