UNLV’S STUDENT-ATHLETE GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE SETS RECORD FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR
Overall 88% GSR eclipses last year’s record of 85%, while four UNLV athletic programs turn in 100% and seven set or tied program record
UNLV student-athletes have set another record in the classrooms as the NCAA released its most recent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) on Wednesday.
UNLV Athletics’ department-wide record GSR of 88% eclipses last year’s record of 85%. Three years ago, UNLV Athletics’ GSR was a record-82%. The most recent data released shows the academic success of the student-athletes who enrolled full-time in Fall 2016.
“The entire UNLV Athletics team — from administrators and coaches to advising and support staff — creates a positive culture for our student-athletes that is predicated on both academic and athletics success,” said UNLV President Keith E. Whitfield. “I am so proud of our student-athletes for successfully balancing the rigors of competition and their course work. They continue to set a high bar for academic success at UNLV and serve as a strong example for young people in our community.”
Four Rebel sports programs had a 100% GSR for the most recent cohort: women’s golf, softball, women’s tennis and volleyball, while baseball, football, women’s golf, softball, women’s soccer, women’s tennis and volleyball all set or tied their program’s record.
“What our student-athletes continue to achieve in the classroom is commendable and we are so proud of their commitment to academics,” said UNLV Director of Athletics Erick Harper. “Thank you to our Student-Athlete Academic Services Department, along with our coaches and staff for all that they continue to do to support our student-athletes in their academic pursuits.”
As a whole, Rebel student-athletes continue to graduate at a higher rate — 12% higher in this same cohort — than the general student population at UNLV.
In addition, UNLV student-athletes have achieved a collective grade point average of at least a 3.0 for a record 12 consecutive semesters.
FGR assesses first-time, full-time freshmen in a given group 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. It is, however, the only measure that allows a direct comparison between student-athletes and the general student body.
GSR begins with the Federal unit, and adds transfer students, mid-year enrollees and non-scholarship students (in specified cases) to the sample. Student-athletes who leave an institution while in good academic standing before exhausting athletics eligibility are removed from the unit of their initial institution. This rate provides a more complete and accurate look at actual student-athlete success by taking into account the full variety of participants in Division I athletics and tracking their academic outcomes.
