UNLV STUDENT-ATHLETES’ GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE TIES RECORD-HIGH
UNLV student-athletes continue to graduate at a higher rate than the general student population as the NCAA released its most recent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) on Tuesday.
Current data show the academic successes of the student-athletes who initially enrolled full-time at UNLV during the Fall 2013 semester. UNLV’s GSR for student-athletes in the 2013 cohort was 79 percent, which ties the institution’s high set in 2005. Additionally, UNLV’s four-class average FGR for student-athletes was 19 percentage points higher than the general student population at UNLV.
FGR assesses first-time, full-time freshmen in a given group and only counts them as academic successes if they graduate from their institution of initial enrollment within a six-year period. It makes no accommodation for transfers into or out of an institution. It is, however, the only measure that allows a direct comparison between student-athletes and the general student body.
GSR begins with the Federal unit, and adds transfer students, mid-year enrollees and non-scholarship students (in specified cases) to the sample. Student-athletes who leave an institution while in good academic standing before exhausting athletics eligibility are removed from the unit of their initial institution. This rate provides a more complete and accurate look at actual student-athlete success by taking into account the full variety of participants in Division I athletics and tracking their academic outcomes.
UNLV student-athletes also set a multitude of significant academic records over the last year, which had been previously announced:
For a record sixth-straight semester, Rebel student-athletes achieved a collective GPA of at least 3.0. The Spring 2020 semester GPA of all UNLV student-athletes was a department-record 3.22, shattering the old mark of 3.09 set during Fall 2018. The cumulative GPA following Spring 2020 was also a department-record of 3.13, eclipsing the previous record of 3.09 in Spring 2019. Prior to Fall 2017, UNLV student-athletes had never achieved a collective semester GPA of 3.0.
UNLV also saw 183 student-athletes – 39 percent overall – earn Dean’s Honor List recognition for Spring 2020, which is an impressive increase of 13 percent over the Fall 2019 semester. The honor requires a semester GPA of greater than 3.50 in at least 12 academic credits.
UNLV also saw a historic jump in APR numbers this past year, setting multiple records. UNLV Athletics’ collective single- and multi-year scores of 990 and 979, respectively, were both record-highs. The single-year score of 990 qualified UNLV for the academic-based revenue distribution that is available from the NCAA for the first time, allowing schools with higher graduation rates and academic success to qualify for more funds.
Additionally, a UNLV-record 10 teams earned a single-year perfect score of 1,000, eclipsing the previous mark of eight teams. The 10 programs with perfect 1,000s were baseball, women’s basketball, cross country, men’s golf, women’s golf, softball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, track and field and volleyball. Also, baseball (978), football (964), men’s soccer (965), women’s tennis (1,000) and volleyball (1,000) all set or tied program records for multi-year scores.
Women’s tennis and volleyball were also recognized with the NCAA’s Public Recognition Award by earning a multi-year APR of 1,000, putting each team in the top-10 percent of all squads in their respective sport. It marked volleyball’s third straight award and fourth overall, and it was the fourth overall for women’s tennis. To achieve a perfect multi-year score of 1,000, a program must be perfect in four consecutive years.
In the past year, UNLV had a total of 163 student-athletes – a department-record – earn Academic All-Mountain West Team honors, while 92 earned the league’s Scholar-Athlete Award, also a department-record.