INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – In prestigious company as one of just 26 institutions to do so, Eckerd College was recognized for the second straight year as a recipient of the Division II Presidents' Award For Academic Excellence for achieving Academic Success Rates of 90 percent or more.
The Division II Academic Requirements Committee created the Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence to recognize programs achieving long-term academic success.
The honor is intended to call attention to those programs and is not intended as a ranking. In the most recent release by the NCAA, Eckerd matched its 91 percent ASR from a year ago, one of the highest marks in the nation.
The Academic Success Rate is a measure that reflects the unique qualities of Division II. It measures graduation rates for virtually all Division II student-athletes, including transfers and those not receiving athletically related financial aid. The inclusion of student-athletes who do not receive athletically related financial aid distinguishes the ASR from Division I's Graduation Success Rate.
Active and provisional member institutions when the data was submitted for 2011-12 were eligible for the Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence.
"The Presidents Council commends all of these programs for this outstanding accomplishment," said Pat O'Brien, president of West Texas A&M University and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. "Achieving a 90 percent graduation rate over even one year is an impressive accomplishment. To do it over four years says so much about the commitment that these schools have to the academic success of their student-athletes."
The Division II Academic Success Rate captures about two-thirds more student-athletes than the federal graduation rate, which does not count incoming transfers, counts outgoing transfers as having not graduated and counts only student-athletes receiving athletically related financial aid. The national four-year ASR average is 72 percent.
Regardless of what measure is used, Division II student-athletes graduate at a higher rate than the general student body. The federal rate for the 2005 entering class of student-athletes was 54 percent, compared to 48 percent for the general student body.
Division II Presidents' Award for Excellence
Maryville University of Saint Louis - 100
Simon Fraser University - 100
William Jewell College - 99
Saint Michael's College - 98
Stonehill College - 97
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia - 97
Assumption College - 95
University of Puerto Rico, Bayamon - 95
Christian Brothers University - 94
Rollins College - 94
University of California, San Diego - 94
Chestnut Hill College - 93
Lees-McRae College - 93
Oakland City University - 93
Seattle Pacific University - 93
Adelphi University - 92
Bentley University - 92
Merrimack College - 92
Rockhurst University - 92
Truman State University - 92
Eckerd College - 91
Philadelphia University - 91
Bellarmine University - 90
Colorado School of Mines - 90
Hillsdale College - 90
Saint Anselm College - 90
Members recognized by conference
Northeast-10 Conference - 7
Great Lakes Valley Conference - 4
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference - 3
Great Northwest Athletic Conference - 2
Independent - 2
Sunshine State Conference - 2
California Collegiate Athletic Association - 1
Conference Carolinas - 1
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - 1
Gulf South Conference - 1
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association - 1
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference - 1
