LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena College student athletes continue to graduate above the national Division I rate. According to the NCAA's annual Graduation Success Rate (GSR) report, 92% of student athletes who entered Siena as freshmen in the Fall of 2011 went on to graduate, eclipsing the national Division I record-high average rate of 88% by four points.
"Our student athletes know that winning starts with academics, and that commencement represents the biggest victory of their Siena experience," said Siena College President Br. Ed Coughlin, O.F.M., Ph.D. "I couldn't possibly be more proud of the way our student athletes represent our institution in competition and in the classroom."
Siena achieved a 92% GSR for the second straight year in matching the athletic department's highest rate since posting a 93% GSR in the 2013 NCAA report. Siena has boasted a GSR of 90% or higher in all 14 NCAA reports since the rate was first released in 2005, and the athletic department has accrued a stellar average all-time GSR of 93.8%.
"Student athletes continue to achieve academic success at record levels," said NCAA President Mark Emmert. "When the GSR was created more than 15 years ago, the NCAA set an aspirational goal of 80% of student athletes graduating. College athletes have met and exceeded that goal – as they often do with any challenge."
Siena ranked second amongst all MAAC schools with 11 athletic programs posting perfect 100% GSR's. Teams achieving perfect cohort rates were men's cross country/track, men's soccer, men's tennis, women's basketball, women's cross country/track, field hockey, women's golf, women's swimming and diving, women's tennis, volleyball, and water polo.
"I will always be fascinated and motivated by the efforts of our student athletes in the classroom," noted associate athletic director and senior woman administrator
Lori Anctil. "They continue to strive for excellence and value the importance of earning their Siena College degree. They are committed in carrying on the tradition and expectation of what it means to be a Siena Saint."
The NCAA Graduation Success Rate report gives graduation information for students and student athletes who entered college in 2011, the most recent class for which the required six years of information is available. It also breaks down the GSR by sport, using a four-year class average (2008-2011) called a cohort rate to provide a big enough sample.
The NCAA developed the GSR because the Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) does not credit institutions with student athletes who leave in good academic standing and go on to graduate, or transfers into the school who graduate. Siena recorded a 79% cohort FGR rate, which was 2% higher than that of the general student body of the College. Additionally, four Siena Athletics programs – men's cross country/track, men's tennis, women's golf, and women's tennis – posted perfect 100% cohort FGR's. The FGR is based on a comparison of the number of students who entered a college or university and the number of those who graduated within six years. For example, for every 100 Siena student athletes entering school from 2008-11, 79 graduate from Siena within six years.