The Montana State University football program appears to be on its way to getting out of the NCAA's academic doghouse. Having addressed two key elements cited by the NCAA, there's a good chance the team will avoid another scholarship reduction penalty based on its sub-par Academic Progress Rate (APR), which is a formula that measures retention and graduation success.

MSU's APR fell below the passing grade (925) for three consecutive years causing the school's athletic department to do those two things -- take measures to change how it addresses supporting student-athletes, and the more obvious, improving its APR score.

According to MSU athletic director Peter Fields, MSU had a score of 878 in 2003-04 then 869 and 856 in the two following academic years to put itself in jeopardy. The 856 led to the reduction of three scholarships and prompted the school into action.

"If we're able to show we're making changes and improving, then (the NCAA) may reduce our penalty," he said. "We have to lay out how we think we'll improve in measureables."

MSU put together an Academic Improvement Plan (AIP) and saw immediate results as the school's APR jumped from 856 to 903 for the most recent (2006-07) academic year.

"This fall semester (2007) went very well," Fields said in pointing out continued progress. "We'll have a better indication in late April or early May. It looks like we're making improvements."

Part of the MSU AIP is the Cats Program, which was implemented in August of 2006.

"It's designed to help programs with student-athletes that are struggling," Fields said. "We'll keep refining it."

According to Erik Christianson, the NCAA's Director for Public and Media Relations, the AIP must be specific to that school since what may work at one institution might not work at another.

"We're committed to working with schools on an Academic Improvement Plan," Christianson said. "The goal is improvement and getting student-athletes to graduate, but we also have a waiver process for extenuating circumstances.

"(The APR) is here to stay and it's now part of the common language."

The NCAA came under scrutiny when it released its list of penalized football programs last year. Only one BCS school n Arizona n was penalized while numerous mid-major and FCS schools were hit, including five Big Sky Conference programs.

"The big schools aren't all flush with cash, but many have more resources available," Christianson said of the BCS schools. "We want to work with (the below APR schools) and we have grant money available to assist them. We stress that if they recruit a prospective student-athlete and the school admits that student, then it is the school's responsibility to support that student to graduation.

"We encourage the athletic departments to work with the admission offices to determine the best fit."

NCAA member institutions aren't required to graduate and retain all their student-athletes, but the APR sets a minimum standard for them to attain. The 925 score is out of 1,000 possible points, so there is some wiggle room.

"The APR is constructed in such a way that decreases the number of students that leave your program," Fields said. "The NCAA knows not all will stay. You need students that fit in at your institution."

Fields said MSU will hold off on issuing three scholarships until it hears from the NCAA as to whether or not it will be given a reduction in the spring. National Signing Day is today.