USCA ATHLETIC TASK FORCE
Academic Process & Success for Student Athletes (pg. 1-9)
How do student athletes perform as students? Consider these areas: graduation, retention, GPA data, and academic processes including early warning systems, academic support services, study sessions, missed classes.
1. GPA of Athletes (in & out of season) by Sport for 5 years
USCA athletes have higher GPAs than the USCA student body in general. (pg. 0-11)
Average yearly GPAs for all athletes were:
2.737 in 1999-00 (pg. 3-30)
2.711 in 2000-01 (pg. 3-30)
2.730 in 2001-02 (pg. 3-30)
2.765 in 2002-03 (pg. 2-8, 3-30)
2.681 in 2003-04 (pg. 3-30)
The data range
between 2.681 (03-04) to 2.765 (02-03) over the past five years, with an average GPA of 2.725.
These data include Dance Team, Cheerleaders and Athletic Trainers (except the
03-04 ATs).
78 (or 41%) of student athletes had GPA of 3.0+ in Fall 2003 (pg. 3-19)
78 (or 40%) of student athletes had GPA of 3.0+ in Spring 2004 (pg. 3-19)
76 (or 36%) of student athletes had GPA of 3.0+ in 2003-04 (pg. 3-19)
44 (or 22.9%) of student athletes had a GPA below 2.0 in Fall 2003 (pg. 3-20)
46 (or 23.6%) of student athletes had a GPA below 2.0 in Spring 2004 (pg. 3-24)
49 (or 23.3%) of student athletes had a GPA below 2.0 in 2003-04 (pg. 3-27)
2. GPA by Sport (pg 3-30; 3-20; 3-23; 3-24; 3-27)
Women’s Basketball maintained a 3.0+ GPA over the past 10 semesters, with an
average GPA of 3.195 during this time period.
Athletic Trainers had the highest group GPA at 3.272. (There was no computed
GPA for the 1999-00 school year).
Women’s Cross Country had the highest average sport’s team GPA over the past
5 years at 3.232.
Baseball had the lowest team GPA average at 2.325 but never dropped below a
2.0 GPA during the past five years.
Men's Tennis and Women’s Volleyball were the only teams to have a semester
GPA that fell below a 2.0. In the Spring of 2003, Men's Tennis had a team
GPA of 1.940. Women's Volleyball had semester GPAs of 1.987 (F02)
and 1.936 (F03).
3. Team Rankings by GPA from 1999-00 to 2003-04 (pg 3-30; 3-20; 3-23; 3-24; 3-27):
3.272 Athletic Trainers
3.232 Women’s Cross Country
3.195 Women’s Basketball
3.126 Women’s Dance
2.992 Women’s Tennis
2.925 Women’s Softball
2.882 Women’s Soccer
2.775 Cheerleaders
2.737 Team Average
2.725 Men’s Tennis
2.755 Men’s Soccer
2.537 Women’s Volleyball
2.528 Men’s Golf
2.477 Men’s Basketball
2.325 Baseball
4. GPA In and Out of Season (pgs. 3-30; 3-20; 3-23; 3-24; 3-27) The 1999-2004
data suggest that USCA athletes may obtain slightly higher GPAs out-of-season
than in-season.
