Academics are the primary focus for Division III student-athletes. The division minimizes the conflicts between athletics and academics and keeps student-athletes on a path to graduation through shorter practice and playing seasons, the number of contests, no redshirting and regional competition that reduces time away from academic studies. Student-athletes are integrated on campus and treated like all other members of the general student-body, keeping them focused on being a student first.
The NCAA has collected and reported graduation rates since 1991 for all students (using the six-year federal methodology) and for all student-athletes receiving athletically related financial aid. From 2010 to 2020 Division III engaged in a voluntary collection of data to calculate the Academic Success Rate – the percentage of non-scholarship student-athletes that either graduated or left the school in good academic standing prior to graduation. The Academic Success Rate includes student-athletes that transferred into the school. Before 2010, a separate report on student-athletes in Division III was absent because the division does not award athletics grants-in-aid. While many Division III institutions and conferences have tracked the academic success of their student-athletes, they have used a variety of criteria (for example, graduation, grade-point average, class rank). The voluntary reporting program produced data from a representative sample consistently showing that Division III student-athletes graduate at higher rates than those of their student-body peers. Beginning with the 2021 reporting cycle, all Division III institutions were required to submit data for their non-scholarship student-athletes, allowing for the calculation of the Academic Success Rate.
Staying Eligible at a Division III School
Because we believe success in the classroom is just as important as winning on the field, we have standards to ensure student-athletes make progress toward a degree – every year and every season. They need to meet these standards to be eligible to play. Our members have set separate standards that reflect the philosophies and goals of each division.
Student-athletes need to meet these standards in order to remain eligibile for athletics participation.
Division III student-athletes must remain in good academic standing and make satisfactory progress toward a degree based on the academic standards established by their institution.
Division III student-athletes must be enrolled in at least 12 semester or quarter hours to compete, regardless of how their school defines full-time enrollment.