Overview of Committee’s Structure and Purpose
Members 2004-05: Lissa Broome (2005) (Chair), Jack Evans (ACC rep-ex officio), Kathleen Harris (2008), Garland Hershey (2006), Lloyd Kramer (2007), George Lensing (2008), Steve Leonard (2006), Mary Lynn (2007), James Murphy (2005), and William Smith (2007).
Members 2005-06: Lissa Broome (2008) (Chair), Jack Evans (ACC rep-ex officio), Kathleen Harris (2008), Garland Hershey (2006), Lloyd Kramer (2007), George Lensing (2008), Steve Leonard (2006), Mary Lynn (2007), James Murphy (alternate for Fall 2005 for William Smith), Desmond Runyan (2008), William Smith (2007), and Barbara Wildemuth (2008).
The committee was formerly made up of ten elected members of the faculty, serving staggered five-year terms. The Faculty Code was amended in the spring of 2004; however, to reduce the number of elected positions to nine, with members serving staggered three-year terms. This change made the term length for members of the Faculty Athletics Committee consistent with those of other elected faculty committees. Accordingly, two members rotated off the committee at the end of 2005, and three new members were elected (one of whom was reelected) for a three-year term so the committee still has ten elected members. In 2006, two members will rotate off the committee.
The faculty athletics representative to the ACC, if not already an elective member, is an ex-officio member of the committee. Chancellor Moeser attends meetings as his schedule permits. Director of Athletics Dick Baddour, Senior Associate Athletic Director Larry Gallo, and Senior Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Services John Blanchard also regularly attend the committee’s meetings and report each month to the committee for advice or information.
Annual Report: The annual report was prepared by Lissa Broome and reviewed and approved by the committee.
Meetings: The committee held monthly meetings during the 2004-2005 academic year. The April meeting was cancelled because of the Final Four and two meetings were held in May. The committee has met monthly during the current academic year, with its first monthly meeting in September.
Lissa Broome and Jack Evans also met with the General Alumni Association Athletic Advisory Committee on January 14, 2005, to discuss the NCAA certification process, the activities of the Faculty Athletics Representative, and faculty oversight of intercollegiate athletics through the Faculty Committee on Athletics. That evening, Jack Evans received the GAA’s Faculty Service Award, in recognition of his service to the University, including as the Faculty Athletics Representative.
Committee Charge: "The Faculty Athletics Committee is concerned with informing the faculty and advising the chancellor on any aspect of athletics, including, but not limited to, the academic experience for varsity athletes, athletic opportunities for members of the University committee, and the general conduct and operation of the University's athletic program" (Faculty Code §4-7[b]).
Faculty Council referred no matters to the Committee. As explained in more detail below, the Committee acted on behalf of the Faculty Council in making various recommendations and casting various votes at the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics.
The committee corresponded with the chair of the Educational Policy Committee about proposed changes to the student attendance policy. The changes adopted did not impact student-athletes who are excused by the policy from attendance when representing the University in an athletics competition.
Report of Activities
NCAA Legislation Affecting Academics: Jack Evans serves on the Committee on Academic Performance, which is implementing the NCAA’s new Academic Progress Rate (APR). The Committee on Academic Performance is also developing a Graduation Success Rate (GSR), which will differ from the current federally calculated graduation rate in that a school will not be penalized when a student-athlete leaves in good academic standing to transfer to another institution, pursue a professional career, or for any other reason. Under the current federally calculated graduation rate, such departures are counted as failures to graduate from the institution of original enrollment, even if the student later graduates from another institution.
The committee, through Jack Evans, monitors these and other developments and provides advice with respect to the institution’s position. Jack Evans currently also serves on the NCAA’s Management Council, which is the group just below the NCAA’s Board of Directors.
Academic Performance of Student-Athletes: The committee reviews the academic progress of student-athletes each year. This review now includes the Academic Performance Rate (APR), as well as graduation rates calculated for the NCAA and the University of North Carolina Board of Governors Report.
