Sports to be recertified by NCAA

Inspection is routine for all Division I schools Instead of evaluating students, University administrators are preparing to grade themselves. The University has been informed that it needs to be recertified by the NCAA, according to Senior Associate Athletic Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich. Every five years, each NCAA Division I institution must be recertified in accordance with the standards and operating principles adopted in the 1993 NCAA convention. The process involves 12 to 14 months of in-depth self-study in four areas: commitment to rules compliance, academic integrity, fiscal integrity and commitment to gender equity. The University will be asked questions regarding the graduation rates of athletes compared to non-athletes, in addition to the University's admissions process. The University's orientation visit by an NCAA representative is scheduled for February 1996. "I think we're going to learn a lot about ourselves," Femovich said. "It should broaden campus awareness about what athletics is at Penn." A steering committee will be formed to prepare reports for the upcoming orientation visit, Femovich said. The committee will include University President Judith Rodin, Provost Stanley Chodorow, Athletic Director Steve Bilsky and other senior administrators. Several subcommittees will also be formed to address various issues and provide information for the NCAA report, Femovich added. They will consist of students, coaches and faculty. According to Ivy League Senior Associate Director Carolyn Campbell, Dartmouth College and Yale University are both scheduled to have their orientation visits this month. Columbia University is also nearing the completion of its recertification process, Campbell added. Last June, Columbia athletic administrators met with their Ivy League counterparts to discuss their experience with the process up to that point. "At Columbia, they say the experience has been very positive and has given other departments of the university an opportunity to see what goes on behind athletics," Campbell said. Being able to confer with someone who has a comparable program has been helpful to the other Ivy League universities, she added. According to Femovich, the University is already in a good position for its upcoming evaluation. "I think we're ahead of the game," she said. Femovich said that considering the Title IX settlement negotiated this semester, the University should be in a good position in the area of commitment to gender equity. At the conclusion of the evaluation process, an institution can be either certified, not certified or conditionally certified pending suggested institutional changes. "I don't believe that anything happening on Ivy campuses are a cause for concern by themselves," Campbell said. The University's certification process will be completed in April 1997.