2003-04 2002-03 2001-02 2000-01 1999-00
Fall Season Sports (greatest number of competitions occurs during Fall semester) (pg.3-23, 3-30)
Women's VB* SP .665 SP.494 SP.334 F .053 SP .485
Women's XC SP .362 F .044 F .044 SP .129 SP .182
Men's Soccer* SP .073 SP .221 F .002 SP .224 F .191
Women's Soccer* SP .103 SP.104 SP .006 SP .242 SP .162 15 SP
5F
Duel Season Sports (number of competitions are almost evenly split between semesters)
Women's BB
SP .125 SP.223
F .085
SP .064
SP .064
Men's BB F .158 F .041 F
.045 F .085 SP .173
Cheerleaders SP .006 SP.204 SP .222 SP .207 SP .057
Dance Team F .243 F .123 = .000 F .111 F .121
Athletic Trainers no data SP .037 F . 819 F .236 SP .378 12 SP
11 F
Spring Season Sports (greatest number of
competitions occurs during Spring semester)
Baseball SP .002 F .160 F .330 F .068 F .011
Softball* F .636 SP .308 SP .282 SP .002 F .334
Women's Tennis* F .222 F .469 SP .063 F .036 F .239
Men's Tennis* F .222 F .241 F .052 F .101 SP .098
Golf* F .421 SP .298 F . 160 F .472 SP .123 7 SP
17 F
*teams with off-season non-championship competitions/tournaments
5. Missed Class Study by Sport (PBC handout)
USCA athletes as a total group
averaged 10.0 missed classes per year in 2002-03 (PBC data), though some
additional information suggested 9.0 classes missed per semester. USCA has highest missed class
rate in the PBC, though much of
the data from the PBC schools were missing or seemed
questionable. Only one year of data was available.
When viewing missed classes by sport, the highest were:
Golf at 29.3 per academic year
Men’s Tennis at 17.4 per academic year
Women’s Tennis and Men’s Soccer at 16.1 per academic year
Women’s Basketball at 14.5 per academic year
The range of missed classes by sport was .7 (Women's Cross County) to 29.3 (Golf) classes per year.
6. Graduation Rates by Sport (pg 2-8)
1994-95 cohort student athletes 40%; all USCA students 34%;
1995-96 cohort student athletes 48%; all USCA students 40%;
1996-97 cohort student athletes 48% all USCA students 34%;
7. Diversity (Majors) by Sport (pg 3-8) 2004-05 Year
The majority of athletes are white Americans from South Carolina, though diversity exists on every team with at
least one minority or international player.
Total of 202 athletes
136 White athletes (67%)
42 International/Non-Resident Alien (20.8%)
17 African Americans (8.4%)
7 Minorities (3.5%)
85 In-State (42.1%), 31 (Aiken County (15.3%))
75 Out-of State (37.1%)
42 International (20.8%)
Ethnic Diversity by Sport: 2004-05
NCAA percentage %(bolded) vs. USCA (number of athletes (#) & percentage %)
|
2002-03 NCAA info, Div II. |
Am. Indian/ Alaskan |
Asian/ Pacific Islander |
Black, Non-Hispanic |
Hispanic |
Non-Resident Alien |
White |
Other |
|
W X Country
|
.4% (0) 0% |
1.3% (0) 0% |
13.8% (0) 0% |
5.8% (0) 0% |
2.2% (1) 11.1% |
75.3% (8) 88.9% |
1.1% (0) 0% |
|
M. Basketball |
.6% (0) 0% |
.5% (0) 0% |
49.9% (10) 71% |
3.5% (0) 0% |
3.5% (3) 21.4% |
41.0% (1) 7% |
1.1% (0) 0% |
|
W. Basketball |
.6% (0) 0% |
.9% (0) 0% |
30.0% (0) 0% |
3.4% (0) 0% |
1.6% (3) 21.4% |
62.6% (9) 69.2% |
0.9% (1) 7.6% |
|
Baseball |
.4% (0) 0% |
.7% (0) 0% |
5.0% (0) 0% |
4.7% (0) 0% |
3.0% (2) 4.8% |
84% (37) 90% |
2.2% (2) 4.8% |
|
Softball |
.6% (0) 0% |
1.4% (0) 0% |
8.4% (2) 10.5% |
5.0% (0) 0% |
