BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For the fourth time in the last five years, Western Washington University student-athletes have obtained a benchmark for academic excellence with a school-record 92% Academic Success Rate.
WWU will earn its fourth NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence and have recorded an ASR over 85% in each of the last eight years. Western also recorded its highest Federal Graduation Rate at 85 percent.
The Academic Success Rate is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial collegiate enrollment and includes virtually all Division II student-athletes, including transfers and those not receiving athletic scholarships. This year's ASR and FGR tracks student-athletes who entered college in the 2014-15 academic year. The FGR tracks the six-year graduation rate of freshmen who received athletic aid in a four-year cohort from 2011 to 2014, as prescribed by the U.S. Department of Education. Standing alone, the freshman class of 2013-14 had an 87 percent FGR.
"Through adversity and challenges, our student-athletes continue to perform at the highest levels in both the classroom and in competition," said WWU Director of Athletics
Steve Card. "They have reached a benchmark for academic success in four of the last five years, reaching unparalleled marks for Academic Success Rate and Federal Graduation Rate. I am proud of the effort that has gone into this historic achievement by our student-athletes, coaches and staff."
The Cliff Notes Version:
- WWU student-athletes obtained a 92% Academic Success Rate, surpassing 90% for the fourth time in the last five years.
- Recorded a 85 percent federal graduation rate, the highest during the 15 years of recorded data.
- WWU student-athletes graduation rate of 85 percent is 17 points higher than the general student body.
- WWU was tied for first with Seattle Pacific among GNAC schools in FGR and one of three GNAC schools with an ASR at or above 90%.
- FGR data measures the percentage of a four-year cohort (2011-14) of incoming freshmen who graduated within six years, as prescribed by the U.S. Department of Education.
- ASR data is based on a cohort entering in 2014-15 per a formula developed by the NCAA.
Using the federal rate criteria, the four-year cohort of Viking student-athletes entering from 2011 to 2014 graduated at a 85 percent rate, compared to 68 percent for the full set of freshmen entering WWU in that period. Across NCAA Division II, student-athletes are also performing better than the general student body, with that same four-year cohort of student-athletes graduating at 60 percent, compared to 53 percent for all students who entered NCAA II institutions as freshmen in 2014-15.
Division II graduation rates increased to 76%, a 2-point increase from last year's rate, according to the most recent Academic Success Rate data. Division II ASR includes transfers into a school in the calculation and removes likely transfers out who left school while academically eligible. The ASR also includes the more than 31,000 non-scholarship student-athletes who were enrolled in the four years covered in the most recent data.
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference continues to rank among the top conferences in Division II in academic success according to data on Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) and Academic Success Rate (ASR) released today by the NCAA. The conference matched its all-time high in Federal Graduation Rate at 65 percent and attained an all-time high of 80 percent in Academic Success Rate.
The conference's 65 percent FGR is tied for fifth among Division II conferences and is five points better than the overall Division II student-athlete rate of 60 percent. The rate is eight points higher than the FGR for all students at GNAC institutions and 13 points higher than the rate for all students at Division II institutions of 52 percent.
The 80 percent ASR is tied for ninth among Division II conferences and is four points higher than the Division II student-athlete ASR of 76 percent. The GNAC has realized an increase in ASR in each of the last five years.
WWU, Seattle Pacific (94%) and Saint Martin's (90%) each will receive the NCAA II Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence for passing the 90 percent ASR benchmark, while Western shared the conference lead in Federal Graduation Rate with Seattle Pacific.
"The continued increase in four-year graduation rates further demonstrates that Division II student-athletes are exemplary students and athletes, who are dedicated to excelling in the classroom, in their sports and in their communities," said Terri Steeb Gronau, NCAA vice president of Division II. "This success also demonstrates how committed our educators and administrators are to fulfilling the division's Life in the Balance philosophy, by enhancing the student-athlete experience academically and athletically."
WWU ACADEMIC SUCCESS – HISTORICAL DATA
Here is a historical look at WWU's data for Academic Success Rate and Federal Graduation Rate over the last 12 years. Over the last two years, WWU has been over 10 percent higher in graduation rate compared to the general student body.
Cohort |
Graduation Rate
WWU Student-Athletes |
Graduation Rate
All-WWU Students |
Academic Success Rate
WWU Student-Athletes |
| 2001-04 |
66% |
68% |
88% |
| 2002-05 |
69% |
70% |
88% |
| 2003-06 |
63% |
69% |
84% |
| 2004-07 |
63% |
70% |
86% |
| 2005-08 |
59% |
70% |
87% |
| 2006-09 |
61% |
70% |
86% |
| 2007-10 |
71% |
70% |
90% |
| 2008-11 |
72% |
70% |
90% |
| 2009-12 |
83% |
70% |
89% |
| 2010-13 |
84% |
69% |
90% |
| 2011-14 |
85% |
68% |
92% |
ABOUT WWU ATHLETICS
Western Washington University is a four-year public institution located in Bellingham, Washington, featuring over 300 student-athletes that compete for 15 intercollegiate athletic teams at the NCAA Division II level and in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. WWU Athletics has finished in the top 50 in the NCAA II Learfield Directors' Cup standings in 15 of the past 16 years, and in the top 20 in eight of the last 12 years (no award in 2019-20 or 2020-21). WWU's programs have won 11 team national championships, most recently the 2016 women's soccer team and the 2017 women's rowing team. Outside of competition. WWU's student-athletes have compiled an academic success at 90% in four of the last five years, earning the NCAA's President's Award for Academic Excellence four times.
FOLLOW THE VIKINGS
For more information on WWU's 15 varsity sports programs, visit
WWUVikings.com. Fans and alumni can also track all the teams via
social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @WWUAthletics.
