By Erin Shanahan
This past Wednesday, Nov. 4, the NCAA released the graduation rates and graduation success rates for the 2005-2008 cohorts. With a 93 percent graduation success rate, Fordham University is ranked among the top schools in the Atlantic 10.
“We are proud of the NCAA graduation success rate results which are a direct result of the hard work our student-athletes put in, both on and off the playing fields,” Dave Roach, director of Fordham Athletics, said to Fordham Sports News. “It is also a testament of the dedication demonstrated by our coaches, academic advisors and the entire academic support team, as well as the faculty, at Fordham.”
Fordham’s Athletes’ Federal graduation rate is 87 percent, higher than the overall Fordham student body rate of 80 percent as well as the NCAA student-athlete average of 67 percent.
Fordham’s 93 percent graduation success rate is fourth among all Atlantic 10 schools. Fordham’s NCAA rate was only beat out by Davidson (98), Dayton (95) and George Washington (94).
The Federal Rate differs from the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for Division I in two ways. U.S. Department of Education requires the student-athlete graduation rate to be calculated based on IPEDS-GRS method, according to Roach. This method looks at the graduation rate of athletes who enter the university as first-year, full-time student-athletes with institutional aid. Athletes must graduate from their institution within six years to be a part of the Federal Rate.
Student athletes who transfer from Fordham are considered non-graduates at both the college they left and the one from which they will eventually graduate through the Federal Rate.
The NCAA was asked in the early 2000s to develop a more modern and fair measure of student-athlete graduation success, which lead to the creation of Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for Division I and the Academic Success Rate (ASR) for Division II, according to Roach.
“We are proud of both of these numbers,” Roach said. “They show that athletes can come to Fordham to receive a great education as well as a great Division 1 athletic experience. Student athletes who come here are motivate both academically and athletically. They bring same passion to academics that they bring to athletics.”
Individually, 16 of the 20 Fordham scholarship programs have a graduation success rate above 90 percent, with 12 reporting a perfect 100 percent rate. The sports with a perfect graduation success rate are men’s cross country, men’s indoor track and field, men’s outdoor track and field, women’s cross country, women’s indoor track and field, women’s outdoor track and field, rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis and women’s tennis. Other teams with a 90 percent graduation success rate include baseball (96), women’s swimming and diving (95), softball (94) and volleyball (91).
Danielle Padovano, FCRH ’17 and a member of women’s basketball, finds the ranking unsurprising.
“I believe we have a great support system and can speak to the great effort my coaching staff puts into supporting us both on and off the court,” she said.
She referred to the early registration for classes offered to student athletes and additional support by their professors, coaches and academic advising staff. “It is only right that we use the help to put ourselves in the position to graduate and succeed in life after college and athletics,” Padovano said.
Besides Fordham’s support system, she credits athletes themselves for their success. “Student athletes who come here are motivated both academically and athletically.” Roach said. “They bring same passion to academics that they bring to athletics.”
