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Bentley Ranks Sixth in NCAA Division II Academic Success Rate Report

Bentley Ranks Sixth in NCAA Division II Academic Success Rate Report

WALTHAM, Mass. – The NCAA has released the latest Division II graduation rate data, including the division’s Academic Success Rate, and once again, Bentley University is near the top of the list.

Bentley, with a 97 percent ASR, tied for sixth amongst all Division II institutions nationally and was second amongst Division II institutions with football, trailing only Simon Fraser University. It’s Bentley’s highest score in the nine years that the NCAA has been compiling the data, the previous best being the 96 recorded in cohort year 1999.

Of the 19 Bentley sports that were evaluated (indoor track, outdoor track and cross country are considered one sport) , 14 had a perfect 100 percent Academic Success Rate, including every women’s sport, and all were at 90 percent or better.

“Bentley’s high ranking in the ASR Report is a direct reflection of the commitment our student athletes have in the classroom,” said Assistant Athletics Director Cindy Scott. “Our student-athletes truly are just that - students first and athletes second. All of our student athletes take as much pride in their academic successes as they do in their athletic achievements.”

Bentley’s rate is significantly above the national standard. The national four-year ASR average remained at 71 percent while the entering class of 2007 increased three points to 72 percent from 2005.

This is the ninth year that the NCAA has released the ASR. The NCAA developed the Division II ASR at the request of college and university presidents who believed the federal graduation was flawed. Division II’s ASR data takes transfer students into account and removes students who left the institution in good academic standing. In addition, given the partial-scholarship financial aid model of Division II, the ASR data includes student-athletes not on athletically-related financial aid. The result is that ASR captures more than 35,000 non-scholarship student-athletes.

Even when utilizing the less-inclusive federal rate, Division II student-athletes perform significantly better than the general student body. The federal rate for Division II student-athletes in the 2007 entering class increased one point to 55 percent while the general student body held steady at 48 percent.

Bentley’s four-class average for federal graduation rate is drastically higher than those numbers, at 90 percent for both student-athletes and the general student body.

NCAA DIVISION II ACADEMIC SUCCESS RATE – Top 25

1. Simon Fraser (B.C.)

100

1. Southern Wesleyan (S.C.)

100

3. Davis and Elkins (W.V.)

99

4. Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.)

98

4. St. Michael’s (Vt.)

98

6. Bentley University

97

6. Univ. of Sciences in Philadelphia

97

8. Rockhurst (Mo.)

96

8. Stonehill (Mass.)

96

10. Assumption (Mass.)

95

10. William Jewell (Mo.)

95

12. Rogers State (Okla.)

94

12. Puerto Rico-Bayamon

94

14. Maryville Univ. of St. Louis

93

14. Seattle Pacific

93

14. St. Edward’s (Texas)

93

14. California, San Diego

93

18. Georgian Court (N.J.)

92

18. Hillsdale (Mich.)

92

18. Rollins (Fla.)

92

21. Cedarville (Ohio)

91

21. Merrimack (Mass.)

91

21. Regis University (Colo.)

91

24. Christian Brothers (Tenn.)

90

24. Eckerd (Fla.)

90

24. Saint Anselm (N.H.)

90