Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/80699
The First Page… I was reading on hawkeyesports.com a few weeks back a story that invited fans of the football Hawkeyes to get to know our new offensive coordinator Greg Davis a little better. He was the latest member of Kirk's staff to be profiled in the "Coach Speak" video series. What I found interesting – and agreed with wholeheartedly – was the characterization of Greg being an extremely experienced "teacher" as much as an extremely accomplished "coach." Coaches are, in fact, teachers. At the University of Iowa, our head coaches, assistant coaches, and graduate assistant coaches are charged with the responsibility of teaching the X's and O's, the techniques, the details of their particular sport. At the UI, we also have an expectation that they will teach what it means to successfully compete in the classroom at a Big Ten Conference institution and to complement the efforts of our faculty in ways that provide our student-athletes the best opportunity to achieve at the highest possible level academically. Achieving in Our Core Business By Gary Barta Historically, as well as currently, we've had success in this area. Last October, the NCAA reported the graduation rates of its member institutions as recorded by the U.S. Department of Education, and the UI had plenty of reason to smile: 74 percent of the student-athletes who entered the UI as freshmen in the fall of 2004 had earned their degree. That number tied the best in our history, was four points better than the overall UI student population, and nine points better than the national average. The NCAA also provides a second measure of academic success: Graduation Success Rate or GSR. Simply put, this number removes from the calculation student-athletes who leſt the UI in good academic standing. The UI's 2011 GSR was a record 86 percent. Year of Report 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Student-Athletes 74 61 70 68 64 FEDERAL GRADUATION RATES UI Students 70 UI 69 66 66 65 What do these numbers tell a talented student-athlete who is considering the UI, the parents of that student-athlete, and friends and fans of the University of Iowa and our athletics programs? Many things, actually. They tell us that, many more times than not, we bring student-athletes to campus who have the skills and the drive to succeed academically. They tell us that, many more times than not, the academic support system and culture that has been in place at the UI for decades is working. They tell us that, many more times than not, our coaches embrace the additional responsibility of helping to guide our student-athletes through the oſten difficult transition of high school to college and through four or five years of academic responsibilities. Lastly, they tell us that, many more times than not, when a student-athlete at the UI commits himself or herself to achievement academically in addition to athletically, the odds are pretty strong that they will find success. I'm excited about these numbers. We expect to win, yes. But, at our core, we're also in the business of educating young people, and these numbers tell us we're doing that piece of our job well. "When a student-athlete at the UI commits himself or herself to achievement academically in addition to athletically, the odds are pretty strong that they will find success." Student-Athletes Nationally 65 64 64 64 63 Year of Report 2011 2010 2009 NCAA GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE UI Student-Athletes 86 84 85 79 79 Student-Athletes Nationally 82