The NCAA graduation rate (the same rate that is reported as the IPEDs or Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System rate) is a six-year rate that includes students who received athletic scholarship aid in their first semester of enrollment. The BOG and NCAA rates include in the number of total student-athletes those who left the University in good standing prior to graduation. The BOG adjusted rate removes these students from the denominator of the fraction used to calculate the graduation rate. Data reported to the BOG cover recruited student-athletes, a larger population than those receiving some level of athletically related financial aid and included in calculation of the NCAA rate.
NCAA/IPEDs 6-Yr. Graduation Rates (student body rate)
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
|
All athletes |
71 (79) |
69 (79) |
64 (80) |
70 (83) |
Males |
66 (77) |
61 (78) |
50 (78) |
64 (81) |
Females |
81 (80) |
80 (80) |
83 (82) |
81(84) |
BOG Graduation Rate Report for 1998 Cohort (as of 8/31/04)
Recruited student-athletes |
77.9 |
Adjusted* - recruited student-athletes |
88.5 |
Full grant student-athletes |
66.6 |
Adjusted* - full grant student-athletes |
77.8 |
Football recruited |
66.6 |
Football adjusted* |
88.9 |
* See explanation in paragraph above
The APR is computed based on points awarded each semester per student-athlete for eligibility/graduation and retention. Each team member could earn two points per semester -- one point for maintaining eligibility or for graduation, and a second point for being retained. On a team with ten members, for instance, there would be a maximum of 40 possible points in an academic year. If two student-athletes on the team were not eligible in the spring semester and were not retained, then the hypothetical team would only earn 36 points (losing 2 points for each student during that spring semester). The APR is calculated by first dividing 36 by 40 (equals .9), and then multiplying by 1000 to get an APR of 900.
An APR of 925 is equivalent to an expected 50% graduation rate. If a team falls below a 925 APR, it could be subject to a penalty. The first set of penalties will be imposed by the NCAA beginning in the fall of 2005 based on APR data collected for 2003-05. Penalties such as scholarship reductions, postseason competition bans, and membership restrictions will not be imposed until the fall of 2007, when a four-year cycle of data collection (2003-2007) has been completed. For small teams, such as the 10-person team used in the example in the preceding paragraph, the NCAA will apply a squad size adjustment and may not subject such a team to a penalty based on that adjustment even though the APR is below 925.
The APR data for UNC-CH were computed for 2003-04. The preliminary numbers were reported in last year’s annual report. The NCAA released the final numbers for 2003-04 for UNC-CH and for all other schools in February 2005. These data represent all student-athletes receiving some athletics scholarship aid (534 students in 2003-04). Of these students, 97 graduated during 2003-04, 21 were not eligible to compete (under either NCAA, ACC or UNC-CH standards), and 40 were not retained (these students may have turned professional, transferred to another school, or are no longer competing). The overall APR for our student-athletes in 2003-04 was 970. Several teams scored 1000 (men’s basketball, men’s swimming, women’s cross-country, field hockey, gymnastics, rowing, women’s swimming, and volleyball). Only two teams were below the 925 level (men’s golf (900) and wrestling (900)), but in both cases the NCAA report indicated that these teams have an estimated APR upper confidence boundary of 925 or above because of the squad size adjustment. Our 2003-04 APR of 970 compares favorably with that of other ACC schools in the state: N.C. State University, 929; Wake Forest, 979; Duke, 984.
The committee intends to monitor the ability of student-athletes to meet the new progress towards degree requirements and to try to learn whether there are challenges for students in scheduling particular required courses or the courses required in particular majors. The committee also intends to monitor the effect of advanced placement (AP) credits for high school on the NCAA requirements on student-athletes who, ironically, may be deemed not to be making sufficient progress towards degree because of “excessive” AP credits. The committee will also monitor any problems that early declaration of a major might create for student-athletes.
It is also important to note the strong academic performance of many student-athletes. Of our approximately 770 student-athletes, 294 students were on the ACC Honor Roll (requires a 3.0 GPA or better during the academic year). This number is an all-time high for UNC (244 student-athletes were named to the ACC Honor Roll for 2003-04) and includes members of all 28 varsity teams. For Fall 2004, 175 student-athletes were on the Dean’s List (143 in Fall 2003). For Spring 2005, 163 were on the Dean’s List (141 in Spring 2004). Several student-athletes received ACC post-graduate awards, NCAA academic awards, or were awarded prestigious internships.
