Oct. 24, 2013
The University of Notre Dame can once again claim the 2013 national championship for graduating its student-athletes in all sports–in the process posting the top NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figure (98) for its student-athletes for the seventh straight year.
The GSR number for all Notre Dame student-athletes rated the Irish first among the football-playing institutions in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A). The 2013 NCAA figures are based on entering classes from 2003 through 2006.
Whether measured by the federal government in its Department of Education report or by the NCAA through its GSR numbers, graduation rates for Notre Dame student-athletes once again rank either number one or among the handful of national leaders in four major categories among all major football-playing colleges and universities.
Notre Dame’s institutional research found that Irish student-athletes in 2013 rank number one in four of 10 major categories–ranking second in one other and third in another. That’s based on the NCAA-issued GSR and federal figures released today.
For the fifth year in a row Notre Dame leads the nation in four GSR categories–for all student-athletes (at 98), male student-athletes (98), female student-athletes (100) and black student-athletes (96).
In calculations that include all student-athletes in all sports, Notre Dame ranks first among the FBS schools in the GSR figures, which were initiated in 2005 by the NCAA. The University’s 98 percent GSR for all its student-athletes ranked ahead of the 97 figures compiled by Duke, Northwestern and Stanford. Using the federal formula, Notre Dame graduated a four-year average of 88 percent of its student-athletes, just behind Stanford at 93 and Northwestern at 89.
In the GSR standings, the Irish led the way in four categories. In addition to its number-one ranking for all student-athletes (98), Notre Dame finished first among female student athletes at 100, first among male student-athletes at 98 percent (ahead of Duke at 97) and first among black student-athletes at 96 percent (ahead of Duke and Rice at 95).
Notre Dame graduated 93 percent of all women competing in varsity athletics, to rank second among its peer institutions based on the federal calculations (behind Stanford at 96). Among men, Notre Dame’s 84 percent federal rate was third (behind Stanford at 90 and Northwestern at 88). Notre Dame graduated 79 percent of its black student-athletes, ranking fifth based on the federal rate, and Irish football players graduated at a 75 percent rate, to rank ninth.
2013 NCAA Graduation Rates All data for student-athletes who enrolled between 2003 and 2006 (numbers are percentages)
All Student-Athletes
GSR
1. Notre Dame, 98
2. (tie) Duke, Northwestern, Stanford, 97
5. Boston College, 96
6. (tie) Rice, Wake Forest, 94
8. Miami (Fla.), 92
9. Vanderbilt, 91
10. (tie) U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, Illinois, Virginia Tech, 90
Federal Rate
1. Stanford, 93
2. Northwestern, 89
3. Notre Dame, 88
4. Duke, 86
5. Rice, 84
6. (tie) Boston College, Wake Forest, 79
8. (tie) Penn State, Michigan, 78
10. (tie) Illinois, Virginia, 77
Male Student-Athletes
GSR
1. Notre Dame, 98
2. Duke, 97
3. Stanford, 96
4. Northwestern, 95
5. Boston College, 94
6. Rice, 92
7. Wake Forest, 91
8. (tie) U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, 89
10. U.S. Air Force Academy, 88
Federal Rate
1. Stanford,90
2. Northwestern, 88
3. (tie) Notre Dame 84, Duke, 84
5. Rice, 79
6. Wake Forest, 76
7. (tie) Boston College, Penn State, 73
9. Michigan, TCU, Virginia, 71
Female Student-Athletes
GSR
1. Notre Dame,100
2. (tie) Duke, Wake Forest, 99
4. (tie) Boston College, Northwestern, Stanford, Vanderbilt, 98
8. (tie) Clemson, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, Rice, Virginia Tech, 97
Federal Rate
1. Stanford, 96
