NCAA Releases Graduation Success Rates

[venture]

Northwestern has highest graduation success rate - CBSSports.com

Top 10 schools...doesn't include any Big 12 or state schools.

1. Northwestern 97 percent
2. Rice 95 percent
3. Boston College 94 percent
3. Notre Dame 94 percent
5. Air Force 93 percent
5. Stanford 93 percent
7. Duke 92 percent
8. Boise State 91 percent
9. Army 89 percent
10. Miami 86 percent
10. Wake Forest 86 percent

So how did our schools do? Both OSU had a 56% graduation success rate. OU had a pathetic 51% graduation success rate. Best in the conference?

TCU - 85%, WVU 80%, and TTU at 72%.

Out of all 242 Division I football schools, OU was in the bottom 30. BCS schools under OU were Tennessee and Cal only.

[Martin]

university of tennessee knoxville is 64% which, last i checked, is greater than 51%. as far as comparisons go, you also overlooked the university of tulsa... they came it at 75%. the most recent data is from 2006... i'm curious what the current numbers are. -M

[HangryHippo]

If Cal is behind OU in graduation rate, I'm not terribly concerned.

[venture]

university of tennessee knoxville is 64% which, last i checked, is greater than 51%. as far as comparisons go, you also overlooked the university of tulsa... they came it at 75%. the most recent data is from 2006... i'm curious what the current numbers are. -M

That's my bad. I was looking at Univ of Tenn @ Chattanooga by accident.

Yeah I overlooked Tulsa. My apologies to them.

Well keep in mind that the data is based off of the year students enter school. So that would mean most of these kids graduated in 2010-2011...depending if they went 4 or 5 years.

If Cal is behind OU in graduation rate, I'm not terribly concerned.

Not sure I understand, considering every other BCS school is ahead of OU but them.

[AP]

If Cal is behind OU in graduation rate, I'm not terribly concerned.

I think you're misunderstanding what he's saying. Cal is the only BCS school BEHIND OU. That's bad. Not saying OSU is much better at 56%

[AP]

the most recent data is from 2006... i'm curious what the current numbers are. -M

I think they are tracking students who ENTERED college in 2006 and graduated in 6 years. Unless I'm reading that wrong, that seems like pretty recent data to me.

[Martin]

Well keep in mind that the data is based off of the year students enter school. So that would mean most of these kids graduated in 2010-2011...depending if they went 4 or 5 years.

that makes sense... i was thinking it was by graduation year. according to the ncaa report, they count any graduation up to 6 years as a success.

while i think that academics is largely overlooked, especially for more popular sports, i'm not sure that this statistic really paints an accurate picture of what a 'good' or 'bad' school is... is a school truly 'better' because it has a higher percentage of student athletes who don't transfer in and graduate from the same institution in 6 or fewer years? i guess one could argue that a scholarship isn't truly effective if the student who enjoys its benefits doesn't graduate from that same institution. beyond that, i just don't see it. i'm certainly not suggesting that there aren't problems with the system... i'm just saying that maybe this isn't the best gauge of success.

-M

[Martin]

I think they are tracking students who ENTERED college in 2006 and graduated in 6 years. Unless I'm reading that wrong, that seems like pretty recent data to me.

you're right. (i started typing my last response before seeing yours) -M

[HangryHippo]

I think you're misunderstanding what he's saying. Cal is the only BCS school BEHIND OU. That's bad. Not saying OSU is much better at 56%

No, I'm not. Cal's rate was worse than OU's and I understand that. What I'm saying is graduation rate is a poor reflection of what OU's athletes are actually doing in terms of graduation. That's exactly why the NCAA doesn't use grad rates but instead uses APR, which takes into account why a student left (draft, etc.). Many of these athletes return during their pro careers to complete school, but it happens outside the 6 year window. I'm not saying that's the whole story, but there's more to grad rates than what we see here. At least that's how I understand it.

[OKCisOK4me]

I'd have to guess that this includes all sports, but it's also my guess that the thing that hurts OU and OSU the most is the football programs. Taking into account kids being kicked off of teams for infractions against team rules OR kids leaving college early to enter the NFL draft, OR kids transferring to other schools because they're not getting the playing time they were wanting. I also think that in order to be successful on the field with that raw talent, sometimes OU and OSU will sign kids that aren't that great on the academic side of things so you end up putting it in their hands and we've all seen how that can turn out.

[Martin]

I'd have to guess that this includes all sports

the ncaa released stats for all collegiate athletics but the numbers being quoted here are just for football. taking all sports into account, ou is at 76%. -M

[OKCisOK4me]

but the numbers being quoted here are just for football-M

Well, with that said, I think the reasons I provide happen quite more commonly at OSU and OU than those Top 10 schools.

[Martin]

i think you left out an "m" in my username. : D -M

[zookeeper]

Cal behind OU says only one thing and that's that Cal (one of the best public universities in America) is notoriously difficult to graduate from. I think OnlyOne, above, was partly saying if CAL is behind OU in anything, things can't be too bad at OU. At least that's how I partly took that.

