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College
Athletes Face New Academic Standards |
Posted:
03.14.05
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Under new guidelines instituted by the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA), failure is no longer an option for student
athletes.
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Starting this December,
a team's success will be determined by how well student athletes
perform both on the playing field and in the classroom. |
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Reasons for
academic reform |
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As more and more college athletes leave school early for professional
baseball, basketball and football teams, graduation rates are
plummeting. In an effort to stem that tide, the NCAA has adopted
a new academic reform policy for the major Division I schools
-- those with large, well-financed sports programs.
Now, universities and college coaches will be held accountable
for their players' academic progress, or lack thereof. The centerpiece
of the academic reform package is called the Academic Progress
Rate or APR.
Erik Christianson, director of media relations for the NCAA,
said, "The vast majority, almost all of our 360,000 student
athletes in the NCAA are going to become professionals in fields
other than sports. And so it's vitally important for them to do
well in the classroom, stay on track and earn that degree."
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What is the
APR? |
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The APR will determine how well university sports programs are
doing. Each Division I sports program must accrue a 925 score
or higher in order to avoid punishment; a perfect score is 1,000.
 The
APR is a points system. Each player is worth two points; two points
are awarded to the player who stays in school and maintains a
grade point average that puts him or her on track for graduation.
However, if a player either leaves school early or falls below
the required GPA level, the team loses one point; if a player
fails to achieve both requirements, the teams loses two points.
The points are then added up, divided by the total points possible
and multiplied by 1,000.
Penalties, such as loss of scholarships, will be enforced if
a program fails to meet the minimum requirement. Repeat offenders
may lose postseason eligibility.
Over half of the 328 Division I schools had one or more teams
that would have failed the new standards last year.
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What does
this mean for high school athletes? |
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The changes will affect high school students, too. Last fall
the NCAA required student athletes to complete 16 core-level courses
in high school. The new requirements are intended to help high
school students' transition into college and prepare them for
the APR.
The NCAA has also organized numerous outreach activities such
as mailings and seminars.
How a student performs in the classroom will also affect a coach's
decision about a prized recruit, said Dennis Dodd, college football
writer for CBS Sportsline.
 "They
are going to have to decide between taking a five-star athlete
of questionable academic credentials against maybe a three-star
kid who they know will matriculate through school," said
Dodd. "They are going to have to make some hard and fast
decisions on every single kid they recruit."
Dodd added that although aspiring athletes love to think of themselves
as the next Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett, the reality is very
different.
"These kids have figured out that jumping to the NBA, either
out of high school or after freshmen year, yeah, you'll get paid,
but there's an equal chance that you might not make the league
and then where are you?" said Dodd.
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Will it work? |
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The APR will go into effect this December and once the new scores
are released, penalties will be effective immediately. No school
will be exempt unless they apply for a waiver.
 Dodd
has doubts about the APR. "Whether there'll ever be real
damage from taking scholarships away or someone is banned from
the postseason, I don't know. And frankly, I won't believe it
until I see it."
College coaches may search for loopholes that allow them to get
a high school athlete star on their team. For instance, the APR
only affects athletic scholarships; the player could get a scholarship
for other reasons and make the team as a walk-on.
--Compiled by Chris Han for NewsHour Extra
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