The Gender Gap in College Graduation Rates at Large Universities

New data on graduation rates from the U.S. Department of Education shows that at the nation’s largest universities that participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I, the student graduation rate for women (for all students, not just athletes) in 2014 is 66 percent. The graduation rate is defined as all students entering a particular institution who graduate from that same institution with six years. For men, the graduation rate is five points lower at 61 percent.

For student athletes, the gender gap is larger. The average graduation rate for the four latest cohorts shows that women athletes had a graduation rate of 75 percent compared to a 63 percent graduation rate for men. For basketball players, the graduation rate for women was 63 percent compared to a graduation rate of 47 percent for men.

When the graduation rate data for women is broken down by racial or ethnic group, we find that Asian Americans had the highest graduation rate at 76 percent. The rate for White women was 69 percent. Hispanic women graduated at a 60 percent rate and African American women had a graduation rate of 48 percent.