January 27, 2005

TO: FROM: RE:

Division III Presidents and Chief Executive Officers

Eugene M. Tobin for the College Sports Project Coordinating Committee Progress Report

We write to thank those of you who have responded to our invitation to participate in the College Sports Project. Though the time frame by which we asked for your response was relatively short, given end-of-semester obligations, the holidays, and the NCAA convention, to date, we have received positive replies from 80 colleges and universities, and 20 institutions have declined the opportunity to participate.

Our first order of business, then, is to encourage those presidents from whom we have not heard to advise us of your wishes (please see attached response form) at your earliest convenience. The second, equally important, reason for this message is to provide more information about the "representativeness" and "integration" initiatives previously described in our report, Athletics and the Academy.

We are pleased to report that plans are underway for the esp's pilot institute on integration to be held on June 21-22, 2005 at Washington University in S1. Louis. Ten institutions representing the geographic, public-private, and cultural diversity of

Division III will be invited to send presidential-led teams (senior administrators, athletic directors, coaches, and faculty members) to a seminar aimed at developing a set of "best

practices" that can be implemented on home campuses. The curriculum will cover such topics as campus-wide integration and communication, student-athletes'

"representati veness," and a host of issues relating to the hiring practices, performance reviews, and professional development opportunities for athletic staff. Institute faculty will be drawn from acknowledged experts with a proven talent for sharing their ideas in an engaging, dynamic, and thought-provoking manner.

Recent conversations with presidents, deans, provosts, athletic directors, coaches, faculty members, student athletes, and conference commissioners convince us that presenting this progress report as a series of "frequently asked questions" might be a good place to start. If the following information fails to address some of your specific concerns, please feel free to contact us directly.

1) What does participation in the College Sports Project mean?

On a philosophical level, participation represents a commitment to two core principles: (1) athletes are first and foremost students; they should be "representative" of all other students, particularly in terms of academic outcomes and opportunities for engagement in campus activities; and (2) intercollegiate athletic programs must be properly aligned with colleges' and universities' primary missions; this requires the integration of coaches and athletic administrators into the mainstream of campus educational life, as well as the cultivation of greater faculty understanding of the potential educational values of athletic programs.

On a practical level, participating institutions will share data that measure several dimensions of their student athletes' "representativeness" (see below), and pursue "integration" activities that address campus-wide communication and decision making, as well as hiring practices, performance reviews, and professional development opportunities for coaches and athletic administrators.

2) What is the purpose behind creation of the CSP database?

Our primary purpose in creating this database is to enable participating colleges and universities to quantify student athletes' academic outcomes in terms of their "representativeness," and to track institutional progress over time. As we explain below, these data will not be used to "police" institutional behavior, but rather to provide data that the president and other campus leaders may find helpful in meeting institutional goals. Responsible tracking of data measuring outcomes that colleges and universities care about is increasingly recognized as a "best practice" in higher education, and we view the database as valuable in this light. Our experience suggests that research is an important tool, not only for uncovering shortcomings and monitoring trends, but also for documenting and communicating successes. We are optimistic that this database will serve such a purpose, and we encourage institutions to share data at the conference level and among other mutually respected subgroups.

3) What kind of data are we talking about?

We have identified two levels of measurement: Tier I variables will measure academic outcomes (such as class rank and graduation rates). Tier II variables, which are input or admission measures (test scores, grades and secondary school class rank), will be helpful in assessing the degree to which any differences in academic outcomes for athletes are linked to differences in their entering qualifications. Participating institutions will be expected, whenever possible, to contribute student-level data on Tier I and Tier II variables for student cohorts in two stages-shortly after matriculation (for example, first semester 2005), and then again at the end of four years. Rather than wait for a full cycle to pass, participating institutions will be encouraged to share data retrospectively for members of the current senior class.

Although we recognize that there are a number of other important educational measures that institutions may wish to study (such as students' participation in campus cultural activities, study abroad, community service, internships, and senior projects), our instincts are to limit the focus of centralized data management, especially at the outset of this project, and perhaps indefinitely, to clear, unambiguous academic outcomes. We would encourage colleges and universities to examine other optional variables on their own. Of course, we could expand this focus over time to include more of these data if our participating institutions thought this was desirable and feasible.

