The University of Mississippi Athletics
A.D. BLOG: Boone On Academic Policies & Success
11/19/2009 | Athletics
With the announcement of the Rebels' success in the latest graduation rates, Director of Athletics Pete Boone is providing insight into Ole Miss' academic policies in this OleMissSports.com blog.
November 19, 2009
Let's talk academics.
Collegiate athletics gets far more media attention and fan talk than academics. But when coaches are recruiting young men and women, academics are a centerpiece of the recruitment talk. After all, less than one percent of collegiate athletes will make their living in professional sports.
Because of the time demands athletes incur, athletics administrations in most Division 1A universities have increased dramatically the budgets of academic support available to their athletes. Ole Miss has been a leader in this support area. The budget for salaries (which includes 12 full-time employees) and tutoring alone are over $1.1 million. Our outstanding FedEx Academic Support Center is state of the art and is one of the best in the country.
We promise our prospective student athletes (s/a) and their parents excellence in athletics and academics. Earning a degree from Ole Miss will give our athletes the opportunity to continue competing in life long after their collegiate athletic career is finished.
It is not a surprise that not all student athletes come to any university with the same academic background. Based on discussions with the s/a, test scores, high school grade point average and other tests we may administer, we try to find a good fit with an academic program that will start them on their way to graduation.
Freshmen, entering into a drastically changing environment, are sometimes overwhelmed with the amount of academic work and athletic time demands that are so new to them. It is important to have a good system of monitoring the progress of some of our less prepared student athletes. Class attendance is an early warning signal that may indicate a s/a is struggling in a class.
Class Attendance Policy
The SEC requires each of its members to have and file with the SEC office its class attendance policy. Each university develops its own policy in consultation with its Chancellor, the Faculty Athletics Representative, the coaches and athletics administration. The policies, while very similar, will vary by institution based on each one's university attendance policy and a variety of other factors. Yearly each institution reviews the attendance policy to see if it is generating the desired impact of the early warning signal that may indicate academic problems of the student athlete.
How did Ole Miss design its Attendance Policy?
With input from the leaders mentioned before, the conclusion was that any student that missed an unexcused 10 percent of their classes was in danger of failing the class. This does not count any health related or game travel absences. At this point it seems obvious that the s/a has not understood the importance of class attendance and its relationship to academic success. A s/a that has academic issues may be classified as 'at risk'. This means that the s/a probably needs more than ordinary attention in order to stay eligible and continue on the course of obtaining a degree.
How is this information disseminated?
Certainly the s/a is already aware of the classes he or she missed. However, in an abundance of caution, the s/a's counselor brings that information to their attention at their weekly sessions. There is a meeting with the coaching staff or coaches individually weekly to keep them abreast of not only class attendance but also tutoring sessions and general progress of 'at risk' students.
Committee on Academic Performance
Under the direction of the late Miles Brand and the NCAA Board of Directors and voted on by the member institutions, the NCAA created the Committee on Academic Performance (CAP). CAPs direction was to institute a system in which could measure the academic performance could be measured. A formula based on eligibility (e) and retention (r) and its relationship to graduation was established. Points are awarded for r and e points and divided by total points available. A cut score of 925 (which means an institution got 92.5 percent of the available points) was established and represents a 50 percent graduation rate.
Consistent failure to achieve this 925 rate may result in penalties from loss of scholarships to loss of postseason play and even up to loss of membership status. It is quite easy to understand the need to get student athletes in class, support them in their work and watch them graduate.
CAP and my observations
I have been a member of CAP almost since inception. I have been a party to many discussions not only relating to the creation (and changes) of policy, but also how the measuring stick affects some member schools. Over the years as a member of the CAP and as a member of the CAP Subcommittee on Appeals I have studied many school's presentations as to why they should not be penalized or penalized to the degree in which they were penalized.
The one common and distinctive thread is very simple. An institution must have good communications on campus and everyone from the athletics director to the academic support group to the coaches must pull together to achieve the goals of the institution. Any weakness in any of the areas has shown vulnerability in performance.