CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois University Department of Athletics is graduating over 87 percent of its student athletes according to the 2024 NCAA Graduation Success Rate.
The NCAA released its most recent GSR data Tuesday and it shows Panthers student-athletes who entered school on athletic aid in 2017 posted an 87Â percent GSR with 10Â of 17 measured programs generating a perfect 100 GSR score. Cross Country, indoor and outdoor track & field count as one sport in the measurement.Â
The Panthers ten teams teams who achieved a 100% rate over the period include: volleyball, women's tennis, women's swimming, women's soccer, women's basketball, women's golf, women's cross country/track & field, men's tennis, men's swimming and men's golf. Â
The Division I Board of Directors created the GSR in response to Division I college and university presidents who wanted data that more accurately reflected the mobility of college students than the federal graduation rate. The federal rate counts any student who leaves a school as an academic failure, no matter whether he or she enrolls at another school. Also, the federal rate does not recognize students who enter school as transfer students.
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. This calculation makes it a more complete and accurate look at student-athlete success.
The rate also allows for a deeper understanding of graduation success in individual sports than the federal metric, which provides only broad groupings.