Exit interviews and surveys of senior student-athletes: Each year the committee and the Athletics Department ask all graduating student-athletes to fill out a detailed questionnaire prepared by the committee covering many aspects of the student-athletes’ experience at UNC-CH. In addition, committee members participate, along with personnel from the Athletics Department, in exit interviews with groups of graduating student-athletes. By examining this information, the committee hopes to learn how student-athletes perceive their experience at UNC-CH.
One hundred students answered the survey in 2004-05. We have surveyed students for twelve years, and this was the fourth year with an updated survey instrument. Kathleen Harris coordinated the compilation and reporting of the survey results. Members of the committee examined and discussed the survey results. Student-athletes reported good academic experiences, which are reinforced and supported by the coaching staff and the department's advising and counseling services. Student-athletes reported few problems meeting the demands of their course work or getting access to instructors. They believe that Carolina has prepared them well for their future life and careers.
Twenty-four students participated in the exit interviews, which were held February 28, March 1, and March 2, 2005. Most members of the committee participated in the interviews and each year the committee compiles its impressions based on the anecdotal evidence gained from the interviews. Based on a consolidated report compiled by the committee of impressions from the exit interviews, the committee highlights the following:
The exit interview process provides the committee an opportunity to hear comments from student-athletes and to receive reports on follow-up activities undertaken by the Department of Athletics. In the few instances where criticism is offered or opportunities to improve are identified, the Department’s personnel investigate and report back to the committee on the follow-up that has taken place. The committee will continue to discuss the areas and ways in which it may be of assistance in improving the academic experience and general welfare of student-athletes.
Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes: Robert Mercer, the Director of the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes reported to the committee at its September 2005 meeting. The Academic Support Program reports to Fred Clark, an Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, who oversees other student academic support services. The Faculty Athletics Committee also reviewed the Academic Integrity portion of the NCAA self-study, which addressed academic support matters.
Mr. Mercer described the self-study of the Academic Support Center, which is currently being undertaken by the faculty advisory committee to the program. Garland Hershey is a member of that advisory committee. One or two additional members of the Faculty Committee on Athletics will be considered for appointment to the open positions on the Support Center’s advisory committee. Mr. Mercer provided a summary of activities and results for student-athletes for 2004-05. He reported that staff members of the Center have increased their interaction with the advising staff. He also described the Supplemental Instruction (SI) programs occurring this fall in ten courses, which provides additional structured study group and tutoring to participating students. The SI program originated at the University of Missouri at Kansas City in 1973. Reports from over 270 institutions that have used the program since then support its effectiveness in helping students achieve academic success.
Athletic Reform Issues: Chancellor Moeser keeps the committee informed about developments among other groups, including the Group of Six, which is composed of designated presidents from the athletic conferences represented in the football Bowl Championship Series (BCS), and the NCAA Presidential Task Force on the Future of Division I Athletics, which he was invited to serve on this past spring. The charge of the full Task Force is to explore the alignment of intercollegiate athletics with the mission, values and goals of higher education. That Task Force is divided into four subcommittees which represent the scope of its work: Implications of Academic Values and Standards, Fiscal Responsibility, Presidential Leadership of Internal and External Constituencies, and Student-Athlete Well-Being. Chancellor Moeser is a member of the Fiscal Responsibility Subcommittee.
The Faculty Council became a member of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (COIA) in the spring of 2004. This organization is composed of approximately fifty faculty senates from around the country. Wake Forest and Duke are the other ACC schools that have joined COIA. Pursuant to agreement, the Faculty Committee on Athletics represents the Faculty Council in providing COIA with comments and questions on various COIA documents, including a document relating to academic integrity in intercollegiate athletics. COIA members met in Vanderbilt in January of 2005 to discuss the document referred to above. UNC did not send a representative to the meeting. The committee abstained when this document was subsequently put to a COIA vote by email ballot because even though it contained many commendable provisions, the committee felt that some of the NCAA legislation that it proposed was undesirable and unworkable. Notwithstanding our remaining concerns, the document was adopted by COIA.
