Skyhawks maintain high rank as NCAA Division II announces Academic
Success Ratings
EASTON, Mass. (December 11, 2013) – Stonehill College has once again been recognized for its academic performance with regard to graduation rate by earning a 97-percent Academic Success Rating (ASR) as released by the NCAA today. 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.
“Once again, Stonehill’s ASR ranking demonstrates that Stonehill student-athletes are committed to academic excellence,” said Brendan Sullivan, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at the College. “To remain in the top five nationally amongst Division II institutions is a credit to their commitment, talent, and work ethic.”
Stonehill, which has received the Division II Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence each of the first two years of its existence, has boasted an ASR over 97% each of the last four years, holding steady at 97% each of the last two years. In addition to Stonehill’s overall ASR of 97%, ten 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 basketball, 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 Stonehill’s programs that had an ASR of 100% for the cohort period of 2006-07 through 2009-10 27 of the teams over that span participated in postseason play, with that group of programs winning 13 Northeast-10 Championships and earning 15 NCAA Tournament bids. 12 of Stonehill’s programs had ASR’s well above the national average, or at least meeting a 100% federal rate, with just one below 90%.
Stonehill’s 97% ASR ranks second among NE-10 institutions behind just Saint Michael’s College (98%) for the fourth-straight year and ranked fifth nationally for the second-straight year. They are among three NE-10 institutions ranking in the top ten and among eight with an ASR of 90% or better. Stonehill earned a No. 3 ranking in 2011 and a No. 4 ranking in 2010.
“To achieve so significantly in both their academic and athletic pursuits is not the norm nationally, and I am proud of our student-athletes for embodying the true meaning of the term student-athlete,” continued Sullivan. “I extend my congratulations to each student-athlete and also want to thank the coaches, faculty, and staff of Stonehill College who work tirelessly so that our student-athletes may perform so well.”
This is the eighth 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. The Skyhawks have finished in the top three in the
final NE-10 Presidents' Cup standings nine straight years, winning
the Cup four times, including a streak of three-straight from
2009-10 through 2011-12. In addition, the Skyhawks are 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.
NCAA Division II ASR Rankings Top 10
Rk ASR
Institution
1. 100
Simon Fraser University
2. 99 Davis
and Elkins College
William Jewell College
4. 98
Saint Michael’s College
5. 97
Stonehill College
6.
96 Point Loma Nazarene University
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
8. 95
Bentley University
9. 94
Regis University
Rollins College
University of Puerto Rico, Bayamon
Northeast-10 Conference members in italics