ABILENE - Abilene Christian's baseball, men's cross country, men's golf, men's tennis, women's basketball, women's cross country, women's soccer, women's tennis, women's track and field, and volleyball programs all posted perfect 1,000 APR (Academic Progress Rate) scores for the 2021-22 school year. In addition to those successes, there were seven programs, women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, women's soccer, volleyball, men's cross country, and men's golf who have posted a perfect multi-year APR going back to the 2018-19 academic year.
"ACU places a high priority on both academic rigor and success. Our student-athletes demonstrate excellence on the field or court that can be paired with excellence in the classroom. This was also shown by the highest departmental GPA over the last decade achieved this past year. The athletics academic staff and across-campus partners work tirelessly to support our student-athlete population. We greatly appreciate everyone's effort towards holistic development so that student-athletes are successful in their post-graduation endeavors."
-Heather Wyatt, Associate AD for Compliance and Student Services/SWA
The ACU athletic department prides themselves on creating an environment for athletes to excel both within their sport and in the classroom. Our student-athletes continue to prove their dedication to academic success through tireless work in the classroom.
WHAT IS APR? (from NCAA.org)
Implemented in 2003 as part of an ambitious academic reform effort in Division I, the Academic Progress Rate (APR) holds institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term.
The APR emerged when Division I presidents and chancellors sought a more timely assessment of academic success at colleges and universities. At the time, the best measure was the graduation rate calculated under the federally mandated methodology that was based on a six-year window and did not take transfers into account.
In addition to developing the APR, the presidents also adopted a new graduation rate methodology that more accurately reflects student-athlete transfer patterns and other factors affecting graduation (the new rate is called the Graduation Success Rate).
The APR system includes rewards for superior academic performance and penalties for teams that do not achieve certain academic benchmarks. Data are collected annually, and results are announced in the spring.
The Division I Committee on Academics (CoA) oversees the Academic Progress Rate as part of its responsibilities with the Academic Performance Program. The CoA sets policies and recommends legislative changes to the Division I Board of Directors which has the final say on changes in Division I.
