Cal Sets GSR Mark For Fourth Consecutive Year
BERKELEY – Cal has posted a record-high Graduation Success Rate (GSR) for the fourth consecutive year with the score rising to 87 percent in the latest data released by the NCAA on Tuesday. Overall, six teams achieved 100 percent, and 11 programs finished at or above the 90-percent mark.
Nine of 23 measured programs established or equaled all-time high GSRs, including both the football (80%) and men's basketball (86%) teams. Football's GSR is up five percent year-over-year, while men's basketball jumped 22 percent from last year. In addition, women's basketball rose 11 points to 90 percent for its highest rate in 10 years.
Cal's overall rate of 87% is two percent higher than last year, while the Bears were at 82% in 2018 and 81% in 2017.
The six programs with perfect graduation rates are:
Women's golf (2nd year in a row)
Women's gymnastics (4th year in a row)
Softball (1st time ever)
Men's tennis (5th year in a row)
Women's tennis (8th year in a row)
Volleyball (9th year in a row)
"Our student-athletes have a deep commitment to their academic pursuits, and these graduation rates are a clear result of that dedication," Cal Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. "As a department, we have a primary objective to support and grow the overall student-athlete experience – academically, athletically and developmentally – and it is a responsibility that extends through our coaches, staff, student-athletes and the entire university. We can always get better and will continue to work hard to ensure our student-athletes graduate and are prepared for their lives after Cal."
The GSR is based on a six-year cohort, meaning that the latest report includes those student-athletes who received athletic scholarships, enrolled at Cal as freshmen or incoming transfers from 2010-13, and completed their degree within six years.
While the GSR examines graduation rates for student-athletes who enrolled between 7-10 years ago, the Academic Progress Rate focuses on more recent student-athletes, and the Bears set record APR figures last year, as well. In the most recent APR scores from last spring, Cal established an overall department multiyear high of 989 and had a 994 rate for the 2018-19 school year. In addition, a record-high 10 teams posted multiyear scores of 1,000 – with each earning NCAA Public Recognition Awards for their efforts – and 16 programs had a 1,000 APR for the 2018-19 academic year to match the school's best-ever total.