Limited Resource Institutions
APP and Academic Certification
Best Practices
NCAA Regional Rules Seminar
2014
Eric Brey
Quintin Wright
Katy Yurk
Objectives
• Academic requirements over the academic year.
• Best practices in the certification of academic
eligibility.
• Best practices for the NCAA Division I Academic
Performance Program (APP).
Objectives
• Task.
• Team.
• Timeline.
• Takeaways.
Academic Requirements
Over the Academic Year
May
• Registration for summer school.
• Certify SAs for fall term.
• Calculate NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate
(ARP) for each sport and share with coaching staff.
• Enter APP data for fall.
• Look for delayed graduation points.
• Track incoming transfers for academic eligibility.
• Have evaluations completed before
enrollment/signing financial aid agreement.
• Review initial-eligibility status of all entering PSAs.
• Collect any supporting documentation for possible
adjustments to points lost in the fall.
June
•
•
•
•
Track summer school performance.
Certify SAs for fall term.
Enter APP data for fall.
Track incoming transfers for academic eligibility.
• Have evaluations completed before
enrollment/signing financial aid agreement.
• Register transfers for fall classes.
• Review initial-eligibility status of all entering
PSAs.
• Collect any supporting documentation for
possible adjustments to points lost in the fall and
spring.
July
•
•
•
•
Track summer school performance.
Certify SAs for fall term.
Enter APP data for fall.
Track incoming transfers for academic eligibility.
• Have evaluations completed before
enrollment/signing financial aid agreement.
• Register transfers for fall classes.
• Review initial-eligibility status of all entering
PSAs.
• Collect any supporting documentation for
possible adjustments to points lost in the fall and
spring.
August
• Finalize fall certifications.
• File waivers for ineligible new or
continuing SAs.
• Complete implementation reports for
any APR Improvement Plans from
the previous year.
• Write APR Improvement Plan for
current year, if needed.
September
• Finalize fall certifications.
• File waivers for ineligible new or
continuing SAs.
• Submit APR Improvement Plan
implementation report for the previous
year’s plan (due October 1).
• Write APR Improvement Plan for
current year, if needed.
• Enter APP data.
October
• File waivers for ineligible new or
continuing SAs.
• Submit APP data (due six weeks after first
day of fall term).
• Request any adjustments to or
corrections of APP data.
• Submit APR Improvement Plan for current
year if needed (due November 1).
• Pre-registration for the spring term.
November
• Pre-registration for the spring term.
• Review APR reports and share with
coaches.
• Submit any needed APP penalty or
postseason ineligibility waiver
requests.
December
• Review any SAs who were ineligible for fall to
see if they can be eligible for spring (NOT
baseball).
• Certify eligibility (six hours, GPA and
percentage) for spring including any incoming
midyear transfers.
• File waivers for ineligible SAs.
• Determine fall APR for each sport and share
with coaching staff.
• Look for delayed graduation points.
January
• Review any SAs who were ineligible for fall to see if
they can be eligible for spring (NOT baseball).
• Certify eligibility (six hours, GPA and percentage)
for spring including any incoming midyear transfers.
• File waivers for ineligible SAs.
• Determine fall APR for each sport and share with
coaching staff.
• Look for delayed graduation points.
• Collect any supporting documentation for possible
adjustments to points lost in the fall.
February
• Begin to project who will need
summer school.
• Collect Graduation Success Rate
(GSR) data (due June 1).
• Collect any supporting
documentation for possible
adjustments to points lost in the fall.
March
• Project who will need summer
school.
• Submit GSR data (due June 1).
• Collect any supporting
documentation for possible
adjustments to points lost in the fall.
April
• Pre-registration for fall.
• Registration for summer school.
• Confirm that all SAs completing the fourth
semester/sixth quarter or later are in their
desired degree program and will meet 40%.
• Track incoming transfers for academic
eligibility.
• Have evaluations completed before
enrollment/signing financial aid agreement.
• Review initial eligibility status of all entering
PSAs.
APP and Certification
Leadership
Director of
Admissions
Director of
Financial Aid
Athletics
Director
Academic
Process
Ownership
Registrar
Provost
FAR
Certifying Eligibility for
Competition
Certification Thought Process
• Task.
• Team.
• Timeline.
• Takeaways.
What is the Task at Hand?
• Accurate and timely certification of
eligibility for practice and competition for
initial and continuing SAs.
How Do You Complete the Task?
• Collaboration! You are not alone!
• Team development and education.
• What process is used to determine
progress toward degree?
• Who is the final certification official?
Who is on Your Team?
• Team Effort!
• Academic department or student
service liaisons.
• Athletic academic support input.
• How is the registrar involved?
• Does admission need to be involved?
Coach
Athletics
Director
Academic
Departments
Student
Services –
Campus
Compliance
TEAM
U.
Financial
Aid
Academics Athletics
FAR
Admissions
Registrar
NCAA
Staff
Coach
Athletics
Director
Academic
Departments
Student
Services –
Campus
Compliance
TEAM
Certification
Financial
Aid
Academics Athletics
FAR
Admissions
Registrar
NCAA
Staff
What is the Timeline?
