COLCHESTER, Vt. - For the eighth straight year, Saint Michael's College is among the elite in NCAA Division II when it comes to student-athlete graduation rate, as data released by the NCAA revealed the College's student-athletes achieved an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 98 percent for 2016.
Saint Michael's posted at least a 98 percent showing for the eighth consecutive four-year cycle, matching its 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 figure after reaching 99 percent in both 2010 and 2011. The College tied for second in ASR among more than 300 Division II schools, matching Northeast-10 Conference counterpart Bentley University and Hillsdale (Mich.) College. All three schools trailed only Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) University (99%), which was not an NCAA member during the 2006-09 cohort taken into account.
Among the NE-10's 15 schools, Saint Michael's tied Bentley for first while edging Stonehill College (96%), claiming at least a share of the league's top spot for the eighth consecutive cycle. Only seven schools achieved at least a 95 percent ASR, with three from the NE-10, while Pennsylvania-based University of the Sciences (97%) also hails from the region. Beyond the East, Hillsdale and Point Loma Nazarene joined Seattle Pacific (Wash.) University (96%).
"We are immensely proud of this ranking, which sustains the proud tradition of academic achievement for Saint Michael's College student-athletes," said Director of Athletics Chris Kenny '86. "Our impressive national ranking and the remarkable run of success we have enjoyed - in the national top four for nine consecutive years - is true testament to the talents, time and support provided by our faculty and academic support services, as well as meaningful efforts from every corner of this dedicated campus community. Our student-athletes are committed to academic success, and know that they have a great team supporting them. This is a source of pride for our entire Saint Michael's community, and we are thankful for all that they do to help our student-athletes achieve their goals."
By tying for second among all Division II institutions, the College finished no worse than fourth for the ninth straight year, placing first in 2011, tying for first in 2010, tying for second in 2009 and 2015, taking third in 2013, tying for third in 2014, and capturing fourth in both 2008 and 2012.
The ASR, which this year took into account the four-year cycle of classes entering between 2006 and 2009, is in its 11th year of existence. For the eighth straight four-year cycle, Saint Michael's had an ASR of at least 98 percent, significantly higher than the NCAA Division II average of 71 percent. The data shows that 14 of the College's 21 programs had a 100 percent ASR for this four-year span, which led the NE-10, as Saint Michael's accounted for nearly one fifth of the 77 NE-10 squads that had a perfect ASR.
The NCAA annually releases the Division II ASR, a model developed at the request of presidents of Division II institutions to overcome inadequacies with the Federal Graduation Rate (FGR). The FGR only takes into account student-athletes that receive athletic scholarships, while the ASR considers all student-athletes, thus capturing non-scholarship students that represent a clear majority of the Saint Michael's student-athletes. The College was third in the NE-10 in FGR, at 81 percent, while only Bentley (88%) and Stonehill (85%) joined Saint Michael's as being above 80 percent.
Of the 21 sports offered by Saint Michael's, 14 earned a 100 percent ASR for the 2006-09 cohort: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, field hockey, men's golf, men's ice hockey, men's lacrosse, men's skiing, women's swimming & diving, men's and women's tennis, and women's volleyball. None of the remaining seven were lower than 89 percent, and only two fell below 94 percent.
A searchable database for ASR information and federal reports for all NCAA Division II institutions is available by visiting here.
