{

NCAA Graduation Rates

Kelsey Harris

Why Graduation Rates?

Internship in Academic Support for Athletics

True understanding?

Controversy over schools with low scores Ex: National Champion UCONN

Why?

Federal Graduation Rate

Graduation Success Rate

Academic Progress Rate

Rates Defined

Rates Chart

Methods

Coaches Interview

How do you use Graduation Rates in your recruiting process? Or do you?  Do you have a goal graduation rate (APR) for your program?  How often do recruits ask you about graduation rates? Is it mostly parents?  Do you feel like they understand what they’re asking (or do they just ask because they think they are supposed to)?  Has a recruit ever asked about APR?  Has the fact that individual head coach’s APR’s are published (through NCAA.org) changed anything you do?

Methods

Administrator’s Interview

Do we have a goal graduation rate for each team?    What steps are taken every year within the athletic department to focus on the APR among teams?    Do you believe that graduate rates and APR are important to Elon coaches?

Content analysis from NCAA.org and GSR information

Survey sent to current student-athletes Sample questions:

Are you aware of Elon’s current graduation rate? When you hear the term “graduation rate”, what does it

mean to you? Was Elon’s graduation rate a factor in you choosing

Elon as a school? Do you think collegiate athlete’s graduation rates are

higher/lower/same as the general collegiate population?

Methods

Results2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

75

77

79

81

83

85

87

89

91

93

Elon Overall GSRSOCON Avg

Overall Athletic GSR: Elon vs. SOCON Average

Results 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

80

82

84

86

88

90

92

Elon Overall GSRCAA Avg

Overall Athletic GSR: Elon vs. CAA Average

Implications

Elon’s academic culture speaks for itself Consistently higher than conference

averages

3.0 GPA goal for each team = high rates

Student-athlete misunderstanding of rates Or just don’t worry about it

Public APR rates have not changed internal process with coaches

Unhappiness with huge accountability

Differences between sport teams? Differences between race? Background?

Hometown?

Future Research