1.1% (0) 0% |
82.5% (17) 89.5% |
.9% (0) 0% |
|
Men's Tennis |
0.2% (0) 0% |
4.3% (0) 0% |
10.0% (0) 0% |
7.1% (0) 0% |
21.0% (7) 87.5% |
53.6% (1) 12.5% |
3.7% (0) 0% |
|
Women's Tennis |
0.5% (0) 0% |
4.3% (0) 0% |
10.6% (0) 0% |
4.6% (0) 0% |
10.1% (2) 28.6% |
68.4% (5) 71.3% |
1.5% (0) 0% |
|
Golf |
.4% (0) 0% |
1.3% (0) 0% |
3.1% (0) 0% |
1.4% (0) 0% |
4.9% (3) 37.5% |
88.2% (5) 62.53% |
.6% (0) 0% |
|
Volleyball |
.4% (0) 0% |
1.8% (0) 0% |
10.5% (0) 0% |
5.1% (0) 0% |
2.5% (1) 6.25% |
78.7% (15) 93.8% |
1.1% (0) 0% |
|
Men's Soccer |
0.5% (0) 0% |
1.2% (0) 0% |
6.9% (1) 3.8% |
9.3% (0) 0% |
10.6% (14) 53.8% |
69.6% (10) 38.5% |
1.9% (1) 3.8% |
|
Women's Soccer |
0.2% (0) 0% |
1.8% (0) 0% |
2.1% (1) 3.8% |
4.8% (0) 0% |
3.5% (6) 26.1% |
86.2% (13) 50.0% |
1.4% (3) 11.5% |
Ethnic Diversity in USCA Sport Teams
Non-R
Asian/PI White Alien Black Hispanic Other
Baseball
04-05 1 37 2 0 0 1
03-04 0 33 4 0 0 2
01-02 0 30 2 1 1 1
Men's Basketball
04-05 0 1 3 10 0 0
03-04 0 3 2 9 0 0
01-02 0 3 2 9 0 0
Women's Basketball
04-05 0 9 3 0 1 0
03-04 0 12 1 0 0 0
01-02 0 11 2 1 0 0
Women's Cross Country
04-05 0 8 1 0 0 0
03-04 0 8 2 0 0 0
01-02 0
7 0 1 1 0
Golf
04-05 0 5 3 0 0 0
03-04 0 6 2 0 0 0
01-02 0 10 1 0 0 0
Men's Soccer
04-05 0 10 14 1 1 1
03-04 0 7 9 4 1 0
01-02 1 13 7 3 3 0
Women's Soccer
04-05 1 13 6 1 1 1
03-04 1 16 4 1 0 0
01-02 0 14 4 0 0 0
Women's Softball
04-05 0 17 0 2 0 1
03-04 0 17 0 1 0 0
01-02 1 15 0 0 1 0
Men's Tennis
04-05 0 1 7 0 0 0
03-04 0 2 5 0 0 0
01-02 0 4 6 0 0 0
Women's Tennis
04-05 0 5 2 0 0 0
03-04 0 5 2 0 0 0
01-02 0 11 0 0 0 0
Though USCA is not as ethnically diverse as the NCAA statistics, all teams show diversity.
In reviewing the data available, only one sports team, the Women's Tennis team in 2001-02, had all white players.
8.
8. Academic support available and realistically delivered (various
labs, study halls, tutoring, ASUP 101,
Peer Educator Workshops (Tim Hall,
Marshall, Lab Heads)
What academic support services are available to all students?
The Director of Advisement and the Associate Athletic Director/NCAA Compliance Officer indicated that the primary academic support services available to all students, including student-athletes, are the Math Lab, Writing Room, Language Lab, Peer Educator Workshops, and the tutoring service operated through the Library.
What academic support services are specific to athletes?
Athletic teams have mandatory study halls operated under the supervision of an individual team coach. All new student-athletes are required to attend study hall for at least one semester. Beyond this common study hall requirement, each coach determines where and when study halls are held, who must attend and for how many hours a week, and to what extent the study halls are monitored. For instance, some coaches may use a student-athlete’s GPA as the determining factor and others may use the student’s earned credit hours. Some coaches use the Library, some use open classrooms, and some allow athletes to use the various labs during their study hall. Academic tutors are not available during study halls, except when a student-athlete is using one of the support labs.
What is the frequency of student-athlete use of the various support services?
Unknown.
Who delivers these services?
