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CSU Student-Athletes Lead Horizon League in Graduation Success Rate

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland State University posted a Horizon League-leading 92% in the most recent release of the NCAA student-athlete Graduation Success Rate (GSR). 

"Success in the classroom is a long-standing tradition for all Cleveland State University student-athletes," said CSU Director of Athletics Scott Garrett. "These Graduation Success Rate scores continue to rank CSU near the top of all public Division I institutions and, measured along with very recent school-record marks in department cumulative grade point average and total Dean's List honorees, paint a fantastic picture of our continued achievement in prioritizing academic success while providing our student-athletes a transformational experience." 

Each year, the NCAA publicly announces the GSR for each Division I institution. The graduation-rate data are based on a rolling six-year cohort prescribed by the U.S. Department of Education, the most recent version including freshmen scholarship student-athletes that entered college between 2010 and 2013. 

The Vikings GSR mark led the Horizon League, the conference in which most Viking teams compete, over the measured cohort.  

Eight Cleveland State programs notched a perfect GSR score of 100% over the time period, including men's and women's golf, men's swimming, women's basketball, women's soccer, women's tennis, volleyball and cross country / track and field. Cleveland State's cross country and track and field program tallied a perfect 100% for the 10th straight year, while the women's golf and volleyball programs have recorded perfect scores in nine consecutive years.

In May, Cleveland State student-athletes posted a school-record 3.66 spring 2020 term grade point average, including 56 individual student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 semester. For the first time in school history, all 18 sport programs registered a term GPA above a 3.0.  

The Division I Board of Directors created the GSR to more accurately reflect the mobility of college students than the previous federal graduation rate standard by counting the graduation of transfers to and from the institution.  Since the NCAA began tracking GSR in 1998, CSU's graduation-rate measurements among all student-athletes have significantly improved in both GSR (84% to 92%) and federal graduation rate (43% to 71%). 

Learn More about NCAA graduation rate data here: http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/graduation-rates