Skyhawks maintain same ASR for second straight year, move up three spots on national ranking

EASTON, Mass. (November 6 2015) – Stonehill College has once again been recognized for its academic performance with regard to graduation rate by earning a 96-percent Academic Success Rating (ASR) as released by the NCAA. The ASR considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes while also giving credit for any student-athletes that transferred from the institution while in good academic standing.

“Congratulations to our student-athletes and entire coaching staff for again achieving such impressive Academic Success Rating results,” said Dean O’Keefe, Director of Athletics at Stonehill. “The ASR scores are a tremendous credit to our student-athletes in their continued pursuit of academic and athletic excellence, and reaffirms the collaborative work of our coaches, faculty and staff is fostering an environment for our students to think, act and lead in preparation for future success.”

Stonehill, which is one of just ten institutions and one of three in the NE-10 to receive the Division II Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence each of the first five years of its existence, has boasted an ASR over 96% each year. In addition to Stonehill’s overall ASR of 96%, 12 of Stonehill’s 16 athletic programs (cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field are combined by the NCAA) received perfect scores of 100% for the second straight year. Those programs include baseball, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s cross country/track & field, field hockey, women’s lacrosse, softball, volleyball and equestrian. Stonehill won ten Northeast-10 Conference Championships over the cohort period of 2005-2008 from which this graduation data includes, earned 27 NCAA Tournament bids, with the 2005 women’s lacrosse team capturing its second Division II National Championship in three years.

13 of Stonehill’s programs had ASR’s well above the federal graduation rate, or at least meeting a 100% federal rate, with just one below 90%. Stonehill’s 96% ASR ranks fifth nationally and third among NE-10 institutions behind only Saint Michael’s College (98%) and Bentley University (98%). They are among four NE-10 institutions ranking in the top ten and among five with an ASR of 91% or better. Stonehill peaked with a No. 3 national ranking in 2011.

This is the ninth year the NCAA has released the Division II ASR. The NCAA developed the Division II ASR at the request of college and university presidents who believed the federal graduation rate was flawed. Division II’s ASR data is similar to the Division I Graduation Success Rate as it takes transfer students into account. However, given the partial-scholarship financial aid model of Division II, ASR goes one step further and includes student-athletes not receiving athletic scholarships.

With 20 intercollegiate sports, Stonehill boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in the country. In addition to winning its fifth Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup following the 2014-15 academic year, the Skyhawks have received the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement each of the first five years of the program's existence of honoring institutions with an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90-percent or better. Stonehill has earned a 96% Academic Success Ranking (ASR) by the NCAA two straight years, which considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes, good for fifth among all NCAA Division II institutions, with 12 Skyhawk teams receiving a perfect rating of 100%. In addition, the Skyhawks are ranked third in the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) Power Rankings for Division II used to assess the academic and athletic standards of all NCAA and NAIA athletic programs. Stonehill has also been selected as the host of the 2016 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships at W.B. Mason Stadium.

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