The Division I Academic Cabinet urged the Division I membership to commit to data-driven policy development by supporting several relevant legislative proposals, endorsing the collection of data on transfers from two-year colleges and making data-driven policy decisions one of its guidelines for future deliberations. The meetings took place February 2-3 in Indianapolis.

The group supported Proposal No. 2008-75, which requires the submission of high school transcripts for student-athletes who gain early certification from the Eligibility Center, and No. 2008-77-1, which requires the submission of high school transcripts for two-year college transfers. The amended proposal gives the cabinet authority to issue waivers when transcripts are no longer available. Both proposals are aimed at filling gaps in current data that will help the division make informed decisions in the future.

In its discussions, cabinet members acknowledged Legislative Council concerns about the perceived burden of data collection involved with the two proposals, but reiterated their commitment to sound policy and legislative principles based on data that is as complete as possible. Cabinet members believe the time spent on collecting transcripts and other data would result in better policy and legislated academic requirements in the future.

The cabinet also endorsed the work of the Working Group Examining Issues related to Academic Risk, including a new management system designed to assess risk of dropping out.

As part of its report, the group created a new definition of “at-risk” – taking into account factors beyond the test scores and grade-point averages conventionally included in such a definition. Middle Tennessee State President Sidney McPhee, chair of the working group, emphasized that risk can be attributed to a variety of factors related to the student-athlete, the team and the institution – and that student-athletes could be considered “at-risk” at different times in their college careers.

Called Facilitating Learning and Achieving Graduation (FLAG), the optional and voluntary system would capture information about each student-athlete through existing data collection processes like the Academic Performance Program. The data and its outcomes could then be used to help match student-athletes with services and evaluate support programs on individual campuses.

The cabinet will continue to receive periodic updates on this program.

In other business, the group met with representatives from the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics to discuss nontraditional coursework and the impact of academic reform on the academic support profession. Mark Meleney, N4A president, acknowledged that both issues were a challenge for his colleagues. He said the group was eager to continue to work with the NCAA and the Academic Cabinet in particular on issues related to academics.

President-elect Christine Jackson agreed to repeat a 2006 survey of the N4A membership about the impact of academic reform on the focus of academic support personnel as well as workload.

Additionally, the cabinet agreed to sponsor legislation in the 2009-10 cycle that would adjust the waiver process for the initial-eligibility and progress-toward-degree waivers appeals processes to bring them more in line with other waiver processes. Institutions appealing staff decisions in these two waiver categories would go to the Division I Initial-Eligibility Waiver committee and the Division I Progress-Toward-Degree Waiver Committee, respectively, for a final decision.

In the current process, institutions have the opportunity to appeal to a subcommittee of the Academic Cabinet only in these two categories. The legislation would standardize the waiver process for all categories. The proposal would receive initial consideration by the Legislative Council in January 2010.

The Division I Academic Cabinet also:

•         Supported Proposal No. 2008-32-B, which would allow student-athletes to count nontraditional courses taken at their institution for full-time enrollment requirements, with limitations on the proportion of nontraditional to traditional coursework.

•         Changed its policy to grant the High School Review Committee the authority to hear appeals of core courses (subject to review and approval by the Division II Academic Requirements Committee).

•         Agreed to request noncontroversial legislation that would provide greater flexibility in appointing members to the Foreign Student Records Committee, given the highly technical expertise required for service (subject to review and approval by the Division II Academic Requirements Committee).