Graduation success rates going up for most state schools

Georgia and Georgia Tech posted their highest scores in the Graduation Success Rate scores released by the NCAA on Wednesday. However, it was a different picture for each school's football team.

The GSR tracks the graduation rate for the freshmen classes entering school between 2000-03. It allow students six years to graduate. Unlike the Academic Progress Rate, which tracks semester-by-semester progress as a part of an annual analysis, schools with poor GSR scores aren't penalized by the NCAA.

Georgia’s football team ranked second in the SEC with a 68, compared to Vanderbilt's 89. Tennessee ranked last with a 53. Nationally, football teams scored an average of 67, the highest since the GSR was implemented in 1998. The SEC's average was 64.5. Nationally, the single-year GSR for FBS teams increased from 65.9 percent to 69.2. Numbers from each school reflect only the four-year average.

“The overall report is encouraging, and it definitely continues an upward trend,” Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity said in a statement. “The improvement by eight of our sports as well as the three that remained at 100 percent is particularly noteworthy. At the same time, we want to get better and will continue to work hard in the academic area with our student-athletes.”

Georgia Tech's football team scored a 49 for the second consecutive year. It was the lowest score among ACC football teams. Duke posted the highest score (95) and the ACC averaged 72.4. The scores reflect the graduation rates of players signed by George O'Leary and Chan Gailey. Scores of the first class of recruits signed by Paul Johnson won't be compiled until 2014.

Tech athletic director Dan Radakovich said the football team's GSR should improve in the coming years because the APR has increased markedly during the past three years, posting a 967 four-year average score earlier this year. The men's basketball team's average score was 908, but its most recent single-year score was 953, an improvement of 113 points from the previous year. That signifies that players are satisfactorily progressing through school.

"With our APR increasing, you will see more athletes graduating before their eligibility is completed, which is a positive," Radakovich said.