Currently, COIA is beginning a discussion of the NCAA Presidential Task Force reports with the goal of developing recommended responses for a meeting planned for December 2-3 at Washington State. The committee’s chair has been invited to participate in an email discussion group of COIA to help frame the issues that will be discussed at the December meeting and to attend the meeting, although funding for such a trip is uncertain at this time.
NCAA Certification: The NCAA began a certification program that is similar to an academic accreditation review, a little over ten years ago. Each NCAA institution must complete a certification review and self-study every ten years. The institution’s second self-study and NCAA certification began in the spring of 2004. A Certification Committee, chaired by Provost Robert Shelton, was named and began work on the self-study which focused on three areas: academic integrity, governance and compliance, and equity and welfare. Committee members Garland Hershey and Lissa Broome chaired two of the three subcommittees preparing the certification report. The steering committee and subcommittees contained representatives of the faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors and trustees. The draft self-study was reviewed by the Faculty Committee on Athletics and reported on to the Faculty Council at the December 2004 meeting. The final self-study was submitted to the NCAA in January 2005, and it found the Athletic Department to be in full compliance with the NCAA’s operating principles under review in the certification. The report contained several plans for improvement, including the creation of a Diversity Committee, and continued attention to recruiting, developing and retaining highly qualified minority student-athletes, staff and coaches.
A peer review team from the NCAA visited our campus May 18-20, 2005. The institution subsequently responded to the report written by the peer review team, and implemented several suggestions made by the team. For instance, the peer review team suggested that the Academic Support Program be subject to a formal review every three years by academic authorities. This review will be conducted by the Faculty Advisory Committee to the Academic Support Program and is expected to be complete in December 2005. The report will be reviewed by the Faculty Committee on Athletics, the Associate Dean of Academic Services in the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Services. In August 2005, the institution was notified that the NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification had certified the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the committee’s July 12-14, 2005, meeting.
Student Athletic Fee: At its January 2005 meeting the committee discussed an innovative proposal made by Faculty Council Chair, Judith Wegner, to reallocate the portion of the University’s logo licensing revenue then directed to the Department of Athletics to merit-based scholarships for the student body, and to replace this source of revenue for the Department by an increase of the student athletics fee of $150 per year. The Board of Trustees subsequently approved a total increase of the student athletics fee of $100 for the coming academic year to be followed by an additional $50 increase in the following academic year. The Board of Governors also approved the increase. The increase has been implemented and the additional funds have been directed to increase the operating budgets of the Olympic sports program and address salary issues for the Olympic sports coaches. The remaining $50 fee increase is being considered this year through the relevant campus committees. The Athletics Director has proposed to direct the funds raised by this increase to help support renovations of Carmichael Auditorium.
Signage: The committee has continued to discuss with the Athletics Department its plans to place signage at Kenan Stadium and the Smith Center as an additional source of revenue to support the athletics program. Three representatives from the Faculty Athletics Committee served on a Task Force appointed by the Chancellor to discuss signage. This task force met during the spring of 2004. Its work resulted in a resolution proposed to and adopted by the Board of Trustees in the summer of 2004 requiring that signage “should only be introduced in a limited and tasteful way, with a small number of companies that have strong integrity and national impact; that signage makes a significant financial impact; and the signage protects insofar as possible the environment and tradition of the institution.”
In-State Tuition for Out-of-State Students on Full Scholarship: The Director of Athletics also reported that there would be a positive impact for the Department and the Educational Foundation from a tuition bill approved by the General Assembly in the summer of 2005. The bill permits out-of-state students on full scholarship to be treated as in-state students for tuition purposes. This provision will also benefit programs such as the Morehead Scholars and the Robertson Scholars. In recent years, as the result of continued tuition increases, especially in out-of-state tuition, the Educational Foundation has not been able to fund all student-athlete grants-in-aid, and the shortfall has been made up by the Department of Athletics. This provision should enable the Educational Foundation to fund the cost of all student-athlete grants-in-aid.
