INDIANAPOLIS - The Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence has been awarded to 43 Division II schools that have achieved an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90% or higher, with Northwest Nazarene making the cut for the prestigious honor.
Emmanuel (Georgia) was the top performer, earning an ASR of 100%, followed by Hillsdale with an ASR of 99%. Bentley and Rollins each earned an ASR of 98%, and Augustana (South Dakota) rounded out the top five with an ASR of 96%. NNU checked in with an ASR of 93%.
Northwest Nazarene is also the only Great Northwest Athletic Conference school on the list. Four others from the West Region received the honor, all coming from the PacWest: Biola, Dominican, Point Loma, and Westmont.
"The Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence highlights what makes Division II truly distinctive — our unwavering commitment to the full success of our student-athletes," said Colleen Perry Keith, president at Goldey-Beacom College and president of the Division II Executive Board. "Achieving a 90 percent Academic Success Rate is an extraordinary accomplishment, and these 43 institutions exemplify the balance of academic achievement, competitive excellence and personal growth that defines Division II. I am especially proud of the sustained dedication shown by the schools that have earned this honor year after year. Their consistency reflects a deep, campus wide commitment to ensuring that student-athletes are supported, challenged and prepared for life well beyond graduation."
The Division II ASR includes transfers into a school in the calculation and removes those who transferred out of the school while academically eligible. The ASR also includes over 30,000 non-scholarship student-athletes in the division who were enrolled in the four years covered in the most recent data.
Even when using the less-inclusive federal graduation rate, student-athletes are outperforming their peers in the general student population by five percentage points. For Division II student-athletes, the federal rate is 58%, while the general student body federal rate is 53%.
