Black student-athletes admitted to GW between 2003-2006 had significantly lower SAT scores than other black students and school officials hope to bolster the academic standing of future black athletes, according to a University report released this week.

The report was the result of an eight-month study that is required every decade in order for GW to remain a Division I NCAA school. The committee included 44 administrators, students and staff, all appointed by University President Steven Knapp.

In 2007, SAT scores of black student-atheletes increased significantly.

Several significant plans of action suggested in the report include raising admissions standards for black student-athletes, as well as monitoring them during their academic career.

Basketball players were also found to have significantly lower GPAs and test scores, as well as a lower academic standing than other athletes and the general student body.

The committee compared athletes from different genders and ethnicities, and a variety of different sports to determine appropriate courses of action. Basketball players, foreign athletes and black athletes all had academic problems that required a response.

Jack Kvancz, GW’s director of athletics, said one of the main goals of the study is to flag data that may be of concern for the future, such as with admissions and progress toward graduation for student-athletes who are receiving some sort of aid.

Karl Hobbs, the head men’s basketball coach who served on the committee, said the lower academic standing of basketball players is “news to me” and that his main goal is bringing in students that can succeed at the University.

But Hobbs added that he does not think he is going to make any significant changes to the way he recruits or what he looks for when he evaluates potential players.

Chandra Bierwirth, the assistant athletic director in charge of compliance, said the study did not reveal any serious problems within the athletic department, and admissions standards and retention numbers were the only two areas with cause for concern. The same study 10 years ago revealed that the University was not in compliance with women’s athletics rules under Title IX – a problem that was rectified, according to the new report.

While the main goal of the study was to flag any future problems that could arise while also showing the NCAA that the University is compliant with rules, Bierwirth also added that the study helps make the department more transparent.

“Students can look at it and say, ‘Wow, this is what the athletes are required to do,'” she said. “It helps bring all those students together and creates a bigger picture for the University.”