WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University is ranked number one nationally in this year's NCAA Division II Academic Success Rate report, an honor it achieved for the fourth consecutive year. In Tuesday's announcement from the NCAA, Bentley was the only institution to record an ASR of 99 for the third straight year. This also marks the seventh straight year that Bentley has achieved an ASR of 97 or better and the tenth straight it was been above 90.

"I could not be prouder of our student athletes," said Dr. J. Andrew Shepardson, Vice President for Student Affairs. "In this time of great uncertainty, the constant commitment of our student athletes to academic and their sport is gratifying. I am grateful to our coaches, our faculty and all members of the Bentley community who support our student athletes."

Of the 19 Bentley sports that were evaluated (indoor track, outdoor track and cross country are considered one sport), an amazing 16 had perfect 100 percent ASR scores. They are baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country and track, men's golf, men's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, and volleyball.

"Being ranked number one in Division II in academic success rate is a tremendous tribute to Bentley University, our student-athletes and their dedication to succeeding in the classroom," said Director of Athletics Vaughn Williams. "Accomplishing this feat for the fourth straight year is truly remarkable!"

Bentley's rate is significantly above the national standard. The national four-year ASR average climbed one point to 74 percent, and the entering class of 2013 increased two points to 77 percent, an all-time high.

Bentley's federal graduation rate was 92 percent, best nationally among Division II institutions and tied with Northwestern University and the University of Notre Dame for eighth among all institutions. The only institutions ahead of Bentley are Rochester Institute of Technology, the United States Naval Academy, Yale, Princeton, Pennsylvania, Stanford and the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Bentley wasn't the only Northeast-10 Conference institution to rank high in ASR. The conference had six in the top 25, and 12 in the top 100, and the conference ranked first among all Division II conferences for the second straight year with an ASR of 89 percent.

This is the 15th year the NCAA has released the ASR, which is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial enrollment at a college. The NCAA developed the Division II ASR at the request of college and university presidents who believed the federal graduation rate 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 approximately 32,000 non-scholarship student-athletes who enrolled from 2010 through 2013, the four years covered in the most recent data.

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 2013 entering class increased one point to 62 percent, while the general student body went up by the same margin to 53 percent, a difference of nine points.

NCAA DIVISION II ACADEMIC SUCCESS RATE – TOP 10
1. Bentley University – 99
2. Thomas Jefferson University (Pa.) – 98
2. Saint Michael's College (Vt.) – 98
4. Hillsdale College (Mich.) – 97
5. Rollins College (Fla.) – 96
5. Biola University (Cal.) – 96
5. Trevecca Nazarene University (Tenn.) - 95
5. Point Loma Nazarene University (Cal.) – 95
9. Eckerd College (Fla.) – 94
9. Maryville University of St. Louis – 94
9. Seattle Pacific University (Wash.) – 94
9. Rockhurst University (Mo.) – 94
9. Dominican University of California – 94
9. Cedarville University (Ohio) – 94