YSU athletes gain top-10 mark for graduation rates

INDIANAPOLIS -- Youngstown State is one of 10 I-AA/I-AAA colleges and universities recognized as having the highest student-athlete graduation rate above the student-body average, ranking seventh.
Youngstown State recently received an award as part of the USA Today/NCAA Foundation Academic Achievement Awards program.
For student-athletes who entered Youngstown State during the 1995-96 academic year and earned degrees within six years, YSU student-athletes graduated at a 27-percent higher rate than the general student body. The rankings from this survey were determined by federal graduation-rate forms used by schools.
"We work closely with them on a daily basis throughout the year and monitor their progress to help make sure their grades are satisfactory, and that they are on the right track towards their graduation," said Marilyn O'Bruba, YSU's coordinator of academic counseling.
The academic achievement awards were established to recognize institutions in three categories: those graduating the highest percentage of student-athletes, those with the highest student-athlete graduation rates above the average of the student body and those with the greatest increase in percentage of student-athletes graduating over the previous survey.
The top 10 schools and their ranking: Long Island-Brooklyn, plus 49; SE Louisiana, plus 43; UW-Milwaukee, plus 32; Cleveland State, plus 30; Monmouth, plus 29; Southern Utah, plus 29; Wright State, plus 27; Youngstown State, plus 27; Austin Peay, plus 27, and High Point, plus 26.