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Wealth gap shows in latest NCAA academic numbers

By WTOP Staff

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The money gap at Division I colleges is continuing to show up on the playing fields and in the classrooms.

Thirty-six teams will be banned from the 2014-15 postseason because of sub-par scores on the newest Academic Progress Rate, which was released Wednesday. Not one of them comes from a power conference. Of the 17 football and men’s basketball teams, eight are from historically black schools. Alabama State and Florida A&M made the list in both sports.

Even the NCAA recognizes the disparity.

“While the low-resource institutions are overrepresented among the population (postseason bans) we’re talking about today, they’ve made improvement, they’ve made significant improvement as a group,” said Walter Harrison, chairman of the NCAA’s committee on academic performance. “They’re just starting at a lower spot. We’re trying to help them with some advice and some financing.”

The NCAA has awarded approximately $4.3 million over the last three years to low-resource schools, defined as those ranking in the bottom 15 percent in funding. The money is to be used for extra tutoring or other academic resources for student-athletes.

Historically black colleges and low-resource institutions have seen a 15-point improvement in one-year APR scores over the past three years, from 947 to 962, and their four-year average has jumped 23 points, from 930 to 953, in the last three annual reports.

Despite the improvement, the hardest hit league was the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Five of the league’s 10 football teams could be banned from the postseason. Alabama State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Mississippi Valley State and Prairie View A&M all made the NCAA list. All of Southern University’s athletic teams have been ineligible for postseason play since Dec. 2 because of questions about the school’s APR data. NCAA spokeswoman Michelle Hosick said Southern was not included on the banned list because the school’s teams could still regain their eligibility, pending a review.

“Obviously, it’s a tough situation. If I knew the answer, we wouldn’t be standing where we are right now,” Alabama State interim athletic director Melvin Hines said. “But I do believe the NCAA has recognized the problem with some of the lower resource schools and is addressing the problem with these grants. It can really help kick-start a program.”

Hines said Alabama State applied for money from the NCAA last year but was not selected.

The APR is billed as a real-time measurement of academic success. Each player on a team receives one point each semester if they remain academically eligible and another point each semester if they are still enrolled in school. The NCAA says a 930 score correlates to a 50 percent graduation rate. A perfect score is 1,000.

When broken down, the five power conferences — the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC — have outperformed all other Division I leagues by at least four points in every one-year measurement since 2007-08. And teams in those five leagues have cut the percentage of teams falling below the 930 cutline that trigger penalties from 6 percent to 3 percent over the last two years. The percentage of teams in all other conferences, meanwhile, stands at 8 percent. Two years ago, the non-power conferences schools had 11 percent of teams below 930.

And while 9 percent of FBS teams haven’t hit 930, 16 percent of FCS teams are below the mark.

That means even more teams from smaller conferences could be in jeopardy of postseason bans when next year’s numbers are released.

“We’ve seen APR scores of HBCUs and low-resource schools improving, so we feel good about that,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said. “But you never feel good about restricting postseason play.”

While acknowledging money disparities as well as the difference in school goals, Emmert pointed out that the UConn men’s basketball team proved all teams are capable of making the grade. Two years ago, UConn was banned because of poor APR scores. This year, the Huskies had a perfect score and won the national championship.

“I think they were the only BCS basketball team to miss that mark the first time out,” Emmert said. “But I think when everybody recognizes what the real task is (academics), they can buckle down and they can get it done.”

Overall four-year APR scores, which cover the years 2009-10 through 2012-13, went up 2 points to 976. The four most-watched college sports — baseball, football, and men’s and women’s basketball — all showed improvement over last year’s four-year average. Men’s basketball made the biggest jump, from 952 to 957.

One final concern — transfers. The report the percentage of college basketball players moving from one Division I school to another has increased significantly each of the past four years. It’s gone from 10 percent in 2009-10 to 10.6 percent in 2010-11 to 11.9 percent in 2011-12 and is now 13. 1 percent. Meanwhile, the percentage of college football players changing four-year schools was just 3.7 percent in 2012-13.

___

Online:

NCAA’s APR database: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/newmedia/public/rates/index5.html

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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