Graduation rates for UH athletes rose according to study

Overall, University of Hawaii athletes are graduating at a higher rate and improving progress toward degrees according to recent studies, the Board of Regents was told Wednesday.

UH’s Graduation Success Rate (GSR) is 78, its highest in the last 11 years of the NCAA metric. The national average is 86, the NCAA said.

UH’s GSR was 76 last year and 60 in 1998. The current GSR measures students who began college in 2008.

In addition, projected Academic Performance Rate (APR) figures, which measure progresss toward a degree, for 2014-15 are improving.

"I think we’re trending in the right direction," said athletic director David Matlin, who credited the staff of the Nagatani Academic Center and coaches.

"The benchmark we would like to reach is (upper) 50 percent of all Division I institutions," said David Ericson, Faculty Athletic Representative and Professor and Chair, Department of Educational Foundations at UH.

However, there are some immediate concerns, officials said, notably men’s basketball where the team’s one-year APR, which is projected to drop to 900 — 30 points below the benchmark– for 2014-15.

UH officials cautioned that the 900 is subject to pending appeals before the April 2016 release and the program would only risk sanctions if the eventual number brings down its multiyear rate. The projected multiyear rate is currently 944.

"We’re not in jeopardy (of sanctions) at this point, but one more bad year can hurt us," Matlin said. "That’s why Eran (Ganot, the new men’s basketball coach) is charged with making improvement a focus."

UH is believed to be seeking exemptions for the departures of Isaac Fotu and Sammis Reyes, who left in the wake of the NCAA investigation of the men’s basketball program.