The latest NCAA graduation rates released this week have the University of Wisconsin tied for third in the nation. The Badgers' rate of 88 percent was the best mark in school history and tied Duke for third. Notre Dame (92 percent) and Tulsa (89 percent) were the only Division I-A schools nationally with higher graduation rates for their student-athletes.
The graduation rate of Wisconsin student-athletes was 13 percentage points higher than the 75 percent rate for the UW's general student population. That differential between graduation rates of student-athletes and regular students was the largest among Big Ten schools. It was the first year that student-athletes recorded a higher graduation mark than the total student population at Wisconsin.
This 2003 NCAA report gives graduation rate information about general student and student-athlete populations that entered the institution in 1996. This is the most-recent graduating class for which the statistics (based upon the six-year window) are available. The data was collected by the federal government and released by the NCAA.
The UW-Madison showed an increase of 27 percent in the graduation of its student-athletes from 2002 figures (based upon the incoming class of 1995). The increase was the fourth-best among Division I-A institutions, trailing only Oklahoma (+40 percent), Utah State (+36 percent) and Western Michigan (+29 percent).
"Certainly, there are a number of factors that go into a performance like this," says David Harris, Director of the Athletic Departmentiss Academic Affairs Office. "First and foremost, credit should be given to a dedicated group of student-athletes that attacked the academic mission with a purpose. This is a true credit to those hard-working students."
Harris also singled out the department's academic facilities and dedication of the Academic Affairs staff as key factors. "The state-of-the-art Fetzer Center is a great resource for Badger student-athletes. Additionally, the commitment and dedicated work of many outstanding staff is an important factor for these students to realize their academic goals. Finally, our coaching staff understand the importance of academic success and academics as a key component of life as a student-athlete.
Graduation rates for student-athletes have risen nationally the last several years according to recent data released by the NCAA. The 62 percent graduate rate of all Division I-A student-athletes is a record and the three percentage-point difference between athletes and regular students is the first time that athletes had a higher rate.
The 2003 class is the first one to graduate under the provisions of Proposition 16, an academic reform measure which uses a sliding scale to match grade-point averages with results on standardized test scores to determine freshmen eligibility.
"It appears that Proposition 16 has had a very positive impact on improving performance in the classroom for student-athletes across the nation," Harris notes.
In addition to the graduation rates, UW-Madison student-athletes recorded an overall grade-point average of 2.90 in 2002-03, and 10 teams had GPA's above 3.0. There were 149 Badger student-athletes honored by the Big Ten for the academic performance last year. Thirty-one full-time student-athletes recorded perfect 4.0 grade-point averages in the spring semester of 2003.
