Athletes in the University of North Carolina system are getting more academic attention thanks to a new task force initiated by President Ross of the University of North Carolina System.
The task force is a very new idea that came about in response to some of the issues that UNC schools have been having with athletics and academics in recent years.
“The intersection of athletics and academics is very important to the UNC System. We want our athletes to have the best experience from both perspectives,” said Philip Rogers, the chief of staff for the ECU Chancellor’s office.
ECU Chancellor Steve Ballard is the chair of this new task force. According to Hannah Gage, a member of the UNC System Board of Governors, the two main goals of the task force are to identify and prioritize institutional risks in intercollegiate athletics as related to academic integrity and NCAA compliance, and to review and propose the best practices related to these risks with special emphasis on academic support and tutoring for student athletes.
“It is vital that all student athletes stay closely tuned to academics, because it is the primary reason that they are at college,” Rogers said.
According to Rogers, there will be six working groups that deal with various issues concerning academics and athletics. The first group will focus on the admissions process for students who need assistance for academic success in college. Another group will focus on the definition of academic success for the UNC system. A third group will work on training, mentoring, character development, and creating ethical standards for student athletes. A fourth group will be concerned with the selection and training of people who will offer academic support and tutoring for student athletes. The fifth group will work on the organizational structure of compliance for athletics and academic support. The last work group will focus on improving oversight in the system.
“We are still a very new organization, but we are planning on having a very aggressive meeting schedule,” Rogers said.
The task force is eventually going to work with the UNC System Board of Governors to make policy changes regarding the initiative to protect academics and student athletes. The task force is expected to forward a list of recommendations to the President of the Board early this summer and the Board will make changes based on these recommendations, Gage said.
“Being able to identify ways we can support and train athletes to make sure they succeed in class and on the field is why this is important,” Rogers said.
It remains to be seen exactly what changes will come about due to the coming changes in policy that the Board of Governors will be making. More information will be available as the initiative progresses. What is clear at the moment is that the new task force wants to help athletes be as successful in their academic endeavors as possible.
“I think it’s great that we’re focused on keeping a good balance between academics and athletics. A lot of these athletes are on scholarships, so not doing well in school makes us all look bad. Hopefully this will help with that,” said Devon Smiley, a freshmen in the college of management.
