Section I - Previous Self Study

First Cycle Institutional Plans for Improvement and NCAA required actions

Siena went through its initial NCAA certification self-study process in 1996. The NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification certified the College at its October 19-20, 1997 meeting and required the following action:

1.) Amend the institution's Gender Equity Plan to include a more thorough review of other issues related to gender equity in the intercollegiate athletics program (e.g. promotions, marketing, media guides, travel, per diem, recruiting, equipment, facilities, salaries).

Response: The College amended its Gender Equity Plan and submitted it to the Certification Committee on June 10, 1999. The following goals and objectives were added to the plan.

1.) Increase the number of athletic grants and distribute them in a fair and equitable manner.
a. That both men's and women's basketball teams be fully funded per NCAA regulations.
b. Distribute grants in the College's tier two and three sports in an equitable manner.


2.) Provide services and support that are equitable between male and female teams in order to create a quality experience for all student athletes.
a. Establish equitable uniform replacement budget and cycle.
b. Establish a food per diem to be used by all sports teams when traveling for competition.
c. Provide media guides for all varsity athletic teams in keeping with the College's desired emphasis for each sport.
d. Continue to expand women's basketball marketing efforts.
e. Enhance the recruiting efforts of all spots with a special emphasis on improving the women's basketball recruiting budget.
f. Provide equitable access to strength and conditioning personnel.
g. Provide student athletes access to coaches on an equitable basis.
h. Offer all sports teams equitable access to practice facilities.
i. Provide all sports team a proper competitive space.
j. Provide adequate and equitable locker room space for varsity teams.
k. Provide equitable scheduling opportunities for all varsity sports teams.

3.) Equalize funding between men's and women's basketball
a. To make the supplies and expense budget lines between the two teams equal by 1998-99
b. To make the recruiting budget lines between men's and women's basketball equal by 1999-00

Siena's first cycle self-study process produced the following College Recommendations:

Governance and Commitment to Rules Compliance Recommendations

Institutional Control
Recommendation: Saints Alive! should be developed as a vehicle to educate the Siena boosters about Athletic Department policies, compliance related issues, and NCAA legislation.

Response: The Saints Alive! Newsletter regularly contains a column written by the department's compliance officer. In addition, the Saints Alive! Web page contains a boosters do's and don'ts.

Recommendation: The role and responsibility of the Faculty Athletics Representative should be further defined through the development of a detailed outline of responsibilities.

Response: A written job description was developed in 1997 by the Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR). The FAR reviewed the description with the Director of Athletics and the Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance/Senior Woman Administrator. The President approved the final draft.

Shared Responsibility
Recommendation: The charge of the Campus Committee on Athletics should be expanded and the membership expanded to include the SWA and a representative from the Student Athlete Advisory Council.

Response: In February 1998 the membership of the Committee was expanded to include the SWA and representative from the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. In addition, the charge of the committee was discussed and revised at that time and given approval by the President.

Assignment of Roles-Compliance Responsibilities
Recommendation: There is a need, particularly in the case of transfer student-athletes, for more timely access to student record information in the Registrar's database. Additional information should be included in student records.

Response: The College's information technology system (BANNER) has made student record information and reporting much more efficient and timely. The Assistant AD/Compliance and Athletic Department Academic Advisor have information readily available from the Registrar's database in order to monitor the eligibility of transfer student-athletes.

Recommendation: In order to improve communication between and among all institutional personnel involved in compliance services, annual or semi-annual information meetings should be held to discuss policies, procedures, current NCAA compliance legislation and other common issues of concern.

Response: The Assistant AD/Compliance regularly informs appropriate campus personnel of NCAA rules and regulations. Meetings are held among the Athletics Compliance Office, Enrollment and Planning Office, Registrar and various academic administrative offices to review new NCAA regulations. Meeting generally takes place at the start of the academic year.

Rules-Compliance Accountability
Recommendation: The Compliance Coordinator should work with appropriate campus constituencies to develop a compliance awareness education program for the college community outside the Athletic Department.

Response: The Assistant AD/Compliance works with the Conference Office to sponsor educational sessions with personnel from outside of athletics. The topics have included international recruitment and academic eligibility regulations.

Recommendation: The Compliance Coordinator should develop a discussion of NCAA requirements and Siena's compliance services to be included in game programs.

Response: The Assistant AD/Compliance has distributed information via game programs and other avenues such as the athletics web page and SaintsAlive! Newsletter.

Recommendation: The Compliance Coordinator should work with the Director of Advising to write a section describing the academic eligibility requirements for student-athletes to be included in the college's Faculty Advisement Manual.

Response: The Assistant AD/Compliance forwards the academic eligibility requirements for student-athletes annually to the Assistant VP for Academic Affairs. Requirements have been included in the Faculty Advisement Manual in paper form in the past and more recently on the College's academic advising web page.

Academic Integrity Recommendations

Admissions and Graduation
Recommendation: A system should be established to track the progress of all athletes (non-scholarship and scholarship) on a four and five year basis. A system should be established to track student-athletes who are admitted by special exception.

The Athletic Department should develop a philosophy statement on the graduation goals for student athletes. This should be done after the College develops a similar statement for the entire student population.

Response: The goal of the Athletic Department is to obtain a graduation rate that exceeds that of the general student body. With the implementation of the Banner Information System, the Athletic Department's academic advising office and the Registrar's Office have developed a reporting system to track the academic progress of Siena's student athletes.

Academic Authority
Recommendation: The role and responsibilities of the Faculty Athletics Representative should be further defined relative to the FAR's role in admission of prospective student athletes, certification of eligibility and the evaluation of academic performance.

