INDIANAPOLIS-Student-athletes continue to graduate at a rate higher than college students nationally, according to the latest data collected by the federal government and released today by the NCAA.

Using the federal calculation for graduation rates, 60 percent of all U.S. college students who began their studies in 1998 graduated within six years.

Using the same methodology, 62 percent of Division I student-athletes from the Class of 1998 graduated within six years, two points higher than the general student body and unchanged from the previous year.

Based on new NCAA methodology - the Graduation Success Rate - data released last month show that 76 percent of student-athletes graduate. The GSR includes transfers into programs and transfers who leave in good academic standing (meaning they would be eligible to compete if they returned). There is no comparative GSR data for the overall student body at a national level.

"It is encouraging that even using the somewhat flawed and conservative methodology employed by the U.S. Department of Education, student-athletes on average continue to graduate at a better rate than the student body," said NCAA President Myles Brand. "But the difference in the rates when transfers are included demonstrates again that our GSR is doing exactly what we hoped-giving a more accurate picture of student- athlete academic achievement."

This latest release of Department of Education data marks the 15th year that the NCAA has reported graduation rates of its student-athletes and the general student bodies at its member colleges and universities using federal methodology.

"We will continue to meet our obligation to release these data even though we believe they no longer reflect the mobility of today's college students," Brand said.

Brand added that the federal graduation rate is still useful in that it is the only measurement by which to compare student-athlete academic success with the overall student body.

According to the most recent federal data, academic performance is still lagging in football and men's basketball. GSR scores in these sports, however, highlight that the federal rate does not give an accurate picture because it does not calculate transfer students.

In football, the GSR is 65 percent in Division I-A, while the federal rate is 55 percent, down two points from last year. In Division I men's basketball, the GSR is 58 percent, while the federal rate is 43 percent, down one point from last year.

Black football players in Division I-A graduated at a 55 percent rate under GSR and 49 percent under the federal rate, unchanged from last year and six points higher than black male college students at Division I-A institutions. Division I-A white football players graduated at a 78 percent rate under GSR and 63 percent under the federal rate, down four points from last year and at the same rate as white male college students.

Division I black men's basketball players graduated at 49 percent using the GSR calculation and 38 percent under the federal rate, down four points from last year but two points higher than black male college students overall. White men's basketball players graduated at a 76 percent rate under GSR and 53 percent using the federal rate, seven points lower than the rate for white male college students.

"These data underscore why our academic reforms are so important," said Brand. "While these figures highlight student graduation levels that predate our academic reforms, they are still too low."

Brand emphasized that the six-year federal graduation rate for Division I-A black student athletes overall is 53 percent, the highest ever.

Overall, GSR data show that 69 percent of male student-athletes finished their degrees within six years, compared to 55 percent as calculated under the federal rate. In other sports, baseball players graduated at 65 percent under GSR, which is 20 percentage points higher than the rate calculated using the federal methods. This large difference in baseball is probably due to the significant number of transfer students that participate in the sport and are never counted in the federal rate, Brand said.

In men's cross country and track, the GSR is 73 percent, while the federal rate is 60 percent. In all other men's sports combined, the GSR is 79 percent, while the federal rate is 63 percent.

GSR data indicate that female student-athletes graduated at an 86 percent rate using the most recent figures available, exceeding the federal rate of 71 percent, the highest rate ever for this group.

In women's basketball, the GSR is 81 percent, while the federal rate is 63 percent.
In women's cross country/track, the GSR is 83 percent, while the federal rate is 67 percent. In all other women's sports combined, the GSR is 88 percent, while the federal rate is 72 percent.

Data were also released for NCAA Division II and III institutions. In Division II, the data continue to show that student-athletes are significantly outpacing the general student body in terms of graduation. Using the federal calculation, student-athletes entering Division II schools in 1998 graduated at a rate of 54 percent, versus 46 percent for the general student body. At this point, Division II is not calculating an alternative graduation rate but has plans to release such a rate for selected schools beginning with the next public release of graduation rates information.

Most Division III student-athletes are not covered by the federal methodology, because it only includes student-athletes who receive athletics aid. Therefore, the data for Division III are most appropriately used to analyze success rates within the student bodies. In all, students who entered those institutions in the fall of 1998 showed a graduation rate of 62 percent using the federal methodology.