Purdue Athletics begins yearlong NCAA certification process
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University has begun the process to gain recertification for its intercollegiate athletics program from the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Specific areas reviewed in the certification process are commitment to rules compliance, academic integrity and equity and student-athlete well-being, said Morgan Burke, Purdue's director of intercollegiate athletics.
Within each area to be studied are standards, called operating principles, which were adopted by the NCAA to place a benchmark by which all Division I members are evaluated.
Institutions benefit by increasing campus-wide awareness and knowledge of the athletics programs, confirming its strengths and developing plans to improve areas of concern, Burke said.
While academic accreditation is common in athletics and universities, the NCAA program focuses solely on certification of athletics programs. Since 1997, the NCAA requires all Division I schools to complete a full athletics certification process every 10 years.
Purdue initially was certified in August 1999.
Purdue president Martin C. Jischke has appointed a certification steering committee chaired by Vic Lechtenberg, vice provost for engagement. Lechtenberg will be joined by subcommittee chairs Dennis Depew, dean of the College of Technology (commitment to rules compliance); Michael Harris, interim associate dean and professor of chemical engineering (academic integrity); and Joyce Hall, executive director, Division of Financial Aid (equity and student-athlete well-being).
Purdue's self-study will be completed by May 1, 2007. Once the university concludes its study, a three-person external team of reviewers assigned by the NCAA will conduct a two-day minimum evaluation visit on campus in the fall of 2007. The reviewers will be peers from other colleges, universities or conference offices. That team will report to the independent NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification, which subsequently will determine the institution's certification status and announce the decision publicly in the spring of 2008.
Questions regarding the certification process can be addressed to Lechtenberg or any of the three subcommittee chairs.
Writer: Tom Schott, interim assistant athletics director, (765) 494-3145, tschott@purdue.edu
Sources: Morgan Burke, director of intercollegiate athletics, (765) 494-3189, mjb@purdue.edu
Vic Lechtenberg, (765) 494-9095, vll@purdue.edu
Ed Howat, associate athletics director, (765) 494-6069, eghowat@purdue.edu
Dennis Depew, (765) 494-2552, ddepew@purdue.edu
Joyce Hall, (765) 494-5090, jjhall@purdue.edu
Michael Harris, (765) 494-0963, mtharris@purdue.edu
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