Student-athlete performance
University student-athletes post strong classroom performances
9:34 a.m., Nov. 17, 2015--In addition to their contributions and commitments to their respective sports, student-athletes at the University of Delaware are faring well in the classroom, according to a recent report by the Faculty Board on Athletics.
The annual report, which is now available online on the Office of the Provost website, shows that the academic performance of UD student-athletes is on par with the overall undergraduate student body.
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“Student-athletes are a significant part of our campus community and it is important that the University meet their needs, both as athletes and, most importantly, as students,” said Provost Domenico Grasso. “We are grateful for the fine work of the Faculty Board on Athletics and its chair, Lynn Snyder-Mackler, and pleased to receive this report detailing the academic standing of our student-athletes.”
The report, in response to a request from the provost in fall 2014, considered a range of issues related to the quality of the academic experience of UD student-athletes, including course-taking and grading patterns; choice of majors and minors; retention and time-to-degree rates; grade point averages and NCAA Academic Performance Rate figures; and admissions and freshman retention.
The student-athlete grade point average (GPA) for the fall of 2014 was 3.007, the highest for a fall semester and at the time the second highest semester ever behind the 3.009 recorded in spring 2014. The overall average GPA for UD undergraduate students for the fall 2014 semester was 3.072.
The report notes that spring 2015 was another record-breaking semester – the third in a row – with UD student-athletes recording a 3.025 GPA.
Overall, the 2014-15 academic year was a stellar one for UD student-athletes, who collectively achieved a 3.024 GPA for the academic year. It marks the first time the University’s student-athletes have had an academic year over 3.0.
Also, 11 of the University’s 21 varsity programs had perfect NCAA Academic Performance Rates (APRs) for 2013-14. Through the APR, the NCAA holds institutions accountable for the academic progress of student-athletes who receive athletically related financial aid through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term. A perfect score means the teams fully met the NCAA criteria.
The report found that there are no “athletics” majors at UD, with student-athlete enrollment matching overall undergraduate enrollment in some of the most popular majors, including accounting, biology, finance, marketing and nursing.
The major with the highest concentration of student-athletes – exercise science, with 7 percent of student-athletes compared to 3 percent of all UD undergraduates – is not unexpected given the general interest in that field by student-athletes.