Report: Student-athletes doing well academically

Student-athletes at GCSU are not just having success on the field of play, but they also appear to be doing well in the classroom.

An annual report to the Student Affairs Policy Committee last week indicated that the student-athletes are matching and surpassing the general student population in terms of grade point average. The report was presented at the meeting by Dr. Ken Farr, a professor of economics and the faculty athletic representative at GCSU.

According to the report, for the 2008-09 academic year, GCSU student-athletes accumulated an overall GPA of 3.077 compared to a 3.027 GPA put up by the general student population. GCSU also had the highest percentage of its student-athletes on the 2008-09 Peach Belt Conference Presidential Honor Roll. The Presidential Honor Roll recognizes all the student-athletes at member institutions who maintain a GPA of 3.0 of higher for the academic year. Out of the 160 student athletes at GCSU, 92 of them made this list. There were 24 Gold scholars (3.75-4.0), 21 Silver Scholars (3.50-3.74), 26 Bronze Scholars (3.25-3.49) and 21 Presidential Scholars (3.0-3.24).

“We’re very pleased with the report that came out,” Athletic Director Wendell Staton said. “Excellence in academics and athletics has become the standard, and we’re looking to continue that.”

The role of the F.A.R. at each NCAA-member institution is to ensure that the academic institution establishes and maintains the appropriate balance between academics and intercollegiate athletics. As the university F.A.R., Farr has a list of responsibilities that include resolving any conflicts with student athletes and faculty as well as being an advisor on academics for coaches and recommending actions to strengthen the relations between the athletic department and faculty.

“I’ve learned a lot in the last couple years with this job, and I try to make sure the integrity of the institution and its relationship with athletics is ensured,” Farr said.

According to Farr’s reporter, GCSU has also seen an increase in both the freshman-cohort graduation rates and in the student-athlete academic success rate. The former measures students who enter college for the first time and graduate within six years while remaining full-time students. That rate has increased from 48 percent for student-athletes, as opposed to 47 percent for the general student population, to 68 percent for student-athletes, as opposed to 42 percent for the general population in the last year.

“We’re very proud of all of them,” Farr said. “As the F.A.R., I want to raise the profile of these students around campus. They’re good kids and don’t get enough notoriety.”

The student-athlete academic success rate, which adds transfer students, second-term enrollees and those freshmen who did not receive athletic aid, was 88 percent for student-athletes at GCSU, up from 84 percent in the last audit.

“(The student-athlete academic success rate) expands the definition on who is eligible for being included in the graduation rate,” Farr said. “It includes students who may have left and then came back later for whatever reason.”

All five men’s and all five women’s sports at GCSU earned some sort of academic recognition in addition to performing well in athletics. Several of the teams were also awarded and acknowledged for their sportsmanship and community service.

“We want to make sure that being a part of athletics and is positive, and that these students’ work is seen as a service,” Farr added. “The athletes and coaches both are doing a very good job.”

Posted by Scotty Thompson on Mar 19 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry