In looking at the requirements for DI eligibility, I was very pleased to see that NCAA has implemented academic reform efforts. Their ultimate goal is for student-athletes to graduate with a meaningful degree to give them the best edge when preparing them for life after college.
Some of the Division I academic reform highlights start with increased high school academic requirements for prospective student-athletes. These measures are to ensure that after student-athletes are enrolled in college, they will meet the standards that will ultimately certify they will graduate and in a timely manner. Another tool that they have developed and implemented is the Academic Progress Rate (APR). This tool monitors and measures how well student-athletes who are recipients of scholarships are performing term by term. It is a comprehensive team measurement that is based on how individual team members are progressing academically. The benchmark is 930. If a team does not make the 930 threshold, they are subject to sanctions. The good news is that the NCAA works closely with the APR-challenged schools to help them achieve improvement and minimize punishment.
Because academic, not athletic, achievement is the most reliable path to success in life, the NCAA tracks both graduation success rates (GSR) and the percentage of student-athletes who become professional athletes. As of October, 2010, the most recent GSR cohort, 79% of Division I student athletes earned their degrees. The breakdown by percentage of student-athletes who become professional athletes are: Baseball – 9%; Men’s Ice Hockey – 3.6%, Football – 1.7%; Men’s Basketball – 1.2%; Women’s Basketball – 0.9%; and Soccer – 1.6%.
Overall, it is important to make sure that your student-athlete understands that meeting the academic eligibility requirements to play a sport at a given college is not the same as meeting the academic standards for admission to that college. No matter how enthusiastic a college recruiter or coach is about a student-athlete, the college’s admissions staff will make the final admissions decision. And no matter how outstanding the high school athlete, athletic abilities, simply meeting NCAA academic requirements may not be sufficient to gain admission to desired colleges.
According to the CollegeBoard, "the more rigorous a course load your student athletes take, the more options they have when it comes time to choose a college. Some of the things you can do to give students the best chance of going on to the college of their choice include:
- Helping to plan a challenging course schedule
- Keeping records of classes and grades
- Keeping track of graduation requirements
- Advising which college admission tests to take and when to take them
- Connecting students to information on various colleges, majors, and careers.
- Recommending colleges to match academic profiles and career goals
- Advising on "safety," "good fit," and "reach" schools
- Sending transcripts to colleges
- Start now getting letters of recommendation
- Understand aid awards and how financial aid works, and connect your student-athlete to local scholarship opportunities"
CLICK THE "YOU CAN PLAY" LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ELIGIBILITY!!
SOURCES
http://www.ihoops.com/classroom/eligibility
http://www.ncaapublications.com/p-4193-2010-11-your-path-to-the-student-athlete-experience-pack-of-100-due-late-summerearly-fall-2010.aspx
http://bcove.me/tw2pr2w2
Photo~ Christopher Walker II ~ aka C-DUB II~ "Superstar" Student-Athlete
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