Wednesday, May 28, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. - Simon Fraser University and Seattle Pacific University are among the recepients of the third annual Division II Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence.

A total of 27 schools are being honored for achieving four-year Academic Success Rates of 90 percent or more.

SFU led all of Division II with an ASR of 100 percent, meaning all student-athletes from the 2003-06 cohort graduated within six years of original enrollment.  Seattle Pacific had a ASR of 92 percent.

The Academic Success Rate measures graduation success for Division II schools. As a result of Division II’s unique qualities, the ASR measures the graduation success of virtually all Division II student-athletes, including transfers and those not receiving athletics scholarships, which distinguishes it from Division I’s Graduation Success Rate. Approximately 56 percent of Division II student-athletes receive some level of athletics aid.

Each of the division’s 292 active member schools is eligible for the Division II Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence. Simon Fraser is just the second school to achieve a ASR of 100 percent in the three-year history of the award.

The Division II Academic Success Rate captures about 60 percent more student-athletes than the federal graduation rate, which does not count incoming transfers, counts outgoing transfers as having not graduated and counts only student-athletes receiving athletics scholarships. The national four-year ASR average is 71 percent.

No matter what measure is used, Division II student-athletes graduate at a higher rate than the general student body. The federal rate for the 2006 entering class of student-athletes was 54 percent, compared to 48 percent for the general student body.