ROCK HILL, S.C. – Winthrop student-athletes continued their strong work in the classroom this past year, posting a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 90%, as announced this week by the NCAA.  The mark, which is the highest percentage in school history, is two points higher than the national average of 88%.
 
"We are incredibly proud of our student-athletes and the hard work they've put in to achieve this type of success academically," said Dr. Ken Halpin, Vice-President for Intercollegiate Athletics.  "Our student-athletes drive everything that we do as an athletic department, and to see them continue to raise the standard in the classroom is extraordinary."
 
Two programs, Lacrosse and Women's Golf, posted perfect graduation records, and four others (Men's Basketball, Women's Cross Country/Track & Field, Women's Soccer, and Softball) came in above 90%.
 
"In 2017, our athletic department unveiled the "Drive to '25" strategic plan, which outlined aggressive goals for us to aspire to achieve.  This 90% GSR attains one of those goals, and we look forward to continuing to push it higher in the future," added Halpin.  "In addition to our student-athletes, I'm also proud of our academic support staff for their outstanding work in helping us realize this goal."
 
"This impressive result is a true testament to how dedicated our students are as well as our coaches and staff, as to the importance of a college degree," said Claire Mooney-Melvin, Director of Academic & Student Services.  "I hope this number continues to rise in the years to come!"

The NCAA began compiling the GSR with the entering class of 1995 in an effort to track graduation data more accurately than the federal graduation rate.  The GSR reflects the mobility among college students today by including students transferring into the institutions and allowing institutions to subtract student-athletes who leave their institutions prior to graduation as long as they would have been academically eligible to compete had they remained.