From Wikipedia about CAL:

Berkeley was listed as a "Public Ivy" in Richard Mull's 1985 Public Ivies In the 2013 Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings Berkeley was ranked the world's 5th most prestigious university and one of six globally recognized "super brands."[61] Among world universities, Berkeley had the 2nd highest number of academic programs rated in the Top Ten in their field by QS. In 2009 the Center for Measuring University Performance placed Berkeley 9th among national research universities.[63] In 2013 Kiplinger ranked Berkeley 8th out of the top 100 best-value public colleges and universities in the nation, and 2nd in California. The Princeton Review ranks Berkeley as a "college with a conscience" and the 5th best value in public colleges. Berkeley was ranked as 1st for public universities by US News and World Report in 2013.

So, obviously, there's a lot to consider when looking at these kinds of things.

[Snowman]

It kind of seems like there ought to be a footnote for percentage that were drafted, I would imagine we would still have plenty of room to improve in the graduation stats after that but for football (which at least a few years ago we were second only to Baylor on the team's average GPA) and basketball it is pretty well know a lot of the top talent would rather be drafted (especially high) than graduate.

[HangryHippo]

Cal behind OU says only one thing and that's that Cal (one of the best public universities in America) is notoriously difficult to graduate from. I think OnlyOne, above, was partly saying if CAL is behind OU in anything, things can't be too bad at OU. At least that's how I partly took that.

From Wikipedia about CAL:

Berkeley was listed as a "Public Ivy" in Richard Mull's 1985 Public Ivies In the 2013 Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings Berkeley was ranked the world's 5th most prestigious university and one of six globally recognized "super brands."[61] Among world universities, Berkeley had the 2nd highest number of academic programs rated in the Top Ten in their field by QS. In 2009 the Center for Measuring University Performance placed Berkeley 9th among national research universities.[63] In 2013 Kiplinger ranked Berkeley 8th out of the top 100 best-value public colleges and universities in the nation, and 2nd in California. The Princeton Review ranks Berkeley as a "college with a conscience" and the 5th best value in public colleges. Berkeley was ranked as 1st for public universities by US News and World Report in 2013.

So, obviously, there's a lot to consider when looking at these kinds of things.

You're spot on.

[Laramie]

I'd have to guess that this includes all sports, but it's also my guess that the thing that hurts OU and OSU the most is the football programs. Taking into account kids being kicked off of teams for infractions against team rules OR kids leaving college early to enter the NFL draft, OR kids transferring to other schools because they're not getting the playing time they were wanting. I also think that in order to be successful on the field with that raw talent, sometimes OU and OSU will sign kids that aren't that great on the academic side of things so you end up putting it in their hands and we've all seen how that can turn out.

Good observation; football players with poor ACT or SAT composites or percentiles will choose to avoid UT. Texas demands a higher minimum requirement than the other Big 12 schools.

It's tough to concentrate on academics when you begin enrollment on some kind of academic probation status. The corresponding ACT standard deviation, a measure of how the scores vary around the average, is 4.7.

University of Texas has branded itself over the years: 'What Starts Here Changes the World.'

President Boren has targeted national merit scholars which has helped to improve OU's profile.

[Just the facts]

This is why OU should make a 3 year major called Pro Athlete. The graduation rate would go to 95% in 3 years, and the athlete might actually learn enough to get a job after college.

[Martin]

^
yeah... i think they pretty much have that already. health and sport sciences. -M

[Just the facts]

Not really - that program is more health related. I'm talking about a major that actually helps the person be a professional athlete, coach, sports journalist, or agent. Classes would include "Rules of the Game", "Media Relations", "Product Endorsement", "Sports Reporting and Interviews", "Contract Negotiations", etc... There could even be minors in Coaching for all the major sports so that a graduate not getting drafted can go right in to High School coaching. The classes for the minor in Football Coaching could be, "Offensive Coordinator", "Defensive Coordinator", "Quarterback Coaching", "Running Back Coaching", "Linebacker Coaching", "X's and O's". In X's and O's you would learn about some of the greatest high school coaches, learn how to create plays and playbooks, etc...

Of course, this is just and example from the football perspective but similar classes would be available for the other sports as well. Not only would this program be attractive to athletes but might also rope in a few non-athletes.

[Snowman]

Not really - that program is more health related. I'm talking about a major that actually helps the person be a professional athlete, coach, sports journalist, or agent. Classes would include "Rules of the Game", "Media Relations", "Product Endorsement", "Sports Reporting and Interviews", "Contract Negotiations", etc... There could even be minors in Coaching for all the major sports so that a graduate not getting drafted can go right in to High School coaching. The classes for the minor in Football Coaching could be, "Offensive Coordinator", "Defensive Coordinator", "Quarterback Coaching", "Running Back Coaching", "Linebacker Coaching", "X's and O's". In X's and O's you would learn about some of the greatest high school coaches, learn how to create plays and playbooks, etc...

Of course, this is just and example from the football perspective but similar classes would be available for the other sports as well. Not only would this program be attractive to athletes but might also rope in a few non-athletes.

Given the number of pro players broke after a couple years of retired, subjects like "minimum you should set aside", "various recommended methods to investing for retirement", "how to say no to requests" probably should be considered as well

[Just the facts]

'Investing and Money Management' would make a great class. Of course, there is a whole cottage industry (we call it College and Pro Sports) based on uneducated athletes so I wouldn't expect any of this to be implemented anytime soon.