CU's Annual APR Report Scores Excellent Once Again
May 23, 2018 | General, Herbst Academic Center, Scripps Leadership & Career Development
NCAA APR Scores Continue At High Level
BOULDER — The University of Colorado Academic Progress Rate (APR) report based on information for the four year period from 2013-14 through 2016-17 was released by the NCAA Wednesday with those of all other Division I schools, with CU once again reporting positive news for its intercollegiate athletic programs in that time frame.
The four-year APR average of CU athletic programs – 984 out of a possible 1000 – was just shy of last year's tally of 986, which itself had represented the sixth consecutive highest score since the NCAA's Academic Performance Program was introduced in 2003. Here are the significant accomplishments that CU student-athletes recorded in the latest NCAA report:
"Our student-athletes deserve tremendous credit for how they compete in the classroom every single day, and they remind us that academic and athletic excellence go hand-in-hand," Jupille added. "I look forward to working with them, the dedicated staff at the Herbst Academic Center, the whole department and all of our campus stakeholders in ensuring continued success in the years to come."
"The reason we continue to excel in this area is because of the hard work and dedication of many people, with our 350-plus student-athletes at the top of that list," athletic director Rick George said. "Our coaches and academic staff members wholly support our mission laid out in our strategic plan, and that's creating the right kind of culture and atmosphere for them to succeed. The support and dedication provided by Kris Livingston (director of the Herbst Academic Center) and her staff remains second-to-none. Their leadership and counseling has our overall GPA on the verge of reaching 3.00 for the first time in our history."
The reporting covered all 17 of CU's intercollegiate sport programs (team-by-team statistical data; once again, indoor and outdoor track teams are combined; team GPA is cumulative value as of the Fall 2017 semester. The cumulative GPA of all 359 student-athletes was 2.980, just shy of the university average of 3.01 (#—11 programs saw their cumulative numbers improve over the previous year as well):
THE NCAA APR SYSTEM
While complicated, APR (Academic Progress Rate) can best be described as one that is based on two factors: eligibility/graduation ("E" point) and retention ("R" point). APR data are only collected for team members on athletically-related financial aid (full or partial scholarships). The "E" point is earned by maintaining eligibility at the end of a semester; the "R" point is earned by being retained in the following semester. Thus, each student-athlete accrues 0, 1 or 2 points per semester.
For example, if a team was comprised of 20 student-athletes on aid, and all 20 were in good academic standing and returned to school the next semester, the team's semester APR would be 1000 (40 out of a 40 possible points). The next semester, if two became ineligible, one left school and one stayed, and the other 18 remained in good standing, the semester APR would be 925 (37 of 40). The team's APR for the year would thus be 963 (for 77 out of 80 possible points). To determine an APR score for four years, the total points earned by the team over that period of time is divided by the total points possible and reported as a "batting average" on the basis of 1000.
Student-athletes who leave the institution and are ineligible cause a loss of two points in the APR calculation. These are traditionally called "0-for-2's". Student-athletes who leave in eligible status lose only one point and are called "1-for-2's." If the latter depart and sign a contract to play their sport professionally, the loss of the "R" point is forgiven. And, if they transfer to another four-year institution and depart with a cumulative GPA greater than or equal to 2.6, the loss is also forgiven. In these last two categories, the student-athletes are called "1-for-1's." A student-athlete who leaves eligible, loses the "R" point, and returns in a later year to continue their studies and graduates, achieves a delayed graduation point in the semester they graduate. And, finally, a student-athlete who is ineligible at the end of a term, but is retained, also loses one point, the "E", and is also called a "1-for-2."
The NCAA has established a penalty threshold of 930, which increased from the prior 900 in 2014-15. Teams with multiyear scores below this threshold are subject to a ban of postseason competition plus limitations on practice time, length of season and number of competitions.
