Oct. 30, 2007

Siena's student-athletes posted a 93% Graduation Success Rate (GSR) according to information released by the NCAA office today. The four-year aggregate rate considers scholarship student-athletes who entered school between 1997 and 2000. Siena's rate of 93% ranks in the top-10 percent among all Division I institutions. It is the third year the NCAA has used the GSR. Siena tied for fifth nationally with a 97% GSR in the initial report, and tied for third nationally with a 97% GSR last year.

"The academic success of our student athletes is paramount to our mission," director of athletics John D'Argenio said. "The GSR is widely regarded as an excellent indicator of academic achievement. We are pleased that our student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom and graduate at a rate that places us among the top performing schools in the country."

Siena's GSR of 93% tied for 30th among the 330 NCAA Division I Institutions and was third in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, trailing only Loyola (96%) and Fairfield (95%). Siena was one of 47 Division I institutions to post a GSR of 90% or better.

The NCAA developed the GSR three years ago because the federal graduation rate does not credit institutions with student-athletes who leave in good academic standing or for transfers into the school who graduate. The GSR accounts for both of those transfer groups, which has resulted in a more accurate depiction of student-athlete academic success, since it captures about 35 percent more students than the federal methodology.

Concurrently, the NCAA recognized Siena's women's basketball and women's golf programs with the NCAA Public Recognition Award. The Award honors programs that place in the top-10% in the Academic Progress Rate (APR) for their respective sports. The women's basketball programs multi-year APR was 994, while the women's golf rate was a perfect 1,000.

Siena's student-athletes also out-performed the general Siena student body when considering the federal graduation rate listed on the reports furnished by the NCAA today. According to the report, which considered all students who entered school during the 2000-2001 academic year, Siena's student-athletes posted a 78% graduation rate compared to a 77% rate for the general student population. Additionally, the four-year class average (a standard that considers the last four federal rates) revealed 79% of Siena's student-athletes graduated, compared to 78% for the general Siena student population.

The GSR national data for the 1997-00 four-class aggregate show the overall GSR for Division I at 77 percent - the same as last year, and up from 76 percent in the initial report two years ago. The GSR for female student-athletes rose from 86 percent to 87 percent from last year's report. The GSR for male student-athletes remains steady at 70 percent.