What has to be done?
• Collect transcripts.
• Review transcripts against certification reports.
• Secure any course substitutions per institutional policy.
• Evaluate transfer credits.
• Confirm degree progress with college or
department.
What Are the Takeaways?
• Establish relationships with members of team.
• Develop consistent process/checklist.
• Maintain documentation for each term.
APP
Data Collection
APP Data Collection
• Graduation Success Rate.
• Academic Progress Rate.
GSR
• Who is on the team?
• When is it due?
• June 1.
• What is involved?
• Defining freshman cohort.
• Confirming graduation.
• Confirm departing SAs that did not graduate left
eligible (can be removed from the cohort).
Coach
Athletics
Director
Academic
Departments
Student
Services –
Campus
Compliance
TEAM
APR
Financial
Aid
Academics Athletics
FAR
Admissions
Institutional
Research
Registrar
NCAA
Staff
APR
• When is it due?
•
Six weeks after the start of classes with APR
data.
• What is involved?
•
Roll over data from one year to the next.
•
Add new transfers and freshmen.
•
Collect transcripts for all members of the cohort.
•
Reference certification reports.
•
Don’t forget medicals and exhausted eligibility
SAs.
APR
• Points awarded for eligibility/graduation and
retention.
• Totaled over most recent four years (cohort).
• Used in analysis for eligibility for postseason
competition, APP penalties and public recognition
of top academically performing teams.
APR Calculations
APR
APR Calculation:
• Two available points each academic term.
• Eligibility point = SA meets academic eligibility standards as
of the end of the academic term.
• Retention point = SA is enrolled full time as of the fifth week
of classes of the next term.
Number of points earned
Number of points possible x 1000 = APR
Access to Postseason
Competition
Access to Postseason Competition
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors established a
930 multiyear APR benchmark for access to postseason
competition:
• Postseason includes all events conducted after last regular
season contest or end of conference tournament (e.g., bowl
games, NIT, WNIT, etc.).
• Conferences determine ability to compete in conference
tournaments.
• Applies to individual competitors on teams not meeting
standards.
• Waiver opportunities available.
Postseason Benchmarks
• For postseason competition in 2015-16 and
beyond:
• Need a multiyear APR of at least 930 OR, if subject
to postseason restriction a second time, have a twoyear average APR of 950 or higher in the two most
recent years.
Additional filters available based on resources
(e.g., bottom 15% as defined by NCAA Division I
Committee on Academic Performance).
*Handout available at back of the room.
APP Penalties
930 Benchmark
• Institutions must have a multiyear APR of 930 to
avoid penalties.
• APP penalties are separate from eligibility for
postseason competition.
Level One
Level One:
• Reduction by four hours/one day of practice per week
in season.
• Results in 16 hours per week rather than 20 hours and five
days per week rather than six days.
• Must be replaced by academic activities.
Level Two
Level Two:
• Reduction by four hours/one day of practice per week out of
season.
• Results in four hours per week rather than eight hours and five days per
week rather than six days.
• Must be replaced by academic activities.
• Cancellation of nonchampionship season or spring football.
• For sports without nonchampionship season, 10% reduction in
contests and length of season.
• And Level-One Penalty.
Level Three - Menu of Penalties
• Level-Three Penalties include:
• Level-One and Level-Two Penalties.
• Menu options may include:
•
•
•
•
•
Financial aid penalties (any amount, any type).
Practice penalties (reduction of four hours/week and up).
Contest reductions (10% up to full season).
Restricted and corresponding membership.
Coach-specific penalties, including game restrictions, recruiting
restrictions.
• Restricted access to practice for incoming student-athletes that fall
below predetermined academic standards.
• Multiyear postseason competition ban.
APP Penalty and
Postseason Waivers
APP Penalty Waiver Directive
Guiding Principles:
•
Based on team's academic performance.
•
Review of historical-penalty factors.
•
Reasonable expectation to improve to 930 within a
reasonable period of time.
•
APR Improvement Plan.
Postseason Ineligibility
Waiver Directive
• The first-time team is ineligible for postseason
competition, relief provided only for extraordinary
mitigation.
• Subsequent requests based on less stringent
standard.
APR Improvement
Plans
APR Improvement Plans
APR Improvement Plans are meant to encourage
immediate improvements in SA academic
performance:
• Monitoring and analyzing each team's academic,
retention and graduation performance.
• Identifying critical issues impacting a team’s
academic performance.
• Developing initiatives to address the team's critical
issues.
APR Improvement Plan Requirements
• Required for all teams under 930 multiyear APR.
• Must include element that assesses and evaluates team's
academic admissions profiles and academic outcomes.
• Data analysis of team’s APR performance.
• Broad-based campus participation.
• Reviewed and approved by institution’s president or
chancellor.
• Submitted via online database.
APP Resources
Questions?