Spartans Show Continued APR Improvement

Fulfilling Athletic Director Tom Bowen’s pledge and mission that San Jose State University is committed to recruit student-athletes poised to succeed academically and athletically, the University reports another significant improvement in its Academic Progress Rate (APR) score being released today by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

An APR score is designed to measure the academic eligibility, retention and graduation of an institution’s student-athletes and its teams.

The San Jose State University Division of Intercollegiate Athletics’ 915 overall score for the 2005-06 academic year represents a 14-point year-over-year increase. Since Bowen’s arrival to San Jose State two years ago, the department has realized a 41-point increase in its APR.

For the 2005-06 time frame, as measured by the NCAA, San Jose State had five teams record a perfect score of 1,000: men’s cross-country, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball. In all, nine programs increased their APR year-over-year.

“This administration’s first priority is the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate program. We show continued progress as a department in this area,” says Bowen. “Our student-athlete’s first priority is to perform academically and to that end, we congratulate those student-athletes who have dedicated themselves to that goal and their ultimate commitment to graduate from San Jose State University.”

“Our goal remains to exceed the NCAA benchmark standard,” adds Bowen. “Every year, we want to be above the average for a public institution and above the average for a Division I-A member.”