Skyhawks among 26 Division II institutions honored for having an
Academic Success Rate over 90-percent
EASTON, Mass. (March 18, 2013) – Stonehill College, winner of the last three Northeast-10 Conference Presidents’ Cups for overall athletic achievement in Conference sports, has received a Division II Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence for the second straight year. Stonehill is among 26 institutions recognized by the NCAA award in its second year of existence, honoring athletics programs with four year Academic Success Rates of 90-percent or more.
Stonehill, which ranks fifth nationally with a 97-percent Academic Success Rate (ASR), is one of a Division II-best seven Northeast-10 Conference members to appear on the list, including Saint Michael’s College who leads the way with a 98% ASR with the Skyhawks ranking second among the seven in the league honored.
"Our student athletes know that competitive athletics go hand in hand with academic quality and rigor,” said Rev. Mark T. Cregan, CSC, President of Stonehill College. “It is a team commitment with students, faculty and the coaching staff working in harmony to ensure success both in the classroom and on the playing fields and courts. That spirit is reflected in receiving this award for the second-straight year with our outstanding 97 percent academic success rate for student-athletes at Stonehill.”
In addition to Stonehill’s overall ASR of 97%, nine of Stonehill’s 16 athletic programs (cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field are combined by the NCAA) received perfect scores of 100%. Those programs include men’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s cross country/track & field, field hockey, women’s lacrosse, softball, volleyball and equestrian. Of those programs, four reached their National Tournaments and nine participated in postseason play. 12 of Stonehill’s programs had ASR’s well above the national average, with none below 93%.
“I would like to congratulate all of our student-athletes on this great accomplishment,” said Brendan Sullivan, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at the College. “Stonehill student-athletes are a wonderful definition of the term student-athlete with their high academic and athletic success. They continue set and achieve tremendous goals and I would like to thank them for their continued achievement in the name of Stonehill College.”
Stonehill’s 97% ASR ranks second among NE-10 institutions behind just Saint Michael’s (98%) for the third-straight year. They are among three NE-10 institutions ranking in the top ten and among seven with an ASR of 90% or better. While Stonehill dipped two spots from a No. 3 ranking a year ago, ranking 4th in 2010, the College’s ASR is 25 points higher than the national average of 72% and 42% better than the federal graduation rate.
The Division II Academic Requirements Committee established the Division II Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence to recognize programs achieving long-term academic success. The honor is intended to call attention to those programs and is not intended as a ranking. The Division II Academic Success Rate measures graduation rates for virtually all Division II student-athletes, including transfers and those not receiving athletically related financial aid. Active and provisional member institutions when the data were submitted for 2011-12 were eligible for the Division II Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence. The four-year ASR measured the entering cohorts from 2002 to 2005, inclusive.
The Division II Academic Success Rate captures about two-third more student-athletes than the federal graduation rate, which does not count incoming transfers, counts outgoing transfers as having not graduated and counts only student-athletes receiving athletically related financial aid. The national four-year ASR average is 72 percent. Regardless of the measure, Division II student-athletes graduate at a higher rate than the general student body. The federal rate for the 2004 entering class of student-athletes was 55 percent, compared to 49 percent for the general student body.
In addition to capturing the NE-10 Presidents’ Cup for the third-straight year and fourth time overall at the conclusion of the 2011-12 academic year, Stonehill finished ranked 68th in the final Learfield Sports Directors Cup standings which recognizes overall athletic achievement in NCAA championships. Stonehill was also recently ranked sixth in the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) Power Rankings used to assess the academic and athletic standards of all NCAA and NAIA athletic programs, marking a fourth straight top ten placement.
Division II Presidents’ Award for Academic
Excellence
Division II programs with a four-year Academic Success
Rate of 90 percent of higher:
100% - Maryville University of Saint Louis
100% - Simon Fraser University
99% - William Jewell College
98% - Saint Michael’s College
97% - Stonehill College
97% - University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
95% - Assumption College
95% - University of Puerto Rico, Bayamon
94% - Christian Brothers University
94% - Rollins College
94% - University of California, San Diego
93% - Chestnut Hill College
93% - Lees-McRae College
93% - Oakland City University
93% - Seattle Pacific University
92% - Adelphi University
92% - Bentley University
92% - Merrimack College
92% - Rockhurst University
92% - Truman State University
91% - Eckerd College
91% - Philadelphia University
90% - Bellarmine University
90% - Colorado School of Mines
90% - Hillsdale College
90% - Saint Anselm College