General | 11/21/2022 11:57:00 AM

ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley State University athletics program was ranked among the conference's top-five student-athlete graduation rates in the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate (GSR) revealed last week.
 
Valley State student-athletes recorded an overall GSR of 80%, the fifth-highest in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, which was better than SWAC East adversaries Alabama A&M and Florida A&M as well as in-state Alcorn.
 
"Our student-athletes continue to ELEVATE in all aspects of the collegiate experience," Athletic Director Hakim McClellan stated. "Even with all of the adversity and obstacles faced over the past six years including the COVID-19 pandemic, our student-athletes, faculty, and coaching staffs remained focused on the academic mission to succeed in the classroom. I am extremely proud of everyone who contributed to this accomplishment. I could not be more excited for our student-athletes' achievements in the classroom, but more so for how it will positively affect their abilities in their career fields of choice."
 
The NCAA developed the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) to assess the long-term academic success of student-athletes more accurately. The rate holds institutions accountable for transfer students, unlike the federal graduation rate. The GSR also accounts for midyear enrollees and is calculated for every sport. Under the calculation, institutions are not penalized for outgoing transfer students who leave in good academic standing. The outgoing transfers are included in the receiving institution's GSR cohort.
 
"Congratulations to our student-athletes and the entire athletic department for helping make this achievement possible," said Jarrad Ratliff, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Compliance. "Student success is our top priority at Mississippi Valley State and we are just as excited to see our students winning in the classroom as we are when they achieve success on the field/court/pitch/track."
 
The GSR allows student-athletes six years to earn their degree. The 2021-22 rate is based on student-athletes who entered college in the fall of 2015, the most recent data available.

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