REPORT OF
THE
NCAA
RESEARCH COMMITTEE
INFORMATIONAL
ITEMS.
Association-wide.
a. Study
of College Outcomes and Recent Experiences (SCORE). The committee received a progress report
on the study. Topics discussed
included the development of the final version of the survey instrument and
transference to the Scantron application for data collection and
management. Response rate to date
exceeds 25 percent. The committee
discussed methods to maintain and improve the response rate. The research staff will report
preliminary results from the survey at the next meeting, including anecdotal
information from the open-ended comment section.
b. Research
proposals. The committee reviewed four research
proposals from external researchers and chose to fund one of them. The committee discussed adjusting the
guidelines pertaining to the funding of research proposals; recommendations
were made and voted upon.
c. Data
Analysis Research Network (DARN). The
committee received a report from the DARN liaison to the Research Committee
concerning current activities. The
topics currently being studied by DARN include the Academic Progress Rate
(APR), the impact of initial eligibility criteria and the impact of changes to
the test administration of the SAT and ACT.
Division I only.
d. Committee
on Academic Performance (CAP). A number of
issues were discussed under this topic:
(1) APR; (2) data collection issues; (3) scaling of the APR; (4)
conversion of the APR for quarter schools; (5) the implementation of a confidence
interval on the APR; and (6) the implementation of contemporaneous
penalties. Committee feedback was
solicited, a number of recommendations were received and the presenters agreed
to take them under consideration.
The committee requested a follow-up report at its next meeting.
e. Initial-eligibility
standards. An overview of the current data,
including a comparison of the academic profiles of students who are entering
under the new initial-eligibility standards with those who entered under the
former standards, was presented. A
number of issues were discussed:
(1) the increase in the number of required core courses; (2) the changes
to the SAT and ACT; and (3) the number of initial-eligibility waivers granted
and their impact on overall eligibility rates. The committee requested a follow-up
report at its next meeting. The
follow-up is to include freshman-year outcome data for 2003 student-athletes to
determine if their performance in college is similar to that of the 2002
cohort.
f. Division
I athletics finances.
The committee received a report on Division I athletics revenues and
expenses and the launch of the NCAA presidential task
force on the future of intercollegiate athletics.
Division III only.
g. Division
III financial aid reporting process.
A report was delivered addressing the recommendations from the Division
III Financial Aid and Awards Committee that were accepted by the Division III
Management Council and Presidents Council.
The policies and procedures presented will be implemented for the 2005-06
mandatory reporting year. The
committee will receive a periodic update on this project.