Feb 05, 2016 03:59 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The NCAA is open to reforming its graduate transfer rules for Division I football and men's basketball Academic Progress Rate, though without putting any restrictions in place.

According to The Associated Press, the NCAA's Division I academic committee will consider no longer giving schools who accept transfer student-athletes after they earned their degree elsewhere an automatic APR point for every semester they complete.

Typical transfer rules require student-athletes to sit out a year at his or her new school. But if the student completes his or her degree with remaining athletic eligibility, he or she can transfer without penalty, allowing them to play right away.

When these graduate transfers arrive on their new campus, they earn one APR point for their school every semester they are enrolled. The Division I council is open to nixing that automatic point rule in order to hold schools accountable for the transfer students they accept, The AP noted.

"This policy change could hold schools accountable for the academic progress of all students and make it more likely that students enrolled in graduate programs will receive the support and encouragement they need to finish their degree," Committee on Academics chair Roderick J. McDavis, president of Ohio University, said in a statement.

The NCAA's Power 5, the Division I conferences at most competitive level in collegiate sports, has taken on transfer rules before.

In May, the SEC adopted a personal conduct clause in its guidelines by which member schools accept transfer students, ESPN reported. The clause was meant to stop student-athletes from transferring in order to escape disciplinary action.

APR is a way the NCAA holds schools accountable for their student-athletes' classroom performance. If an athletic department's score is too low on an annual report, it could be subject to penalties including being banned from postseason play.

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