The academic units are responsible for the specific labs, the Director of the Library supervises the tutoring, the Director of Student Activities is responsible for the Peer Educator Workshops, and coaches in the Athletics Department supervise the study halls.
Is there any assessment of success?
None to date
9. 9. Early warning process and follow-up (Tim Hall, Marshall Davis)
What is the early warning process and how does it work?
USCA’s early warning process is initiated by the student athlete’s professor and handled through Advisement Services. The student-athlete is contacted by letter, with copies of that letter going to the professor and the student-athlete’s advisor.
The Athletics Department has an additional early warning process handled by the Associate Athletics Director/NCCA Compliance Officer. Three times each semester, professors with student-athletes in their classes are sent forms requesting attendance records, grades, and comments on the academic performances of their student-athletes. The return rate is usually around 60%. The Associate Director of Athletics/NCAA Compliance Officer compiles the data and makes the information available to the Coaches, most of whom review it. Coaches may choose to follow up with student athletes as they feel warranted.
Is there any assessment of success?
None to date.
1 10. Identification of at risk student athletes (Tim Hall, Marshall Davis, Andrew Hendrix)
What are the criteria and the process for identification of at risk student athletes?
Potential lost of eligibility is the primary criterion for identifying at risk student athletes. Early warning forms and end-of-semester grades, which are reviewed by the Associate Athletics Director/NCAA Compliance Officer, provide some identification of at risk student athletes. The primary means of identifying at risk student athletes is probation.
When is an at-risk student athlete identified?
The first clear identification of at risk student athletes occurs when they are placed on academic probation or suspended. Other indicators include the early warning system administered by the Associate Director of Athletics/NCAA Compliance Officer. Although the Admissions Office knows which in-coming student athletes may be at risk, no process is in place to identify them formally, to notify the Department of Athletics, or to assist them when they matriculate with formula scores suggesting they are at risk. An ASUP 101 course may be suggested by an advisor or a coach, but this represents an individual action and not a planned process. In addition to incomplete identification, no process exists for tracking at risk student athletes until they hit probation or suspension.
What transpires once an at-risk student athlete is identified?
When student athletes are identified as at risk, through the early warning system or the review of end-of-semester grades, the primary responses are for the coaches to motivate the student athletes to study harder and for the Associate Athletics Director/NCAA Compliance Officer to counsel the student athletes about their academic work. It is only when probation occurs that a formal process begins for improving student athletes’ study habits.
Once at risk student athletes are identified through probation, they must follow the Athletics Department’s “Probation Stipulations and Policy” administered by the Associate Athletic Director/NCAA Compliance Officer. This policy is given to all athletes [When?]. It requires the student athletes to write papers explaining why they are on academic probation, the steps they will take and the GPAs they must earn to return to good academic standing. These papers are turned in to the Associate Athletic Director/NCAA Compliance Officer. In addition, each week the student athletes on probation are required to study at least fourteen hours, with eight of those hours in a study hall monitored or approved by the coaches or an athletics administrator. The student athletes must also complete USC Aiken Study Record Forms and turn them in to the Associate Athletic Director/NCAA Compliance Officer with their coaches’ signatures on the forms. In addition, the student athletes must provide their coaches with syllabi for their courses and master calendars, which provide all the due dates for quizzes, papers, projects, and tests. They must also attend a minimum of two workshops sponsored by the Peer Educators, show the Associate Athletics Director/NCAA Compliance Officer drafts of written projects before the assignments are due, and schedule weekly meetings with the Associate Athletics Director/NCAA Compliance Officer to discuss their academic progress. Failure to comply with the various components of the policy may result in suspension from practices and games.
Who has oversight of this process?
The Associate Athletics Directory/NCAA Compliance Officer coordinates the Athletics Department’s academic performance monitoring system and is also responsible for dealing with student athletes on probation.
