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The Committee on Academic Performance (CAP) has initiated a review of Academic Performance Program (APP) data submitted by 15 institutions. The CAP recently requested the data-review process to ensure the accuracy of information submitted to the APP.

The 15 institutions undergoing the initial review were chosen based on several factors, including irregularities in previously submitted data or simple random selection.

APP data submitted by member institutions is used to determine the Academic Progress Rate (APR) and any penalties from failure to meet minimum benchmarks for academic performance. Therefore, that information must be accurate to ensure that any penalties or incentives assessed to an institution are appropriate.

The review is intended to help ensure accuracy in all aspects of the program, including whether institutions are receiving all possible points and are taking advantage of all available waivers and exceptions. Submitted data from the 2003-04 and 2004-05 academic years will be included in the review for the institutions selected this fall.

The 15 institutions selected for the fall 2006 review were notified earlier this month via a letter to the institution’s president or chancellor, with copies to the athletics director, senior woman administrator, faculty athletics representative and compliance coordinator. The conference commissioner also was notified. The institution has four weeks to respond with the information requested in the letter.

The NCAA staff will conduct each review on behalf of the CAP. The scope of each individual review will vary, though some campus visits are expected. The necessity of a campus visit will be determined after an initial review of documentation. All reviews will include examination of documents submitted by the institution.

Once the institution responds to the first letter, NCAA staff will conduct an initial review to determine the sample size and reach of the review, including whether the institution must submit additional documentation. Once the parameters are set and the institution is notified, the staff will conduct the formal review, requesting more detailed information from the institution if necessary. The institution will again have four weeks to comply with that request.

The staff will then send a preliminary report to the institution, and both that report and the institutional response — again, returned to the national office within four weeks of the institution’s receipt of the preliminary report — will be submitted to the CAP subcommittee on data collection and reporting. The subcommittee will issue a final report to the institution before the public release of the 2005-06 APR and both contemporaneous and historically based penalties in spring 2007.

The subcommittee also may require an institution to correct any data submitted in previous years. The final report will include recommended or required actions for the institution, if any. In addition to amending earlier data, some institutions could be required to change future data submission. The subcommittee’s decision is final — there is no further appeal process.

If an institution fails to respond to the subcommittee’s required actions, the institution’s data will be considered invalid and teams from that institution will be ineligible for NCAA championships or participation in a bowl game. NCAA postseason eligibility will be restored once the institution implements the actions required by the subcommittee.

The entire data review process is expected to be complete by March. However, if the review reveals any violations of the Association’s bylaws, including academic fraud, the information will be referred to the NCAA enforcement staff for further investigation.

Similar reviews of about 20 institutions will be conducted annually to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the program. CAP members instructed the staff to begin developing a system for the data-review process, among other initiatives designed to promote accuracy and integrity of the APP, in July 2005. Institutions should currently be compiling APP data for submission six weeks after the first day of classes for the fall term. All data is validated and reviewed by NCAA staff after submission.

NCAA staff conducted a pilot review earlier this year.

For more information on the APP data-review program, contact Katy Yurk or Bill Regan at 317/917-6222.