Graduation Success Rate for Spiders Soars into Top 10 Nationally
11/20/2024 | Baseball, Cross Country, Field Hockey, General, Men's Golf, Men's Tennis, Women's Golf, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving, Women's Track & Field, Men's Basketball, Academic Services
RICHMOND, Va. — Spider student-athletes earned their undergraduate degrees or transferred from Richmond in good academic standing at the highest levels on record, according to the most recent data released by the NCAA Wednesday. 98 percent of student-athletes entering Richmond from 2014-15 through 2017-18 earned their degree within six years, the University's highest rate since the introduction of Graduation Success Rates (GSR) in 1998 and one of the highest rates across all of Division I athletics.
Richmond's 98 percent Graduation Success Rate is tied for sixth highest among all Division I institutions, trailing only Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Notre Dame, and Santa Clara. UR, Davidson, and St. Bonaventure were among the group of 18 schools to record Graduation Success Rates of 98 percent, tied for the best among the 15 schools in the Atlantic 10 conference.
"We're so proud of record GSR; it really reflects the drive and dedication of our student-athletes in the classroom, along with the support of their families, faculty, and coaches," said Bruce Matthews, Richmond's Associate Athletics Director for Academic Support and Student Services.
Richmond's 98 percent GSR is well above the national average of 90 percent and an increase from the 96 percent UR achieved in each of the three previous years, a figure that had been the highest in school history prior to the release of the most recent data on Wednesday.
11 of Richmond's 15 varsity sport programs (cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field teams are counted as one program for the purposes of the GSR) achieved perfect 100 percent GSR ratings: baseball, field hockey, men's basketball, men's cross country, men's golf, men's tennis, women's cross country/track & field, women's golf, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, and women's swimming & diving. All of Richmond's 15 programs achieved GSR ratings of 88 percent or higher.
The GSR differs from the federal graduation-rate formula in that the GSR factors in transfer students who go on to graduate at a different institution and does not penalize schools for transfers who leave in good academic standing.
Each spring, the NCAA releases a separate set of data, called the Academic Progress Rate (APR), which measures both academic performance and retention. Each program receives an APR score, with teams falling under a certain threshold subject to penalties such as loss of scholarships and postseason bans. In the latest round of APR data, released in June, five Richmond programs received perfect scores of 1,000: field hockey, men's cross country, men's golf, women's golf, and women's lacrosse.
Richmond's 98 percent Graduation Success Rate is tied for sixth highest among all Division I institutions, trailing only Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Notre Dame, and Santa Clara. UR, Davidson, and St. Bonaventure were among the group of 18 schools to record Graduation Success Rates of 98 percent, tied for the best among the 15 schools in the Atlantic 10 conference.
"We're so proud of record GSR; it really reflects the drive and dedication of our student-athletes in the classroom, along with the support of their families, faculty, and coaches," said Bruce Matthews, Richmond's Associate Athletics Director for Academic Support and Student Services.
Richmond's 98 percent GSR is well above the national average of 90 percent and an increase from the 96 percent UR achieved in each of the three previous years, a figure that had been the highest in school history prior to the release of the most recent data on Wednesday.
11 of Richmond's 15 varsity sport programs (cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field teams are counted as one program for the purposes of the GSR) achieved perfect 100 percent GSR ratings: baseball, field hockey, men's basketball, men's cross country, men's golf, men's tennis, women's cross country/track & field, women's golf, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, and women's swimming & diving. All of Richmond's 15 programs achieved GSR ratings of 88 percent or higher.
The GSR differs from the federal graduation-rate formula in that the GSR factors in transfer students who go on to graduate at a different institution and does not penalize schools for transfers who leave in good academic standing.
Each spring, the NCAA releases a separate set of data, called the Academic Progress Rate (APR), which measures both academic performance and retention. Each program receives an APR score, with teams falling under a certain threshold subject to penalties such as loss of scholarships and postseason bans. In the latest round of APR data, released in June, five Richmond programs received perfect scores of 1,000: field hockey, men's cross country, men's golf, women's golf, and women's lacrosse.
David Thomas is Already Learning at Richmond
Friday, September 05
Spider Performance: SP4
Friday, September 05
Football Weekly Press Conference - September 3rd
Wednesday, September 03
Field Hockey Postgame - Northwestern
Sunday, August 31