Response: The above responsibilities are included in the FAR job description developed in 1997.

Scheduling
Recommendation: The Department of Athletics should formally state its policy regarding scheduling of practices and competition.

Response: The Department's policy manual states that travel schedules should be developed to minimize missed class time. In addition, policy is stated that address when teams can leave for games and when they must return. It remains College policy that Siena personnel should not schedule games during final examination periods. Exceptions are made for conference games scheduled through the Conference Office.

Recommendation: The institution should approve and promulgate this policy to all faculty members and administrators.

Response: The athletic conference's policy for missed classes has been discussed with and distributed to the Faculty Athletics Representative, Faculty Committee and Academic Affairs Office. During the spring of 2003, an ad hoc Committee on Athlete Class Attendance was charged with developing guidelines on class attendance and absences for athletes with respect to practices, travel, and participation in competitive events, including post-season play. The recommended guidelines have been reviewed by the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, Committee on Athletics in campus community forums, and by the Board of Instruction.

Recommendation: Each semester the Athletic Department should provide professors with a schedule of practices and competitions for any student athlete in his/her class.

Response: Beginning in 1998 the Athletic Department has tried various models to accomplish this Recommendation. The latest has the department's academic advisor sending faculty members a letter and the student athletes presenting a list of potential class conflicts due to competition and travel.

Recommendation: The Athletic Department Academic Advisor should be made aware of any rescheduled event.

Response: Academic Advisor is included on all scheduling communications.

Recommendation: The Athletic Department and Office of Academic Affairs should study whether a student, majoring in a particular academic field, is prohibited from participating in intercollegiate athletics.

Response: Qualitative analysis indicates that majors that require extensive laboratory experience are difficult for student athletes.

Equity Recommendations

Gender Issues
Recommendation: The Senior Women's Administration (SWA) should schedule regular meetings with the Athletic Department's administrative and coaching staff to discuss issues related to women's sports and gender equity.

Response: Time is available at bimonthly administrative staff meetings and at monthly head coaches' meetings to address any equity issues.

Recommendation: The Title IX Officer should appoint a member of the Athletic Department to monitor compliance with the Gender Equity Plan.

Response: Siena's Title IX officer is the Assistant Vice President for Human Resources and she appointed the Director of Athletics to monitor the Gender Equity Plan.

Recommendation: The Gender Equity Plan should add a section concerning funding parity for men and women's activities.

Response: The addition to the Department's Gender Equity Plan in August 1998 addresses funding issues.

Recommendation: Future marketing efforts should focus on the women's team, which has the best promotional opportunity.

Response: Women's basketball has been identified as that sport. A marketing plan and strategy is developed each year.

Recommendation: Continue to seek corporate sponsorship for women's sports teams

Response: Siena actively seeks corporate sponsorship for its women's basketball program. The Corporate Sales Manager for Siena Basketball constructs sponsor packages that include both men's and women's basketball promotional elements. In addition, the marketing/sports information assistant exclusively solicits women's basketball sponsors.

Minority Issues

Recommendation: The Athletic Department should develop a plan for addressing minority opportunities in intercollegiate athletics at Siena.

Response: An initial plan was approved in 1997. The department has been working with the Enrollment and Planning Office on enhancing minority student athlete recruitment by developing additional strategies.

Recommendation: The student athlete exit interview should be revised to include a question asking students their perceptions of how students from different backgrounds are treated and integrated into a team. In addition, an optional question should be asked regarding the racial/ethnic background of each student athlete.

Response: These questions were added in June 1997.

Student Welfare

Recommendation: The Athletic Director should instruct the coaches that they are responsible for properly communicating to student-athletes the various programs designed for their welfare. The coach should give the SAAC representative time during practice or during the course of a team-related activity to communicate issues raised by SAAC.

Response: Coaches are reminded at staff meetings and through written correspondence of this responsibility. The development of the S.A.IN.T.S. program further reinforces the importance of the SAAC. Coaches are instructed to allow their SAAC representative time during team functions (practices, meetings, travel time) to address their teammates.

Recommendation: A question should be added to the student athlete's exit interview asking if there are any additional educational programs that the student athletes would like to have offered.

Response: Questions were added in June 1997.

Recommendation: The Athletic Department should develop a clear, written policy about the mode of transportation and the amount of per diem expense money to which each team is entitled.

Response: This was done and is reinforced in the Department policy manual. In addition the team's sport administrator is charged with reviewing all travel arrangements and budgets.

Recommendation: The Athletic Director should require the coaches to meet with their teams at the beginning of each season to review the policies of the Athletic Department.

Response: Athletic administrators review campus and department policies with coaches and student-athletes at orientation meetings at the start of the academic year. Coaches, in turn discuss policies with their respective teams when reviewing their team rules each year.

Recommendation: There should be a separate media guide for football, baseball, volleyball, men's and women' soccer, and softball. All other sports should be represented by a composite media publication.

Response: This recommendation was completed in 1999-2000. All tier one sports receive a dedicated media guide. Tier two and three sports received a combination media guide where practical (e.g. men's and women's golf, men's and women's cross country), and when this is not practical a single guide is published. This policy has been updated in 2001 to take advantage of technological advances (e.g. web page and CD Rom).

Recommendation: The current locker room situation should be evaluated by the athletic department to measure the impact an additional women's team (lacrosse) will have on the space. The evaluation should assess the current utilization of space and make equitable recommendation.

Response: This recommendation culminated in the construction of four new team locker rooms in 2002 to accommodate baseball, softball, men's soccer and women's soccer. In addition, space utilization is reviewed once a year and redistributed if necessary.