Clearing Hurdles: Maintaining an Ongoing Relationship between Academic and Athletic Advisors NACADA Conference Denver, CO October 5, 2011 Kevin Jerrolds Hadyn Swecker Mary Kathryn Borland

UAB facts & figures Advising structure Athletic Services Variance of Hurdles Athletic Advising Model Overview of Hurdles

Student Population 17,543 11,028 Undergraduate 49 majors 67 minors Conference USA 17 NCAA Division One Sport Teams Student Athletes each year Public Institution- Carnegie Classification “very high research activity“ University of Alabama at Birmingham

Men Baseball Basketball Football Golf Soccer Tennis Women Basketball Bowling Cross Country Golf Rifle Soccer Softball Tennis Track Sand Volleyball Volleyball Conference USA: Division One Sport Teams

Decentralized School, Major, & Program Professional & Faculty Advisors Varied caseloads & responsibilities Orientation, FYE, group & individual meetings, Jump Start Academic Advising Structure

1 Associate Athletic Director 8 Athletic Academic Advisors 2 Learning Specialists 2 part-time administrative assistants 4 Interns Athletic Advising Structure

Academic Planning and Counseling Academic Progress Review Orientation Book Distribution Program Advising Day Tutoring and Study Hall Academic Mentoring Team Travel Academic Support Jump Start Program Awards GradesFirst Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day Athletic Academic Programming

Athletics Academics Career Development Community Service Personal/Professional Development Life Skills

Catalog/Program Changes Course Offerings/Need Changing Majors Check-Sheets/Paperwork Eligibility Substitutions Requirements & Electives “Major” Hurdles

Academic Preparation Motivation Feasibility of Goals Early Alert “Conditioning & Training” Hurdles

Transfer Students International Students Honors Students High Profile Students DSS Students Conditionally Admitted Students First-generation College Students Population Hurdles

Disregard for Academic Advisor Student Confusion on Roles Coaches Faculty Team Hurdles

Committee Model Development Online Toolkit Model Creation

Academic Advisor Duties Communicating core, major, minor, elective and program changes Access to/awareness of practice schedule Communicating major/course conflicts with practice schedule with athletic advisors Providing athletic advisor with check sheet Aiding students in course selection which will keep student on track to meet degree percentage in selected major/minor Educating students on prerequisites, major, minor, and program requirements Establishing timeline for graduation Keeping updated notes Creating academic plans for warning, probation, suspension Providing academic plans to athletic advisor as needed Athletic Advisor Duties Obtaining and sending practice schedules and other scheduling conflicts to academic advisors Awareness of and communication with academic advisor on timeline for graduation Sharing problems, issues, concerns with academic advisors Awareness of core, major, minor, elective, program information Monitoring student-athlete academic performance Referring to tutoring and mentoring Meeting regularly with coaches to discuss academic performance, sharing ideas/concerns, academic successes, plans for improvement, communicating major/practice/course/timeline conflicts with coaches Referring to outside support i.e. career services Monitoring eligibility and alerting academic advisors as needed Attending Advisor Training Playbook

First Semester Freshman Year: Athletic Advisors

First Semester Freshman Year: Academic Advisors

Subsequent Semesters: Athletic Advisors

Subsequent Semesters: Academic Advisors

Clearing Hurdles: Maintaining an Ongoing Relationship between Academic and Athletic Advisors NACADA Conference Denver, CO October 5, 2011 Kevin Jerrolds Hadyn Swecker Mary Kathryn Borland