Pursuant to its commitment to academic excellence, William & Mary Athletics again ranked among the nation's elite, with the release of the latest NCAA graduation rate data.  For the 15th consecutive year, the Tribe led all public schools in the Federal Graduation Rate (86%).

In the recently released strategic plan, William & Mary recognizes the integral part Athletics plays in developing leaders who will graduate and lead lives of positive impact.  One of the six main goals highlighted in plan was maintaining the long-standing high academic standards of the department.

"We are dedicated to delivering a holistic student-athlete experience and it is a tribute to our staff, coaches, and most especially our students, when they achieve in the classroom and earn their degrees," said William & Mary Director of Athletics Samantha K. Huge.  "We will continue to challenge our student-athletes to set, and achieve, ambitious goals and maintain the highest standards of excellence throughout our department." 

In each of the 15 years that the NCAA has been releasing graduation data, W&M has ranked first out of all public colleges and universities in the Federal Graduation Rate (FGR).  William & Mary's 86% FGR is well ahead of the national average for all student-athletes (68%), which is also the overall rate for all students nation-wide. The Tribe's 86% student-athlete FGR ranked tied for 11th overall among all schools, the same as last year.  Five teams at W&M earned an FGR of 100%, including women's golf, men's basketball, men's gymnastics, men's swimming, and men's tennis.

In the Graduation Success Rate (GSR), W&M was also exceptional, tying for second among public universities and for 38th overall, an increase of five spots over last year.  The Tribe had a department GSR of 95%, its highest mark since 2009-10 and tied for the third-highest ever, just a single percentage point off its all-time high.  Among public schools, only New Hampshire at 96% ranked higher.  That also ranked W&M first among all Virginia universities.  The GSR differs from the FGR by also including students who transfer into an institution, and by removing athletes who transfer out in good academic standing.  The national average for the four-year GSR this year was 87%, an increase of one point over last year's number.

W&M had 11 teams report a 100% GSR, its highest number since also having 11 in 2011-12.  This is the fourth year in a row that the number of teams with a perfect graduation rate has increased.  That list includes five teams who have achieved a perfect GSR every year, including men's and women's gymnastics, men's tennis, women's golf, and volleyball.  The men's basketball and women's lacrosse teams were both perfect for the second year in a row, while women's soccer earned a 100% rating for the third year in a row and men's golf for the fourth year in a row.  Women's swimming earned a perfect GSR for the first time since 2006-07 and the third year overall, and women's tennis earned their 11th overall perfect score and the first since 2013-14.

This year's data will be the first used by the NCAA for rewarding universities based on academic achievements.  Departments can earn the academic unit each year by satisfying one of three criteria; including an overall department-wide GSR of 90% or higher, a department-wide APR of 985 or higher, or a student-athlete FGR that is at least 13 points higher than the schools' overall student-body FGR.  The award pool is funded out of the NCAA's broadcast contract for the Men's Basketball Championship Tournament, and the size of each individual award each year is dependent on the number of universities that qualify.  In the initial announcement of the award, the NCAA projected that the academic distribution per school would be approximately $55,678 in the first year, growing to as much as $557,632 by 2030-31.  Based on this year's data, 140 schools have satisfied the GSR criteria, including six of the ten schools in the Colonial Athletic Association.

The data above is covering the cohort of students who began higher education in the fall of 2012 and the four-year average of students who first enrolled between the fall of 2009 through the fall of 2012.
 
Federal Graduation Rate
Overall Top 15 Departments
1. Princeton 98
2. Penn 95
3. Stanford 94
4. Davidson 93
5. Notre Dame 92
6. Northwestern 91
T7. Georgetown 90
T7. Bucknell 90
9. Duke 88
10. Holy Cross 87
T11. Lafayette 86
T11. Colgate 86
T11. William & Mary 86
T14. Elon 85
T14. Richmond 85
 
Public Universities Top 10 Departments
1. William & Mary 86
2. UC Davis 82
3. Minnesota 81
4. New Hampshire 80
T5. Virginia 79
T5. Michigan 79
T5. George Mason
8. Illinois 77
T9. UCLA 76
T9. Michigan State 76
 
Graduation Success Rate
Overall Top 10 Departments
1. Harvard 100
T2. Loyola (Ill.) 99
T2. Evansville 99
T2. Columbia 99
T2. Dartmouth 99
T2. Yale 99
T7. Princeton 98
T7. Notre Dame 98
T7. Northwestern 98
T7. Georgetown 98
T7. Holy Cross 98
T7. Lafayette 98
T7. Belmont 98
T7. Gonzaga 98
T7. Seton Hall 98
T7. Manhattan 98
T7. Brown 98
 
Public Universities Top 10 Departments
1. New Hampshire 96
T2. William & Mary 95
T2. Vermont 95
T2. Cleveland State 95
T2. UNC Asheville 95
T6. Minnesota 94
T6. Virginia 94
T6. Utah State 94
T6. South Carolina 94
T6. Utah 94