INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Student-athletes at Eckerd College are well-known for their success in the classroom and their competitive arenas. That reputation was bolstered on Monday, December 18, as the NCAA once again announced Eckerd as one of the national leaders in Academic Success Rate (ASR), receiving the Presidents' Award along with 43 other colleges and universities in Division II.
EC has received the Presidents' Award 13 years in a row and is one of just eight schools to earn the award every year since its inception.
Eckerd's ASR of 92 ranks tied for 21st nationally. Eckerd has now boasted an ASR of 90 or above for the past 13 years.
The Northeast-10 Conference, Sunshine State Conference, and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference boast five or more athletics programs with ASRs of 90 percent or higher.
The NCAA recently announced that SSC member institutions combined for an ASR of 89 percent, leading the nation. The 89 percent ASR rate set a record-high for the SSC, besting the conference's all-time high of 88 percent achieved in 2021 and 2022.
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.
"Congratulations to the 44 schools who have earned this prestigious award," said Steven Shirley, president of Minot State and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. "It takes a collective effort from the student-athletes, coaches, university and athletic administrators to earn an Academic Success Rate of 90% or higher, and I'm very excited to recognize these schools."
Unlike the federal rate, the Division II ASR includes nearly 30,000 nonscholarship student-athletes and accounts for those who transfer to a Division II school after initial enrollment elsewhere while removing student-athletes who leave school while academically eligible. The national ASR is 76 percent for student-athletes who entered college from 2013 through 2016.
Division II student-athletes continue to graduate at a higher rate than the general student body. Even when using the less-inclusive federal graduation rate, the 2016 entering class of student-athletes graduated at a rate of 60 percent, compared with 53 percent for the general student body.
Presidents' Awards Recipents
Adelphi University Northeast-10 Conference 91%
Assumption University Northeast-10 Conference 91%
Augustana University (South Dakota) Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference 91%
Barry University Sunshine State Conference 92%
Bentley University Northeast-10 Conference 99%
Biola University Pacific West Conference 98%
Caldwell University Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference 94%
Cedarville University Great Midwest Athletic Conference 95%
Chestnut Hill College Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference 90%
Colorado Christian University Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference 91%
Colorado School of Mines Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference 91%
Concordia University, St. Paul Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference 93%
Davis & Elkins College Mountain East Conference 91%
Dominican University of California Pacific West Conference 94%
D'Youville University East Coast Conference 98%
Eckerd College Sunshine State Conference 92%
Emory & Henry College South Atlantic Conference 94%
Flagler College Peach Belt Conference 91%
Florida Institute of Technology Sunshine State Conference 92%
Florida Southern College Sunshine State Conference 92%
Georgia College Peach Belt Conference 94%
Goldey-Beacom College Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference 91%
Hillsdale College Great Midwest Athletic Conference 98%
Holy Family University Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference 93%
Lewis University Great Lakes Valley Conference 93%
Maryville University of Saint Louis Great Lakes Valley Conference 90%
Mercy University East Coast Conference 94%
Michigan Technological University Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 94%
Molloy University East Coast Conference 90%
Pace University Northeast-10 Conference 90%
Point Loma Nazarene University Pacific West Conference 92%
Rockhurst University Great Lakes Valley Conference 94%
Rollins College Sunshine State Conference 96%
Saint Anselm College Northeast-10 Conference 92%
Saint Martin's University Great Northwest Athletic Conference 90%
Saint Michael's College Northeast-10 Conference 99%
Seattle Pacific University Great Northwest Athletic Conference 94%
Southern New Hampshire University Northeast-10 Conference 91%
St. Edward's University Lone Star Conference 90%
Thomas Jefferson University Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference 98%
Trevecca Nazarene University Great Midwest Athletic Conference 94%
Truman State University Great Lakes Valley Conference 91%
University of Minnesota, Crookston Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference 90%
Western Washington University Great Northwest Athletic Conference 91%
