LA JOLLA, Calif. - The University of California San Diego is one of just 26 NCAA Division II institutions nationwide to earn a 2016 Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence for achieving a four-year Academic Success Rate of 90 percent or higher.
UC San Diego ranked in a tie for eighth among the 26 schools with an Academic Success Rate of 94 percent and was the lone honoree from the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
UCSD has won the award every year since its inception in 2011, posting ASR percentages of 95, 94, 93, 93, 94 and 94.
Point Loma increased by one percentage point from 2015 and led Division II with an Academic Success Rate of 99 percent, followed by Bentley University, Saint Michael's College and Hillsdale College, all with a 98 percent ASR.
For the third-straight year, the Northeast-10 Conference led Division II's 24 conferences in ASR rates, with four athletics programs posting scores of 90 percent or more. The Sunshine State Conference and the Great Lakes Valley Conference had three apiece.
“Division II's philosophy is built on a commitment to supporting the whole student, including academic success as a primary emphasis,” said Steve Scott, president of Pittsburg State University and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. “The number of schools that consistently hit the 90 percent mark illustrates how Division II members continually uphold that commitment.”
The Academic Success Rate is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial collegiate enrollment and includes virtually all Division II student-athletes, including transfers and those not receiving athletic scholarships.
The Division II ASR also captures about 51 percent more student-athletes than the federal graduation rate. Unlike the federal rate, the ASR counts nonscholarship student-athletes and those who transfer to a school after initial enrollment elsewhere, while removing student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible. The national ASR is 71 percent for Division II student-athletes who entered college from 2006 through 2009.
Division II student-athletes continue to graduate at a higher rate than the general student body. The federal rate for the 2009 entering class of student-athletes was 56 percent, compared with 49 percent for the general student body.
2016 Division II Presidents' Award Honorees
Point Loma, 99 ASR
Bentley, 98
Saint Michael's, 98
Hillsdale, 98
University of the Sciences, 97
Stonehill, 96
Seattle Pacific, 96
Flagler, 94
Philadelphia University, 94
University of California San Diego, 94
Rockhurst, 93
Rollins, 93
Barry, 93
Assumption, 93
Indianapolis, 93
Cedarville, 93
California Baptist, 92
Concordia (Minn.), 92
Eckerd, 92
Puerto Rico, Bayamon, 91
Sioux Falls, 91
Lewis, 91
Davis & Elkins, 91
St. Edward's, 90
Findlay, 90
Regis (Colo.), 90
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