By Nate Dougherty

For many schools, the news wasn’t good when the NCAA released Academic Progress Reports last week. But the APR is not the kind of report card schools can just hide from their parents to make the problem go away—the NCAA has slapped 218 teams with penalties ranging from warnings to reduced scholarships and recruiting and practice time.

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To address the issue, both the NCAA and individual schools are taking a closer look at programs designed to improve the academic services offered to student-athletes. An NCAA subcommittee formed to look at issues facing men’s basketball is examining how summer school helps athletes improve their grades, which could lead to a suggestion that all Division I teams mandate summer school for men’s basketball players.

The Sporting News reporter Mike DeCourcy believes a proposal like this could lead many smaller schools to a decision point. "This is a bigger deal than it sounds," DeCourcy writes. "It costs more money to have them on campus during the summer months as well as the fall and spring terms. Many low-revenue programs resist, even though it greatly enhances the chances players will graduate. If they can't afford it, though, perhaps Division I is not the place for those programs."

At NCAA Division II Notre Dame de Namur University, professors in the School of Business and Management brought forward a proposal to tighten academic restrictions for student-athletes who perform below the school’s standards during the semester. Student- athletes who receive more than one academic warning at mid-term are dropped from the team’s roster and not allowed to practice, travel, or participate with the team for the remainder of the semester.

Delaware State University, which received penalty warning letters for its men's indoor and outdoor track, wrestling, and women's basketball teams, is planning to address the academic issue at its source. The athletic department is working with coaches to stress the importance of recruiting student-athletes who are more likely to perform well in a college setting.

"We can't always identify a better population of student-athletes," Associate Athletic Director for Student Services Chuck Carrender told The News Journal. "We can say, 'Here's their transcripts and they passed the [NCAA] clearinghouse,' however, [upon closer look] their grades aren't as high in these [specific] areas. We need to be aware that a student may struggle."

It’s not just at the top level that the academic progress of student-athletes has been a concern. A number of high school state associations are also taking steps to tighten academic standards. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) voted last month to disqualify student-athletes who fail more than one class. After two years of study from a special committee of the association, the changes help bring the WIAA in line with the more restrictive policies implemented by most of the school districts in the state. "It's a format," WIAA Executive Director Mike Colbrese told The Daily Herald in Everett, Wash. "The [WIAA] rules are the minimum. Schools are allowed to cater to their students and classes they offer. The system gives a voice to school districts that face a variety of challenges and factors."

Individual high school districts are getting into the academic improvement mix as well. The Houston Independent School District is teaming with the National Football Foundation (NFF) and the Houston Touchdown Club to help craft a program aimed at helping student-athletes improve their academic performance. The district will hire academic coaches for each of its 23 high schools that compete in University Interscholastic League athletics for the 2008-09 school year.

The effort is an extension of the NFF’s Play it Smart program, which has normally focused its efforts on football players. "There are only a handful of school districts in the nation that have extended this program to all student-athletes in every sport, male and female," HISD superintendent Dr. Abelardo Saavedra told the Houston Chronicle. "We are proud that HISD is the first school district in the country to offer the program at every comprehensive high school [in its district]."

Nate Dougherty is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management.

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