NOTE: There is not a precise relationship between APR and subsequent graduation rates, but APR scores in the range of 930 to 940 generally yield graduation rates in the neighborhood of 50% or greater. APR scores above 960 will usually yield graduation rates of 70% or higher, higher than the norm of the general student population at CU. These are Federal Graduation Rates (FGR). The NCAA also tracks a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) that accommodates transfers out of and into the institution and, consequently, is often about 10 percentage points higher than the FGR.
The four-year APR average of CU athletic programs – 984 out of a possible 1000 – was just shy of last year's tally of 986, which itself had represented the sixth consecutive highest score since the NCAA's Academic Performance Program was introduced in 2003. Here are the significant accomplishments that CU student-athletes recorded in the latest NCAA report:
- Of CU's 15 programs (the NCAA combines indoor and outdoor track), 11 have averages that exceeded the multi-year national average for their sport with another equaling it;
- The women's golf team earned the NCAA's APR Recognition Award for the second straight year. Programs earn this distinction for achieving a perfect four-year APR score of 1000 (top 10 percent in its sport);
- A school-record 10 teams scored a perfect 1000 in their 2016-17 annual APR, easily outdistancing the eight that did so in 2010-11 and last year. In addition to the women's golf team earning consecutive perfect annual scores for the fifth year in a row, men's skiing, women's cross country, women's lacrosse and women's skiing all scored 1000 for the second straight year, while men's cross country, men's track, women's soccer, women's tennis and women's volleyball all reached the perfect 1000 plateau;
- Thus, seven of CU's nine women's program achieved perfect 1000 scores in this report;
- Five programs increased their annual APR scores, all raising their score to the perfect 1000. The women's soccer team had the largest jump of 45 points, while men's cross country (36 points), women's tennis (32 points), men's track (29 points) and women's volleyball (21 points) all recorded significant gains;
- Within the previous point, and most importantly, the department's single-year team average of 984 has it one-point shy of qualifying for NCAA academic excellence revenues, slated to come online for the 2019-2020 academic year (the NCAA doesn't round up, CU's average is actually 984.667 so in reality, it is a bit closer);
- Overall, 12 squads achieved annual scores over 980, including the ten with perfect scores. 14 squads own four-year APR scores of 970 or greater, with 8 at or above 990;
- Eight programs increased their multiyear APR figures, with women's soccer gaining the most in jumping seven points from 979 to 986. Three teams saw six-point jumps: men's skiing went from 987 to 993, men's track from 984 to 990, and women's lacrosse from 990 to 996. The four others had small gains of one to three points, while two programs held at the same high figure (men's cross country at 991 and women's golf at 1000). Four of the five programs that saw their multiyear figures drop suffered small changes (five, two, one and one points), while men's golf dropped from 971 to 959, largely due to two midyear transfers in early 2017. All of this helped CU to match its second-highest multiyear APR average (984) across all teams;
- In the two sports most scrutinized, football and men's basketball continued to exceed national averages. At 970, football stands two points above the national Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) average of 968 and six points higher when including all Division I programs. Football's single-year APR (959) dipped just below the national figure (965) for the first time in six years. Men's basketball stands three points above its peers (970 versus 967), and in seven of Tad Boyle's eight seasons at the helm of the program, CU's number has been above the national mark.
"Our student-athletes deserve tremendous credit for how they compete in the classroom every single day, and they remind us that academic and athletic excellence go hand-in-hand," Jupille added. "I look forward to working with them, the dedicated staff at the Herbst Academic Center, the whole department and all of our campus stakeholders in ensuring continued success in the years to come."
"The reason we continue to excel in this area is because of the hard work and dedication of many people, with our 350-plus student-athletes at the top of that list," athletic director Rick George said. "Our coaches and academic staff members wholly support our mission laid out in our strategic plan, and that's creating the right kind of culture and atmosphere for them to succeed. The support and dedication provided by Kris Livingston (director of the Herbst Academic Center) and her staff remains second-to-none. Their leadership and counseling has our overall GPA on the verge of reaching 3.00 for the first time in our history."
