BERKELEY – The NCAA released the latest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) data Tuesday, with the results showing that the majority of Cal student-athletes are performing very well in the classroom. Overall, Cal student-athletes who entered school on athletic aid from 2006-09 posted a 79 percent GSR with 14 of 23 measured programs generating a GSR of at least 85 percent.
 
The GSR is based on a six-year cohort, meaning that the latest report includes only those student-athletes who received athletic scholarships, enrolled at Cal as freshmen or incoming transfers from 2006-09, and completed their degree within six years. Complete details of the GSR report are available here.
 
In the most recent report, five Golden Bear teams – men's gymnastics, women's swimming & diving, men's tennis, women's tennis and women's volleyball – posted perfect a 100 percent GSR. Volleyball's rate has stood at 100 percent for five years in a row, while women's tennis has reached the standard the last four years and men's gymnastics the past three.
 
"This latest NCAA report on the Graduation Success Rate confirms that the vast majority of our nearly 900 student-athletes are performing very well in the classroom," Director of Athletics Mike Williams said. "The results are a testament to their effort to achieve such success at the world No. 1 public university."
 
In September of 2014, the Chancellor's Task Force on Academics and Athletics issued its report with recommendations intended to maximize academic performance for student-athletes and provide for a more enriching campus experience. All 15 of the proposals that pertained directly to Athletics and were designed to increase graduation rates among underperforming teams have been fulfilled.
 
"Before I became athletic director, I served on the Chancellor's Task Force, so I've been studying the GSR and graduation rates for several years," Williams said. "Because the GSR includes only those student-athletes who enrolled 7-10 years ago, we know that it takes time to move the average, and the systems and support that we have implemented are just now beginning to show results. The Academic Progress Rate scores we've seen recently in our football and men's basketball programs are a clear indication of that progress."
 
The football program saw its GSR rise to 55 percent, up 11 percent over the past three years, and continuing a trend that has seen steady academic improvement during Sonny Dykes' tenure as head coach (December 2012-present). While only a small percentage of student-athletes who have played under Dykes factor into the latest GSR data, results indicate that systems put in place several years ago to improve graduation rates are paying dividends.
 
The NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR), a separate metric that provides better assessment of current academic performance, has also shown dramatic improvement for Cal football. According to the most recent APR figures announced last spring, football student-athletes had a one-year score of 997, which tied for the highest in the Pac-12. The team's four-year average also rose to 960 – up 19 points from the previous year and its highest since 2008-09.
 
"One of the primary goals of our football program is to graduate our student-athletes, and we emphasize the importance of academics in all that we do, including recruiting and supporting student-athletes who embrace the culture of our program and the rigorous academic challenge this university provides," Dykes said. "We have gone from worst to first in the Pac-12 in the APR numbers that reflect a program's academic success in real time. The goal is to get better every day and continue our upward trajectory both academically and athletically. Getting a degree from Cal is a life-changing achievement and one that we want for every one of our student-athletes."
 
While the men's basketball GSR fell from 55 percent to 40 percent, none of the student-athletes who are included in the data played under head coach Cuonzo Martin, who joined the Golden Bear program in 2014. Since his arrival, the team registered the biggest GPA improvement among Cal's 30 sports for the 2014-15 academic year and the team's most recent APR was 1,000 – the highest possible.
 
"Our program is built on excellence in all aspects of a young man's life," Martin said. "Being successful in his academics is part of that. We had a perfect APR score in 2014-15, and I'm proud of the strides we've made in the classroom."