Oversight of Intercollegiate Athletics At Western Michigan University

Mission of the Athletic Board The primary purpose of the Athletic Board is to serve as an oversight body assuring institutional commitment to the missions of academics, athletics and student well-being. Student-athletes are particularly encouraged and welcomed to express their concerns about the vitality of the relationship between academics and athletics at WMU. The input of the faculty, staff, and other members of the university community is integral to the Athletics Board; all are encouraged to submit questions or comments to the chair.

Academic Progress Rate (APR)  The Academic Progress Rate measures how scholarship student-athletes are performing each semester by analyzing eligibility and retention. It is a composite team measurement based upon how individual team members do academically. Teams that don’t make an APR benchmark of 930 over a four-year rolling period are subject to sanctions.  Western Michigan University had no team below a 950 APR score for the reporting year and will again have no team below that standard when figures are publicly released by the NCAA later this spring.

Graduation Success Rates:  The Graduation Success Rate, similar to the Federal Graduation Rate, starts with all freshmen who enter college in a given year. This rate varies from the federal rate in that it excludes those student-athletes who leave the institution in good academic standing and includes those who transfer into the institution.  The most recent graduation rate figures released by the NCAA are for the entering class of The four-year rate for the entering classes of 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, show a student-athlete graduation success rate of 81%. No campus student body rate is computed as a comparison. For all Division I institutions, the graduation success rate is also 80%.

Federal Graduation Rates:  The Federal Graduation Rate is compiled by the U.S. Department of Education and is used as an indicator of academic success for college student-athletes. It measures the percentage of first-time, full-time freshman who graduate within six years of entering their original four-year institution.  The most recent graduation rate figures released by the NCAA are for the entering class of The four-year rate for the entering classes of 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 show a student-athlete rate of 68% and a student body rate of 54%.

Current Athletes:

Ethnicity

College of Enrollment

Ten Most Common Majors of Upper class (Junior/ Senior) Student- Athletes:  Accountancy  Biomedical Science/ Biology  Criminal Justice  Exercise Science  Finance  Interdisciplinary  Management  Marketing  Organizational Communication  Recreation

Oversight Committee Purpose A Athletic Academic Services Oversight Committee meets annually to review athletic academic services programming and outcomes, grade point averages of student-athletes, graduation rates, academic progress rates, and notable campus and national issues. The chairperson provides a report to the Athletic Board in April of each year stating that services have been reviewed and approved (or not approved) in compliance with NCAA Bylaw

Current Committee Members:  Mike Miller (Chair), Human Performance and Health Education (Athletic Board Member)  Lisa DeChano-Cook, Geography (Athletic Board Member)  Dan Jacobson, Music  Kevin Knutson, College of Arts and Sciences Advising  Paul Hildenbrand, Haworth College of Business Advising  Hal Bates, Haworth College of Business Recruitment and Retention (Athletic Board Member)  Randy Ott, Center for Academic Success Programs

2012 TOP TEN Male and Female Senior Scholar-Athletes  Rachel Denny (Tennis, Biomedical Sciences)  Amanda Fenton (Track, Elementary Education)  Leah Grawburg (Golf, Biology)  Stacy Kramer (Gymnastics, Biology)  Briana May (Golf, Exercise Science)  John Potter (Football, Finance)  Courtney Rousseau (Softball, Civil Engineering)  Jennifer Tschetter (Softball, Psychology)  Mitch Zajac (Football, Mechanical Engineering)  Taylor Zondervan (Gymnastics, Exercise Science)

Fall 2011 Academic Data Fall 2011 Average G.P.A Men’s Overall2.98 Women’s Overall3.35 Total Average G.P.A.3.15