Michigan State athletics graduation rates rise again
Michigan State’s athletic department set another new record for graduation rate.
For the fourth straight year, the Spartans’ "federal graduation rate increased" with a four-year rate of 80%. That ranks 10th among Power Five and fifth among public institutions in the major conferences.
The FGR is the proportion of first-year, full-time student-athletes who entered a school on athletics aid and graduated from that institution within six years. This federal rate does not account for students who transfer from their original institution and graduate elsewhere.
MSU also equaled last year’s "graduation success rate" of 92%. The data includes the 2011-12 to 2014-15 freshman cohorts for the four-year totals and 2014-15 for the single-year rate.
The GSR formula removes from the rate student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible and includes student-athletes who transfer to a school after initially enrolling elsewhere.
A school-record nine sports had 100% GSR during that time: men’s basketball, men’s cross country/track, men’s golf, men’s tennis, rowing, women’s golf, softball, women’s tennis and volleyball.
“I’m immensely proud of the effort and focus our student-athletes display every day,” MSU athletic director Alan Haller said in a statement. “Their academic success is tangible proof of our culture of excellence within Spartan Athletics.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State athletics graduation rates rise again
