aPR rules
You get 1 point at the end of every semester for meeting two criteria:
1. Eligibility (i.e. completing a certain number of credits of coursework)
2. Retention (Returning to school)
So, if you complete a certain number of credits, and return to school, you get 2 out of 2 points for the Fall semester, and 2 out of 2 points for the spring semester. You count as a 4/4 in APR calculations.
If you transfer in the spring, you lose a point for retention in the spring semester. So, your score drops to a 3/4 if you have enough credits. However, if you maintained a 2.6 average, the NCAA waives one of the criteria, and you end up counting as a 3/3 instead.
If you leave for the NBA, your school receives a waiver for the retention criteria, and similarly, you only count as a 3/3. If you leave without the appropriate amount of credits taken, however, you drop to a 2/4. Or, worse, if you screw up the Fall semester (as Fab Melo did) and don't manage to complete your coursework, you could count as a 1/4 or even a 0/4.
This is why the emphasis is taken completely off academics and graduation by this stupid rule. By giving players credit for the Fall semester when we know players want to stay eligible into the spring (so they can play basketball) you essentially reward them for simply being warm bodies, rather than for completing a year of schooling. Similarly, actually graduating with a degree counts for no more than a retention point. It's just as good to take fluff intersession courses your freshman year as it is to earn a degree. Both count as a 1 out of 4 points. Absurd and perverse.
Graduation is supposed to matter when it comes to the GSR (grad success rate) but since pros and transfers don't count in the GSR, one wonders what the heck they are measuring. None of Kentucky's one-and-dones figure into the GSR at all. So, essentially, the NCAA wants to know how many of your players who don't leave early or transfer actually graduate. If you can't meet the minimum requirement of 50%, I'd say you're doing something wrong. In fact, you are much better off having 3 serious students at the end of the bench, while the rest of your players leave early or transfer (with the appropriate amount of fluff or intersession courses under their belt). So, your GSR will be, say, 67% if two of those 3 serious students earn a degree.
At the very end of the aPR, you tally up the scores, divide by possible score, multiply times 1,000 to get your GPR score.
If you want a short version of this, just go to the top and read the two criteria. Simple.
