{"83561":{"#nid":"83561","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Moves Forward on NCAA Academic Reforms this Fall","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENew measures designed to improve the graduation rates of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I student-athletes became effective this fall, creating a new academic profile that prospects and enrolled athletes must meet to earn the privilege of participating in intercollegiate athletics.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We aren\u0027t guessing at what the results from these standards will be,\u0022 said Robert Hemenway, chairman of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors and vice chancellor of the University of Kansas, when the reform proposal was announced this past year.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022If you continue to meet the academic profile in your first, second, third, fourth and fifth year, you will be on track to graduate,\u0022 Hemenway said. \u0022If you don\u0027t meet the academic profile, you won\u0027t be participating in college sports.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe new academic reforms include, among other things, provisions that require incoming freshmen student-athletes to earn six hours of academic credit each semester for a total of at least 18 semester hours each academic year.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEarning those course hours comes in addition to a freshman football player\u0027s schedule, for example, which on a typical Wednesday includes a mandatory, 30-minute study-hall session beginning at 7:15 a.m.; a team meeting for an hour and 45 minutes in the afternoon; football practice for two hours and 15 minutes; and another mandatory study hall session at 7:45 p.m. -- for as long as needed -- through 10 p.m. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJim Stevens -- director of academic services for the Georgia Tech Athletic Association -- and his staff of seven advisers have been charged with the task of implementing the new academic reforms this fall. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s a fact that our student-athletes have a lot on their plates. They\u0027re going to have stresses put on them,\u0022 Stevens said. \u0022[The academic reforms] require us to be more precise in the course options we line up for the student-athletes, and they\u0027ve all got to work at it. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022But I don\u0027t want any of our student-athletes treated differently than any other student at Georgia Tech,\u0022 he said. \u0022My expectations are high for them. I expect them to be at class and to be prepared for that class. They should, in fact, be able to contribute to the class.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStevens said the new NCAA academic requirements will be rigorous for Georgia Tech\u0027s student-athletes, but he has full confidence that they will rise to the challenge. The new \u002240-60-80 rule,\u0022 in particular, will be tough on Tech\u0027s freshmen athletes, he said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis reform states that, in order to compete, student-athletes must earn 40 percent of their degree requirements by the beginning of their third year of enrollment; 60 percent by the beginning of their fourth year; and 80 percent by the beginning of their fifth year. The new 40-60-80 split applies to incoming freshman athletes for 2003; current sophomore athletes and above may still compete under the previous 25-50-70 percentage split.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It will be tough, because there\u0027s a relatively small number of majors for students to pursue at Georgia Tech compared to other Atlantic Coast Conference schools, and all the majors here are demanding,\u0022 Stevens said. \u0022In a sense, [the new reforms] will be tougher on our student-athletes. We have great courses that are truly demanding, and our student-athletes don\u0027t have a large number of free electives to choose for their course loads.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut, the 40-60-80 rule also makes academic advising more straight-forward and somewhat easier in terms of tracking student-athlete progress toward their degree. That\u0027s because every course student-athletes take must be applicable to their degree, Stevens said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech President Wayne Clough, a member of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors, has put his full support behind the new academic reforms.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I have always expected, and will continue to expect, that our coaches will work with Jim Stevens and our academic support personnel in a coordinated fashion to ensure that student-athletes have the opportunity to meet the challenges of a Tech education and make steady progress toward graduation,\u0022 Clough said. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I also expect our student-athletes to achieve at an academic level comparable to that of the average of the student body, including remaining on track for graduation,\u0022 he said. \u0022That is why our academic support services are so important. They are important to the performance of our athletes and they are important for the ultimate mission of the Institute. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Credible and competent academic support enhances the experience of our student athletes and upholds the rigorous academic excellence of Georgia Tech,\u0022 Clough said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENCAA President Myles Brand, another supporter of the reforms, said the best way to protect and enhance the values of college sports is to ensure the academic success of all student-athletes. The current academic reform movement under way in NCAA Division I, he said, is key in that regard.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The new initial-eligibility and progress-toward-degree standards are going to yield results,\u0022 he said. \u0022Graduation rates are going to rise. The increase to 16 core courses will produce better-prepared freshmen. And the requirements for enrolled student-athletes will result in genuine progress toward a specific degree and not just the false success of merely sustaining eligibility.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt Tech, Stevens has implemented several new checks-and-balances in the academic advising process, and he also plans to implement several new forms of documentation to track the process, he said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAcademic advisers will continue to make sure the courses student-athletes choose are applicable to their degree, and athletes will be encouraged to take courses in their proper sequence as much as possible, Stevens said. Advisers also will perform checks to make certain student-athletes attend classes, and reports will be provided to coaches.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition, athletes will continue to attend study hall sessions as required by the guidelines Stevens has established with Tech coaches. But a new system is in place to ensure that student-athletes meet their objectives for each session.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022What I\u0027m interested in is that they come into study hall with a goal that they want to accomplish by the end of their session,\u0022 Stevens said. \u0022They have a sign-in sheet, and they must fill out that objective when they come in for their study session. Their work is checked when they\u0027re done, and they are quizzed to see that they\u0027ve met that goal.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I\u0027m excited about the fall,\u0022 he said. \u0022The Georgia Tech Athletic Association has some great people working with the student-athletes. This is an exciting job, because we can really have an impact in a kid\u0027s life.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"New measures designed to improve the graduation rates of student-athletes became effective this fall, creating a new academic profile that prospects and enrolled athletes must meet to earn the privilege of participating in intercollegiate athletics.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2003-09-03 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:02:06","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2003-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2003-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"83571":{"id":"83571","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets","body":null,"created":"1449178095","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:15","changed":"1475894700","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:00"}},"media_ids":["83571"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/theacc.ocsn.com\/","title":"Atlantic Coast Conference"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ncaa.org\/","title":"National Collegiate Athletic Association"},{"url":"http:\/\/ramblinwreck.ocsn.com\/","title":"Georgia Tech Athletics Association"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["matthew.nagel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}