The reporting covered all 17 of CU's intercollegiate sport programs (team-by-team statistical data; once again, indoor and outdoor track teams are combined; team GPA is cumulative value as of the Fall 2017 semester. The cumulative GPA of all 359 student-athletes was 2.980, just shy of the university average of 3.01 (#—11 programs saw their cumulative numbers improve over the previous year as well):
| Program | 2016-17 | APR | 4-Year APR | Team GPA |
| Men's Basketball | 961 | 970 | 2.569 # | |
| Men's Cross Country | 1000 | 991 | 3.146 | |
| Football | 959 | 970 | 2.608 # | |
| Men's Golf | 886 |  959 |
3.191 # | |
| Men's Skiing | 1000 | 993 | 3.359 # | |
| Men's Indoor/Outdoor Track | 1000 | 990 | 3.009 # | |
| Women's Basketball | 980 | 995 | 2.964 | |
| Women's Cross Country | 1000 | 992 | 3.375 # | |
| Women's Golf | 1000 | 1000 | 3.161 # | |
| Women's Lacrosse | 1000 | 996 | 3.263 # | |
| Women's Skiing | 1000 | 986 | 3.476 # | |
| Women's Soccer | 1000 | 992 | 3.246 | |
| Women's Tennis | 1000 | 984 | 3.187 # | |
| Women's Indoor/Outdoor Track | 984 | 985 | 3.350 # | |
| Women's Volleyball | 1000 | 989 | 3.025 |
THE NCAA APR SYSTEM
While complicated, APR (Academic Progress Rate) can best be described as one that is based on two factors: eligibility/graduation ("E" point) and retention ("R" point). APR data are only collected for team members on athletically-related financial aid (full or partial scholarships). The "E" point is earned by maintaining eligibility at the end of a semester; the "R" point is earned by being retained in the following semester. Thus, each student-athlete accrues 0, 1 or 2 points per semester.
For example, if a team was comprised of 20 student-athletes on aid, and all 20 were in good academic standing and returned to school the next semester, the team's semester APR would be 1000 (40 out of a 40 possible points). The next semester, if two became ineligible, one left school and one stayed, and the other 18 remained in good standing, the semester APR would be 925 (37 of 40). The team's APR for the year would thus be 963 (for 77 out of 80 possible points). To determine an APR score for four years, the total points earned by the team over that period of time is divided by the total points possible and reported as a "batting average" on the basis of 1000.
Student-athletes who leave the institution and are ineligible cause a loss of two points in the APR calculation. These are traditionally called "0-for-2's". Student-athletes who leave in eligible status lose only one point and are called "1-for-2's." If the latter depart and sign a contract to play their sport professionally, the loss of the "R" point is forgiven. And, if they transfer to another four-year institution and depart with a cumulative GPA greater than or equal to 2.6, the loss is also forgiven. In these last two categories, the student-athletes are called "1-for-1's." A student-athlete who leaves eligible, loses the "R" point, and returns in a later year to continue their studies and graduates, achieves a delayed graduation point in the semester they graduate. And, finally, a student-athlete who is ineligible at the end of a term, but is retained, also loses one point, the "E", and is also called a "1-for-2."
The NCAA has established a penalty threshold of 930, which increased from the prior 900 in 2014-15. Teams with multiyear scores below this threshold are subject to a ban of postseason competition plus limitations on practice time, length of season and number of competitions.
NOTE: There is not a precise relationship between APR and subsequent graduation rates, but APR scores in the range of 930 to 940 generally yield graduation rates in the neighborhood of 50% or greater. APR scores above 960 will usually yield graduation rates of 70% or higher, higher than the norm of the general student population at CU. These are Federal Graduation Rates (FGR). The NCAA also tracks a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) that accommodates transfers out of and into the institution and, consequently, is often about 10 percentage points higher than the FGR.
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