APR Scores Continue Upward Trend

San Jose, Calif. (June 9, 2010)-----After reporting its best set of Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores in 2009, San Jose State University's 2010 report shows all of its intercollegiate sports programs with multi-year scores that match or exceed previous figures.

           Thirteen of the university's 16 sports had its highest multi-year APR score since the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) implemented the measurement starting with the 2004 academic year. Three sports, women's volleyball, women's golf and softball, matched their 2009 multi-year score and were above the NCAA's threshold score of 925 out of 1,000. A score of 925 out of 1,000 projects to a 60 percent graduation rate on an annual basis.

            "This year's APR report, overall, is San Jose State's best to date. Today's NCAA announcement reinforces the commitment we made in January 2005 to San Jose State University student-athletes that they can and will achieve academic success," says Tom Bowen, the Spartans' director of athletics. "The progress, improvement and results are tangible. Our student-athletes, coaches, staff and faculty members deserve acknowledgment for raising the University's academic profile."

             The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. The 2010 report covers the 2006 through 2009 academic years.

MORE HIGHLIGHTS

o      With the continued upward APR trend in football, the program is no longer subject to NCAA-mandated scholarship or practice reductions. For the 2009 season, the football program was limited to 21 out of a possible 25 initial scholarships, 75 out of a possible 85 scholarship renewals and 16 out of a possible 20 hours of countable activity per week.

o      In May 2010, the NCAA announced the San Jose State University women's gymnastics and women's tennis programs earned Public Recognition Awards for multi-year APR scores of 1,000 each, the highest possible score. 

o      Eight San Jose State programs - men's cross country, women's cross country, men's golf, women's golf, women's gymnastics, women's swimming and diving, women's tennis and women's water polo scored 1,000 for the 2009 academic year. Prior to the 2010 report, no more than four San Jose State programs scored a perfect 1,000 in an academic year.

o      Men's cross country, men's golf, women's cross country, women's swimming and diving, and women's water polo, are five San Jose State programs to report for the first time a single-year APR score of 1,000.

            As a department, San Jose State calculated its current 16-sport multi-year APR score as 942. The score projects a graduation rate exceeding 65 percent for student-athletes given six years from the start of a college education to graduate. According to the San Jose State University Office of Institutional Research's Fall 2009 newsletter, the graduation rates for the University's overall student population using a six-year clock is 45.8 percent. 

            One program, women's basketball, will be subject to a scholarship reduction for the 2010-11 academic year as a result of an APR contemporaneous penalty involving eligibility and retention.

            The San Jose State director of athletics foresees continued upward trends in the university's future APR reports.

            "We expect future announcements to include more San Jose State teams receiving NCAA Public Recognition Awards, more teams achieving the perfect 1,000 score on an annual basis and no programs incurring APR-related penalties," concludes Bowen.