Cal academic standards for athletes, so loooow - Printable Version

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Cal academic standards for athletes, so loooow - BobK - 09-26-2014

http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_26611638/cal-might-change-athletic-admission-standards?source=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

They need a changin.    :P ???

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Re: Low APR U academic standards for athletes, so loooow - Papa John - 09-26-2014

Quote:The task force, which began its work in January, interviewed Cal head coaches and asked student-athletes to fill out surveys. Members of the panel made full-day visits to Stanford and UCLA and met with representatives from Harvard and the University of Virginia to compare how those schools address these issues.

I get why they visited UCLA since, as a sister UC school, UCLA has to deal with a lot of the same systemwide admissions issues. And even a meeting with UVa makes some sense. But I would be curious to know what the C.al folks learned from Stanford and Harvard that could actually be implemented at Berkeley.

But more to the point, I have mixed feelings about this whole APR/academic performance issue. On the one hand, I always want Stanford to Beat C.al at everything. On the other hand, C.al athletes who have no chance of making a living playing professional sports drop out of college to do...what exactly? I just can't bring myself to gloat over C.al's--or more specifically, the individual athetes'--misfortunes in this case, and I really hope that they can turn this around.

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Re: Low APR U academic standards for athletes, so loooow - 71Bear - 09-26-2014

While I appreciate the efforts of Chancellor Dirks to improve the academic results posted by UC athletes, I remain skeptical that he will achieve his goal.  Lots of talk, little action.  It is the way of bureaucratic monoliths.....

Wake me in ten years and let me know if he accomplished anything.  It will take that long to determine whether the changes being implemented have taken root.....

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Re: Low APR U academic standards for athletes, so loooow - Farm93 - 09-27-2014

I love the UCB task force style reports because inevitably they try to benchmark Stanford.  Each report contains a pained explanation for why Stanford was included which always dances carefully around the idea that Stanford just does all things related to athletics better than UCB.

Then the reports will circle back and conclude that UCB can't possibly compete directly with Stanford because of something or other.

In this year's "Stanford, Stanford, Stanford" moment the task force noted that Stanford has 94 acres dedicated to athletics facilities.  UCB AD has limited facilities and therefore lacks the flexibility to schedule practices to avoid class conflicts.

Unlike Stanford, we do not have 94 acres of available playing fields such that their practices can be wrapped around, not in conflict with, class schedules.

So I think the 5-year excuse is built into the task force report.
Without an extensive set of facilities it will not be possible to achieve that high level of academic excellence in athletics that one might find at other institutions.

Sacramento! SOS. We need more funds to build better facilities and THAT is the key to better academic results.  Honest. 
  ::)

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