NCAA Division II Graduation Rates Trend Report
Bentley and Saint Michael's Repeat as Division II Leaders.
MANSFIELD, Mass. – For an incredible sixth-consecutive year, the Northeast-10 Conference leads all of its Division II counterparts in Academic Success Rate (ASR), as released by the NCAA in its annual report earlier this week.
For the third-straight time, the NE10 reached 89% as a conference in ASR, according to the most recent four-year compilation of graduation rates – matching its own Division II record initially set in 2020. The Conference has now either set or matched Division II records in ASR for four-straight years.
Since the four-year calculation of ASR began 14 years ago, the NE10 has dominated in this area across the Division II landscape – evident in the fact that the league finished 13 percentage points higher in 2022 than the national average of 76%.
The NCAA annually releases the Division II ASR, a model developed 18 years ago at the request of presidents of Division II institutions to overcome inadequacies with the Federal Graduation Rate (FGR). The FGR only takes into account student-athletes that receive athletically related aid, leaving large numbers of DII student-athletes out of the calculation. Because of Division II's partial scholarship financial aid model, the ASR was created to include non-scholarship student-athletes who enrolled from 2012 through 2015, the four years covered in the most recent data.
Overall, NE10 member institutions produced a total of 5,266 graduates among 5,929 student-athletes who enrolled during the four-year period of 2012-15. The numbers are based on the Conference's current membership, in addition to Stonehill due to its NE10 membership during the 2021-22 academic year. Among the 14 institutions, 12 of them recorded a single-year ASR of 80 or better.
"I could not be more excited for the collective success of our NE10 institutions when it comes to academic excellence" said NE10 Commissioner Julie Ruppert. "Setting or matching the Division II record in ASR for a fourth-straight year is a remarkable sign of commitment from our institutions – both to the student-athlete experience and to higher education. Our outstanding faculty and student-athletes make this possible. The NE10 is proud to once again be a leader in Division II."
It is the sixth-straight year that the NE10 has ranked first or tied for first among all Division II conferences – and the ninth time in the last 10 years overall. When examining the single-year ASR for its member institutions, the NE10 had six schools rank in the top 25, eight in the top 50 and 12 in the top 100.
Bentley and Saint Michael's tied in ASR at 99%, the best among more than 300 Division II institutions. It is the fifth-straight year that Bentley has recorded a 99% ASR and the sixth-straight time it has ranked first in Division II. For Saint Michael's, it is the school's fifth time as the Division leader in 13 years and the second-straight year at 99%.
Le Moyne joins Bentley and Saint Michael's in the top 10 with a 95% rate, which is tied for seventh among Division II institutions. Stonehill (93%), Adelphi (92%) and Saint Anselm (92%) rank among the top 25, while Assumption (91%) and Southern New Hampshire (91%) will also receive the Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence by cracking the 90% threshold.
Saint Michael's had 17 programs earn a perfect ASR of 100%, which is the 11th-straight season that the Purple Knights have led all NE10 institutions in that metric. Bentley had 13 programs achieve perfect ASR scores, while Southern New Hampshire had eight.
The NE10 saw three institutions improve upon their percentage from a year ago – led by Pace's two-point jump to 89%. Southern New Hampshire and Stonehill each increased by one point.
In total, NE10 institutions recorded 93 programs with a perfect ASR – accounting for more than one-third of all teams in the conference and was five more than in 2021. The NE10 had 23 of its 24 sponsored sports achieve an ASR of 80% or better, as well as 12 of them tally a remarkable 90% or higher.
Women's basketball had a league-best 11 programs record a perfect ASR, while volleyball and women's tennis followed with nine. Men's cross country had six programs receive a perfect ASR, while men's golf had five teams, to lead all men's sports in the NE10.
Overall sport leaders in the NE10 were women's tennis at 98%, as well as women's basketball and women's lacrosse both at 97%. Men's golf and ice hockey led all men's programs at 92%.
| ASR Ranking by NCAA Division II Conference | |
| Northeast-10 Conference | 89% |
| Sunshine State Conference | 88% |
| Great Lakes Valley Conference | 85% |
| Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference | 84% |
| East Coast Conference | 83% |
| Pacific West Conference | 83% |
| Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference | 82% |
| Great Midwest Athletic Conference | 81% |
| Great Northwest Athletic Conference | 80% |
| Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference | 80% |
| Peach Belt Conference | 79% |
| Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conf. | 77% |
| Conference Carolinas | 75% |
| California Collegiate Athletic Association | 74% |
| South Atlantic Conference | 73% |
| Gulf South Conference | 72% |
| Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Assoc. | 70% |
| Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | 70% |
| Independent | 70% |
| Great American Conference | 67% |
| Lone Star Conference | 67% |
| Mountain East Conference | 67% |
| Central Intercollegiate Athletic Assoc. | 64% |
| Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conf. | 62% |
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 13 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