Carolina Leadership Academy: The Carolina Leadership Academy for leadership development for student-athletes, athletic administrators, and members of the coaching staff began during the spring of 2004 for some student-athletes, and all student-athletes began participation in the program during the fall 2004 semester. Donors have funded the program for a five-year period. Jeff Janssen, the primary service provider for the Carolina Leadership Academy, reported to the committee at its February meeting. He distributed results of a recent feedback survey that indicated strong favorable support for the experience. There are three levels of the program for student-athletes: a segment for all freshmen, a rising stars program (any student-athlete other than a freshman may participate), and a veteran leader group (limited to team captains and other recognized team leaders).
UNC President Emeritus William Friday received an award during the 2005 NCAA Convention that recognized his leadership of the Knight Commission. Mr. Friday requested that the financial portion of that award (which is to go to an institution) be directed to the Department of Athletics to be used for the Carolina Leadership Academy.
NCAA President Myles Brand gave a well-attended address on April 19 at UNC in honor of the first year of the Carolina Leadership Academy. In addition to his speech, President Brand met with coaches, student-athletes, and faculty members (including the Faculty Committee on Athletics).
Substance Abuse Policy for Student-Athletes: In December 2004, the Athletics Director wrote to the Chancellor suggesting that a comprehensive review of the Substance Abuse Policy for Student-Athletes take place, and recommending that the Faculty Committee on Athletics participate significantly in that process. The committee discussed the existing policy at its January 2005 meeting, outlined several significant areas for review, and discussed the appropriate process for conducting the review. Mr. Baddour reported at a subsequent meeting that a working group containing administrators from the Department of Athletics, faculty members (Jack Evans and Lissa Broome), University legal counsel, representatives from Sports Medicine and Student Affairs, and substance abuse professionals (represented by Dr. Jacob Lohr, Professor of Pediatrics at UNC and Executive Director of the Governor’s Institute on Substance and Alcohol Abuse) had worked to revise the policy. The group also sought input from student-athletes on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and through questions posed to the student-athletes at the Exit Interviews conducted by the Faculty Athletics Committee.
The Faculty Athletics Committee discussed various aspects of the proposed revisions to the policy, including changes in the testing procedure to ensure that all drug tests were observed. These discussions took most of the committee’s meeting time during two meetings in May. The policy was refined and revised over the summer by the working group and discussed again by the Faculty Committee on Athletics at its September 2005 meeting, where it received the committee’s unanimous endorsement.
The revised policy is expected to be effective as of November 1, 2005. An important component of the revised policy is the appointment of a Substance Abuse Policy Review Committee to interpret the policy and the drug testing program as necessary, review its administration annually, and recommend any policy or program changes to the Director of Athletics for approval by the Director and the Chancellor. The Policy provides that this review committee includes faculty members.
Majors: The committee reviewed data on majors of student-athletes who have junior status or higher and thus have declared majors. The data show that student-athletes have declared some majors with greater frequency than the student body as a whole, but that these differences did not suggest cause for worry. The committee will continue to collect and monitor data on majors for student-athletes to ensure that no troublesome patterns develop.
Compliance: The Subcommittee on Governance and Commitment to Rules Compliance of the NCAA Certification Committee reviewed the Department’s compliance efforts as part of its report to the NCAA.
Admissions: The admissions process was also thoroughly reviewed by the Academic Integrity Subcommittee of the NCAA Certification Committee.
Competitive Success: The Director Athletics reported that UNC-CH finished in ninth place in the Director’s Cup (former Sears Cup) for national rankings in athletic programs in 2004-05, highlighted by a football bowl (the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte) and the Men’s Basketball NCAA Championship.
The committee enjoys a good working relationship with the Chancellor and the Department of Athletics. The committee believes that the Athletic Department joins with it to thoughtfully examine issues related to the quality of life for student-athletes at Carolina. The committee is dedicated to addressing the many issues related to the intersection of intercollegiate athletics and the academic enterprise on our campus and on the national scene and endeavors to provide thoughtful leadership on these issues locally and nationally.