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NCAA Releases Academic Progress Rate Date for D-1 Programs
Feb. 28, 2005 COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The NCAA released today its first year of data for the Academic Performance Rate (APR), a new index developed to provide, by team, a real-time snapshot of student-athlete retention and eligibility performance at every D-I institution. The APR is part of a larger system package, the NCAA Academic Performance Program (APP), which was mandated by the NCAA Board of Directors to improve the academic performance of athletic teams. In calculating the APR, each student-athlete who receives athletic aid receives one point for continuing as a full-time student or graduating, and one point for remaining eligible to compete each semester. The maximum number of points a student-athlete can earn in an academic year is four. A team's APR is the total number of points earned divided by the maximum number of points possible. This APR number is then multiplied by 1,000. (For example, a team which receives 94 percent of all possible points would have a team APR of 940.) The APR has established a benchmark, called the cut score, under which contemporaneous penalties will be imposed in the form of scholarship reductions for those teams which fall below the cut score. However, no penalties are imposed if a team falls below the cut score if it still falls in a range known as the "confidence interval," a statistical measure which takes into consideration the squad size of teams. No penalties will be assessed until two years of data are available in February 2006, and the NCAA will eventually base penalties on a team's four-year rolling APR average. However, the NCAA released this year's data to demonstrate to institutions how their teams would have fared under the APR. The cut score for this year's data was established at 925, which equates to an approximate 50 percent graduation rate. MARYLAND'S ACADEMIC PROGRESS RATE RESULTS The University of Maryland's APR was 963, which placed the institution in the top 60th-70th percentile of all D-I programs. Nine teams -- men's tennis, men's indoor track, men's cross country, men's outdoor track, women's cross country, women's gymnastics, women's golf, women's tennis and women's water polo -- scored a perfect APR of 1,000, meaning every scholarship student-athlete on their respective roster remained at the university and was also eligible to compete or graduated. Two Maryland teams - men's soccer and men's swimming - missed the cut score with APRs of 907 and 900 respectively. However, each of these teams fell within the APR's "confidence interval" (statistical standard deviation which takes into account squad sizes), and thus would not be subject to contemporaneous penalties. In each sport, other measures of academic progress show those programs have had a history of achievement. The cumulative grade-point average for men's swimming is 3.11, while the mark is 2.69 in men's soccer. The graduation rate from the most recent report for men's swimming was 75 percent, with a 69 percent graduation rate for men's soccer. Due to a calculation error, the NCAA reported that women's basketball did not meet the cut score. After reviewing the NCAA report, the university's registrar's office has confirmed corrections to the data, and the women's basketball's APR now stands at 944, well above the 925 cut score. In addition, Maryland's APR in cross country and outdoor track and field were not identified in the study. Men's and women's cross country, as well as men's indoor and outdoor track, each earned scores of 1,000, while women's indoor and women's outdoor track stand at 980. Universities have until March 31 to report corrections to the NCAA. Maryland football scored well above the cut score, with an APR of 956, which placed them nationally in the 70th-80th percentile of all D-I football programs. Nationally, the average for all public institutions in football was 913. Currently all 19 seniors are on track to graduate, and the team recently placed 26 student-athletes on the university's fall-semester honor roll (minimum 3.0 semester GPA). Men's basketball ranked in the 50th-60th percentile nationally, with an APR of 938. The average men's basketball APR for all public institutions was 912. APR FACTS RATE CALCULATION THE SYSTEM MARYLAND'S ACADEMIC INITIATIVES QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Q. What is the difference between this system and tracking of graduation rates? Academic Progress Rate is meant to be a real-time snapshot of a program's success in terms of student-athlete retention and eligibility. Graduation rates are six-year compilations of those student-athletes in a particular freshman class who receive athletics aid upon entering the institution and who graduate within that six-year window. Graduation rates are also based on methodology and formulas derived by the federal government as opposed to the NCAA. The APR and graduation-rate formulas also handle transfers differently. Student-athletes who transfer from a school count against a team's graduation rate, even if they were in good standing at the time of their transfer or if they eventually earn a degree. The APR gives credit for those student-athletes who were eligible or in good academic standing at the time of their transfer. Q. Has this changed how Maryland will monitor academic progress and retention of student-athletes? The athletics department will continue our long-standing commitment of providing support to our student-athletes. The registrar's office tracks academic progress for student-athletes and the results are overseen by the university's Faculty Athletics Representative and the university's Athletic Council, a group of faculty and staff. CORRECTIONS AND ADDENDA
MARYLAND'S APR SCORES (Numerically)
* - actual APR is below 925, but still is within the established upper confidence boundary of 925, which means no penalty would be applied. |