Spring 2003
8 students (on probation but able to participate in their sport)
8 students agreed to stipulations
2 improved GPA, off academic probation (and have remained off)
5 improved GPA but not enough to be removed from probation
2 were suspended for failure to meet stipulations
1 student agreed to stipulations (improved GPA but not enough to get off probation; stayed in school and continued to improve GPA)
Spring 2004
4 students agreed to stipulations
1 improved GPA, off probation
1 quit team and transferred
1 suspended for not meeting stipulations
1 improved GPA but unable to get off probation (is now off probation)
Out of thirteen students, three students raised their GPAs enough to get off academic probation; seven students improved, but not enough to get off probation; three students were suspended for failing to meet stipulations; and one student quit the team and transferred. (23% success rate)
1. Limited Number of sections
Although it is likely
that student-athletes may have difficulty scheduling the classes they need,
especially courses required for
their majors because of limited sections, the extent to
which this is true has not yet been determined. Student athletes
are provided with priority registration. Unfortunately not all of them take advantage of this opportunity.
Incoming freshmen and transfer students are especially likely to have difficulty scheduling general education courses and courses in their majors because they cannot participate in priority registration in the spring semester.
2. Some classes available only in morning/evening
A review of the
course schedule for the 2004 Fall Semester reveals that most science courses with labs
have morning and
afternoon sections. Smaller labs in upper division science majors are
more limited.
The
business program has limited sections, with many overlapping in times, in most of their
upper division courses. Many
upper level courses are only offered in the late
afternoon. These late afternoon courses apparently became routine during
the
period the School of Business was pursuing an evening degree program.
Because an evening
degree program is no longer a
priority, it may be possible for the School of Business to
alter its scheduling so that student athletes may coordinate their courses
with their
practices and their travel to competition.
3. Mandatory study halls
Most athletic teams require some
mandatory study hall time. Students with strong academic
performance may be excused by
some coaches. (For more explanation, see “Academic Support” [#8])
Rising admission standards and impact on athletic program (Andrew Hendrix)
1. Admission Process (unable to determine admission without applying)
To admit a freshman student to USCA, the Admissions Office applies a formula based upon the student’s SAT scores
and the student’s high school transcript. The formula is such that coaches cannot say with certainty that prospective student
athletes will be admitted
without consulting with the Admissions Office. The Admissions Office does
have a student admissions
model into which they can enter the academic data of
prospective students and quickly determine which student athletes are
likely to qualify for admission, which ones are provisional, and which ones are not likely to be
admitted. Some coaches take
advantage of this system more than others. To the
extent possible, the Admissions Office provides coaches with the
information they need in determining which prospects to pursue.
2. Admission Standards
USCA freshman admission standards are already higher than NCAA eligibility requirements, and the new admission standards will make them still higher. The extent to which these higher standards will affect the recruiting and the admission of student athletes has not been determined.
3. Grade Standards
a. Only the last grade in a course that has been repeated counts at many PBC schools but USCA counts both grades in determining a student’s GPA. This policy means that it is more difficult for student athletes, as well as all students, to counter a low grade when they must retake the course to fulfill a requirement.
b. USCA does not accept Ds for transfer credit, certain general education courses require a C or better to meet the requirement, and most academic units require a C or better in courses in the major. The extent to which this affects student athletes’ eligibility has not been determined.
Summary
1. Academic Success
a.
USCA’s student athletes usually have higher GPAs than the student body in general. The USCA
student athletes’
average GPA over the last five years is 2.725. In 2003-2004, 76% of the
student athletes had a GPA of 3.0+,
40.7% had a GPA between 2.0 and 3.0, and 23.3% had a GPA below 2.0.
b. Individual sports maintain a GPA of 2.0 or better, with a few exceptions. GPAs over the last 10 semesters, show that individual sports are consistent in their academic performance. In that period, only two teams (men’s tennis and women’s volleyball) had a semester in which they fell below 2.0.
c. An examination of team GPAs by season (Fall Season Sports, Dual Season Sports, and Spring Season Sports) for the last five years reveals that student athletes do not perform as well academically when they are in season as they do when they are out of season. Fall season sports performed better in the spring semester 15 times and in the fall semester 5