4 schools added to NCAA's list of questionable academic standards
Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA announced Monday that it will no longer accept academic transcripts from four high schools, including two in Florida.

Those schools are Lutheran Christian Academy in Philadelphia; Prince Avenue Prep Academy in Pickens, S.C.; American Academy in Miami and Florida Prep Academy in Port Charlotte, Fla.

The NCAA began reviewing academic standards at high schools after university presidents expressed concerns about the legitimacy of some nontraditional schools reported on by The New York Times. That report identified University High in Miami as a correspondence school that offered diplomas to students despite having no classes or instructors and operating almost without supervision.

NCAA president Myles Brand has used the term "diploma mills" to describe such schools.

In a written statement, NCAA officials explained that Lutheran Christian Academy and Prince Avenue Prep were added to the list after reporting they used the Accelerated Christian Education program as their primary educational method. The statement said that while the ACE generally gives schools a status of "model" or "quality" for those schools that meet its standards, that Lutheran Christian Academy and Prince Avenue Prep had not achieved either level.

American Academy and Florida Prep Academy, according to the statement, were contacted by NCAA officials three times to gather more information but neither responded.

"It is important to note that ensuring prospective student-athletes are academically prepared before college admission is a shared responsibility," NCAA vice president Kevin Lennon said. "Colleges and universities need to continue to make admissions decisions based on the academic demands of their respective institutions. The issues in nontraditional high schools don't just affect college athletics, but also secondary and postsecondary education."

More than 200 nontraditional schools have already been reviewed and some were eventually removed from the list of offenders after initially being placed on it.

The statement said that if the four newest additions to the list provide the NCAA with more information about their academic standards, they too could be removed from the list.

The schools also could appeal the decision.

Students hoping to play collegiately next year and attending these schools currently would need the NCAA to look at their records individually to become eligible as college freshmen, according to the statement.
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