Iowa State University Athletics
ISU LEADS BIG 12 CONFERENCE IN GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE
11.15.2022 | Athletics
Cyclones Register School-Record 95% Mark; 10 Teams Post League-Leading Marks
Ames, Iowa – Iowa State University's 95 percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR) score led the Big 12 Conference and set a school-record for the seventh-consecutive year according to the 2022 Division I academic performance metrics released today by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
"Iowa State's school-record and Big 12-leading Graduation Success Rate scores are a testament to the hard work our student-athletes put forth in the classroom daily and their determination to leave Iowa State with their college degree," said Iowa State Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard. "Our coaches and academic services team are committed to helping our student-athletes achieve their fullest academic and athletic potential throughout their Cyclone journey.
"We are also grateful of the key role Iowa State's faculty and staff play in the academic growth and success of our student-athletes," he added. "Graduation is the expectation for all of our student-athletes, and this report shows our continued commitment to achieving that goal."
ISU's institutional GSR score has improved in each of the last eight years, from a 77 percent mark in 2014 to its most-recent 95 percent score, while establishing a school-record in each of the last seven years. Iowa State's 2022 mark also came in 13 points higher than the NCAA FBS average and five points better than the Big 12 average.
The Cyclones' institutional 2022 GSR score of 95 percent led the Big 12, followed closely by Baylor (94), Kansas State (93), Kansas (90), West Virginia (90), TCU (89), Texas (89), Oklahoma State (88), Oklahoma (88) and Texas Tech (84).
Iowa State's 99 percent GSR score for its female student-athletes led the Big 12 Conference for the fifth-straight year and tied the school-record first set in 2020, while its male student-athlete GSR of 90 percent was also school-record, improved for the eighth-consecutive year and was the Big 12's third-best mark for the third-straight year.
Ten Cyclone teams led the Big 12 Conference with perfect four-year GSR scores of 100 percent—men's basketball, men's golf, women's basketball, women's golf, gymnastics, softball, women's soccer, women's swimming & diving, women's tennis and women's track & field/cross country. ISU women's golf recorded a perfect GSR for the 18th-consecutive year, while gymnastics had its 14th-straght 100 percent performance, softball its seventh-straight such effort and men's basketball, soccer and men's golf each ran their streaks of perfection to five-straight years.
ISU football produced a GSR of 91 percent, to tie for second in the Big 12 and set a new school-record in the process, and its wrestling program ranked third in the Big 12 at 88 percent. The Cyclones' men's cross country/track & field program ranked sixth in the Big 12 with a GSR score of 83 percent and volleyball was ninth at 90 percent.
In the annual student-athlete Federal Graduation Rates survey which was also released alongside the NCAA's GSR metrics, Iowa State's single-year rate of 67 percent tied for fourth in the Big 12 Conference, while its four-year 69 percent rate ranked third behind Baylor (76) and Texas (70).
The GSR was developed by the NCAA with the entering freshmen class of 1995 to more accurately assess student-athlete's academic performance. The rate holds institutions accountable for transfer students, unlike the federal graduation rate. The GSR also accounts for mid-year enrollees and is calculated for every sport.
Under the calculation, institutions are not penalized for outgoing students who leave in good academic standing. The outgoing transfers are included in the receiving institution's GSR cohort. The most-recent Division I Graduation Success Rates are based on the four entering classes from 2012-15.