2. Notre Dame, 93
3. Rice, 91
4. Northwestern, 89
5. Duke, 88
6. Michigan, 87
7. (tie) North Carolina, Penn State, 86
9. (tie) Boston College, Missouri, Virginia, 85
Black Student-Athletes
GSR
1. Notre Dame, 96
2. (tie) Duke, Rice, 95
4. Northwestern, 92
5. U.S. Air Force Academy, 91
6. (tie) Boston College, Miami (Fla.), Penn State, 88
9. Stanford, 87
10. (tie) U.S. Military Academy, Rutgers, Wake Forest, 85
Federal Rate
1. Rice, 91
2. Northwestern, 88
3. Stanford, 83
4. Duke, 81
5. Notre Dame, 79
6. Old Dominion, 77
7. San Diego State, 75
8. Wake Forest, 73
9. (tie) Boston College, UCLA, 69
Football Student-Athletes
GSR
1. Northwestern, 97
2. Rice, 96
3. Boston College, 94
4. (tie) Notre Dame, 93, U.S. Air Force Academy, Stanford, 93
7. Duke, 92
8. Boise State, 91
9. U.S. Military Academy, 89
10. (tie) Miami (Fla.), Wake Forest, 86
Federal Rate
1. Northwestern, 92
2. (tie) Rice, Stanford, 89
4. Boston College, 86
5. Duke, 81
6. TCU, 80
7. Wake Forest, 77
8. Fresno State, 76
9. Notre Dame,75
10. Penn State, 72
Since the NCAA first published GSR numbers in 2005, here are the trends for Notre Dame in all 10 categories over the nine years of graduation rates (includes ranking and raw graduation percentage; SA stands for student-athletes):
| Category | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
| All SAs | Fed. | 1st at 90 | 2nd at 89 | 3rd at 89 | 2nd at 89 | 2nd at 90 | 1st at 91 | 1st at 91 | 2nd at 91 | 3rd at 88 |
| GSR | 2nd at 98 | 2nd at 98 | 1st at 98 | 1st at 98 | 1st at 99 | 1st at 99 | 1st at 99 | 1st at 99 | 1st at 98 | |
| Male SAs | Fed. | 1st at 87 | 2nd at 87 | 3rd at 85 | 2nd at 87 | 1st at 88 | 1st at 87 | 1st at 87 | 1st at 89 | 4th at 84 |
| GSR | 2nd at 98 | 2nd at 97 | 2nd at 97 | 2nd at 97 | 1st at 98 | 1st at 98 | 1st at 98 | 1st at 98 | 1st at 98 | |
| Female SAs | Fed. | 1st at 96 | 2nd at 94 | 1st at 94 | 1st at 93 | 1st at 94 | 1st at 97 | 1st at 96 | 2nd at 94 | 2nd at 93 |
| GSR | 5th at 99 | 2nd at 99 | 1st at 100 | 1st at 100 | 1st at 100 | 1st at 100 | 1st at 100 | 1st at 100 | 1st at 100 | |
| Black SAs | Fed. | 6th at 78 | 6th at 84 | 8th at 75 | 1st at 84 | 1st at 85 | 2nd at 86 | 2nd at 85 | 3rd at 82 | 5th at 79 |
| GSR | 6th at 93 | 3rd at 95 | 4th at 91 | 2nd at 96 | 1st at 97 | 1st at 98 | 1st at 98 | 2nd at 98 | 1st at 96 | |
| Football SAs | Fed. | 4th at 85 | 6th at 84 | 6th at 79 | 4th at 85 | 3rd at 85 | 4th at 85 | 5th at 83 | 6th at 83 | 9th at 75 |
| GSR | 2nd at 96 | 3rd at 95 | 3rd at 93 | 2nd at 94 | 1st at 96 | 1st at 96 | 1st at 97 | 1st at 97 | 4th at 93 |
Over the nine years worth of numbers of both the federal rates and the GSR, Notre Dame has had 90 possible rankings in the five categories (among the FBS institutions) and 44 times ranked first, 21 times ranked second and eight times ranked third.
The federally mandated NCAA Graduation-Rates Report covers students who enrolled between 2003 and 2006 at all Division I institutions. The federal graduation rates are based on the raw percentage of student-athletes who entered an institution and graduated within six years. Students who leave or transfer, regardless of academic standing, are considered non-graduates. All those receiving athletics aid are included in the statistics. All military academies are exempt from the federal survey because they do not offer grants-in-aid to student-athletes. The GSR was created to more accurately reflect actual graduation rates by including transfer data in the calculation. College and university presidents asked the NCAA to develop a new methodology that takes into account the mobility among students in today’s higher education environment. Research indicates that approximately 60 percent of all new bachelor’s degree recipients are attending more than one undergraduate institution during their collegiate careers.
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