LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena College student athletes continue to set the standard in graduation success. Siena Athletics achieved the department's highest graduation success rate in nine years, as 94% of student athletes who enrolled at Siena as freshmen in the Fall of 2014 went on to graduate, according to the annual NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) Report. Siena's 94% rate also outpaced the national Division I record setting average of 90% by four points.
"In a Siena uniform, they're basketball players, or swimmers, or runners. But when they take off the Green and Gold uniform after College, they're doctors, lawyers, business executives, and leaders across the community," said Siena College President Chris Gibson '86, Ph.D. "Our student athletes leverage the
Education for a Lifetime into lifelong success. We're humbled by their enduring accomplishments, and it all begins with a Siena College degree."
Siena's 94% GSR in the latest report marks the athletic department's highest score since recording a 95% rate in the 2012 report. Siena Athletics has also now attained a Graduation Success Rate of 90% or higher in all 17 NCAA reports since the rates were first released annually beginning in 2005. Moreover, Siena's single-year cohort (2014-15) graduation rate was 98%.
"The Siena College education and the value of a Siena degree attracts high-performing student athletes to our campus," explained Siena College Provost Margaret Madden, Ph.D. "An athletic career is fleeting, but the knowledge gained in the classroom is forever. We're proud of what our student athletes achieve in competition, and we are especially proud of all they achieve in their careers."
Siena led all Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference schools with a total of 12 programs earning perfect 100% Graduation Success Rates in this year's report. Perfect scores were achieved by men's basketball, men's cross country/track, men's golf, men's lacrosse, men's tennis, women's basketball, women's golf, women's soccer, women's swimming and diving, women's tennis, volleyball, and water polo.
"Siena Athletics is committed to academic excellence, and our graduation success rate is a testament to the dedication and hard work our student athletes put in year after year," added S.A.IN.T.S. Advisor
Sarah Sivertson. "We are proud of our student athletes' efforts as they continue to excel in the classroom with an end goal of graduation."
The NCAA Graduation Success Rate Report gives graduation information for students and student athletes who entered college in 2014, 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 (2011-2014) 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 an 82% FGR – matching the athletic department's highest mark since achieving a school-record 84% rate in 2011 – with men's golf, women's swimming and diving, women's tennis, and volleyball posting perfect 100% cohort FGR's. The athletic department's FGR was 4% higher than the overall Siena College student population, and 14% better than the national Division I average. 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 2011-14, 82 went on to graduate from Siena within six years.
