NCAA looking at changing APR calculations for grad students
The NCAA could change the way that graduate students' performance fits in to the calculation of a school's academic progress rate.
The sanctioning body said Friday that the NCAA Division I Committe on Academics "learned that just slightly more than one-third of postgraduate students competing in men's basketball and football complete a graduate degree."
APR is a tool used by the NCAA to measure how schools' athletes are doing academically. Schools' scores are released yearly in the spring and poor scores can lead to a postseason eligibility ban. Because there weren't enough football teams at 6-6 or better to fill all of the spots available in bowl games at the end of the 2015 season, three 5-7 teams got to play in bowls. Those teams were chosen based off their APR scores.
The Council asked the committee to determine if the Academic Progress Rate could be used to hold schools more accountable for the academic progress of graduate transfer students. The Academic Performance Program awards one APR point for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school. However, current policy dictates that student-athletes in post-baccalaureate or graduate programs after earning an undergraduate degree always earn the retention point, regardless of whether they continue in their postgraduate program after their eligibility expires.
The committee members reviewed membership feedback on several different models and concluded postgraduate students who enroll in graduate programs should earn retention points by continuing until they complete their degree. Meanwhile, postgraduate student-athletes who enroll in undergraduate classes are not eligible to earn a retention point and can receive a point only for remaining academically eligible.
The change would, most notably, affect graduate transfers. Players with eligibility remaining who have received their undergraduate degree from a university can immediately transfer to another school provided that school has a graduate program to enroll in that is not offered at the current school.
The release said the changes outlined above "would likely result in minimal change" to national APR distribution and an approximate two-point change to team's football APR scores. A minimal change, but one that could potentially decide a bowl game if there continues to be more bowl spots than .500 or better teams.
The proposal would have to be approved by the Division I Council and, if approved, would go into effect for the 2017-2018 school year.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
