Coker College Academic Success Rate Above National Average

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Bucking the national norm, the Academic Success Rate (ASR) for Coker College athletes (the percent of freshman student-athletes who earned a degree within six years) increased three points to 83 percent, while the average ASR for NCAA Division II student-athletes nationally dropped a point to 72 percent, according to the annual report released this month.

“This latest ASR data reaffirms the value of intercollegiate athletics and clearly demonstrates how participation in intercollegiate athletics leads to higher academic success and improves a student's chances of graduating,” said Lynn Griffin, vice president of athletics and facilities. “I am proud of our student-athletes for utilizing the resources on campus to achieve graduation at a high rate.”

Coker had six sports score 83 percent or higher, with women’s volleyball and men’s cross country leading the way at 100 percent. The others were men’s golf (83), men’s soccer (89), softball (88) and women’s tennis (90).

This is the seventh year the NCAA has released the ASR. The NCAA developed the Division II ASR at the request of college and university presidents who believed the federal graduation rate was flawed. Division II's ASR data takes transfer students into account while also, given the partial-scholarship financial aid model of Division II, includes student-athletes not on athletically related financial aid. The result is that ASR captures more than 36,000 non-scholarship student-athletes. It also counts about 105,000 Division II student-athletes, minus about 25,000 who left their institution in good academic standing, compared to about 49,000 through the federal method.

For more information, contact Chris Dougherty, manager of athletics media relations, at 843-383-8018 or cdougherty@coker.edu.

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Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the “Best Colleges” in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.