4) Where will the database be maintained?

Subject to final approval by the Trustees of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the center for data collection and analysis will be housed at Northwestern University, a major research university (and NCAA Division I member) experienced with the design, maintenance, and security of complex databases.

5) What is the data center's role? What kind ofreporling will occur?

The center will receive and analyze raw data from participating institutions and provide confidential reports back to each college and university based on the information submitted. These reports will also include data that benchmark the institution's results to those of all participants. Upon request, the center will provide reports for conferences or other subgroups, but only with the unanimous consent of the institutions in the subgroup. The center will periodically prepare public reports summarizing broad trends in various measures of representativeness. Presidents will determine the groups within the institution (other administrators, faculty members, trustees, etc.) that will have access to these statistical reports. Beyond the level of the individual institution (which will, of course, have access to its own data), the College Sports Project will only report statistical findings that are aggregated over multiple institutions.

6) How will confidentiality be maintained?

We recognize that building trust in a responsible, professional manner requires a keen understanding of institutional sensitivities about the nature of the data being shared.

The following confidentiality principles will apply:

a. Persons conducting the analyses on the CSP database (Northwestern

University staff) will be required to sign confidentiality agreements.

b. Data will be stored and analyzed in a password or similarly protected environment at an institution that is not a member of Division ill. (As noted, we are in the process of negotiating an arrangement with Northwestern University.)

c. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will be the initial manager/owner of the CSP database, with transfer to or shared management with the Spencer Foundation anticipated in the short term.

d. Should a participating institution wish to discontinue involvement in the project, it has the right to remove its institutional data from the CSP database.

e. Periodic reports on broad trends will use aggregate data such that

individuals and individual institutions cannot be identified.

7) Who will have operational and policy-making responsibility?

A Technical Advisory Group chosen for its members' expertise in institutional and survey research, and chaired by John Emerson, Charles A. Dana Professor of Mathematics and Dean of Planning at Middlebury College, will oversee the design of the database and will work closely with senior institutional researchers

at Northwestern University to develop detailed specifications of the study variables. A Board of Advisors representing presidents, provosts, athletic

directors, faculty, and coaches will have ultimate authority on all policy matters relating to access and distribution of the data. Michael McPherson, former president of Macalester College and President of the Spencer Foundation, will serve as chair.

8) Will scholars have access to the database in thefuture?

Down the road, should the data collection center gain the confidence and respect

of participating Division III colleges and universities sufficient to sustain its operation beyond an initial five-year period, the database may prove to have broader value to the scholarly community. We do not wish to foreclose this possibility even though it is not a priority at this time. Indeed, we have

determined that no scholarly use will be made of the data during the first five years of the data center's operation, and any future use would depend on general agreements as to the desirability of such research, and would be subject to rigorous confidentiality obligations.

9) What is the future of the College Sports Project beyond the five-year commitment of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation?

This decision will be up to the participating institutions. If the integration initiatives and the reports of the data analysis center prove valuable and worth sustaining, the CSP might evolve into a legal entity responsive to the goals and interests of individual colleges and universities, and capable of seeking further funding. Alternatively, it is conceivable that the NCAA or another organization interested in strengthening the relationship between athletics and educational values might be interested in assuming leadership. It is also important to note that the future costs of maintaining the data center will depend greatly on the frequency of data collection and analysis. It is very likely that after a solid start, participants may wish to scale data collection and analysis back to an every other year cycle.

I am sure that there are many other questions that these comments may stimulate. We look forward to your reactions and observations. A response form has also been attached for your convenience.

Sincerely,

Eugene M. Tobin

Eugene M. Tobin

Program Officer

Liberal Arts Colleges Program

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

140 East 62nd Street

New York, NY 10021

emt@mellon.org

(212) 500-2474 (Direct) (646) 274-6316 (Fax)