Hokie ClubVirginia Tech Athletics continues to accomplish big things off the field, mat, court, and pool, as the department recorded an overall Graduation Success Rate of 91% in a report released by the NCAA on Tuesday afternoon.
The NCAA developed the formula for its Graduation Success Rate, or GSR, metric as part of its 2003 academic reform initiatives to better measure student-athlete academic success. It differs from the federal graduation rate in several ways, most notably by not penalizing schools that have transfers who depart in good academic standing and by counting transfers who enroll into a school in good academic standing. The GSR also takes into account the academic standing of mid-year enrollees, whereas the federal formula does not.
The NCAA's GSR metric allows student-athletes six years to earn their degrees. This year's rate is based on the average of student-athletes who enrolled in 2010, 2011, 2012 and the most recent data of 2013 and also graduated within six years following their enrollment. Thus, those in the 2010 freshman class would have graduated by 2016, those in the 2011 class by 2017, those in the 2012 class by 2018, and those in the 2013 class by 2019.
For the fifth consecutive year, Virginia Tech's overall GSR was above 90 percent, and the athletics department has been above that threshold in six of the past eight years.
Six Virginia Tech sports recorded a perfect GSR of 100 – baseball, men's golf, women's golf, women's soccer, softball, and women's tennis. The Hokies' women's soccer and women's tennis programs have recorded a 100 percent score ever since the NCAA went to the GSR formula, while the men's golf team extended its streak of perfect 100 percent scores to 12 consecutive years.
Five other Virginia Tech sports finished above 90%, including four women's sports. The list includes women's cross country/track (91), lacrosse (96), women's swimming (93), volleyball (91), and men's soccer (95). The Tech men's soccer team ranked tied for fifth in the ACC and tied for second among the conference's public schools.
Tech's football program came in at 87%, while the women's basketball program was at 82% and the men's basketball program came in at 75%. The football program ranked eighth among ACC schools and fourth among the league's public schools.
For those interested in reading more about the NCAA and the latest GSR report, please click here.