January 2005 Presidents Council agenda

REPORT OF THE

NCAA DIVISION III MANAGEMENT COUNCIL MEETING

January 7, 2005

MC SUPPLEMENT NO. 5 DIII – STRATEGIC-PLANNING SUBCOMMITTEE – DIVISION III INITIATIVES UPDATE. Staff Liaisons: Stratten Council Reps: Miranda
*ISSUE: DIII Initiatives 2004-05 Summary.*
*Management Council Action:*
Reviewed the 2004-05 summary noting: 1. FARA grant. The program has been very successful to support DIII FAR attendance at FARA Convention; NCAA Convention and inaugural 2005 pre-Convention orientation program. 2. Student-Athlete Regional Leadership Conference. Discussed changes for new cycle beginning 05-06 noting: compress to four regions and first come attendance to accommodate alternate year attendance; permit attendance by part-time coaches; FARs and more campus administrators; Sarah Dufresne is the new NCAA staff member facilitating these events. Council also noted significant role of SAAC in planning and facilitation of leadership conferences.

*MC SUPPLEMENT NO. 6* DIII - SENIOR WOMAN ADMINISTRATOR (SWA) – DIVISION III RESEARCH. Staff Liaisons: Stallman, Little, Kerns Council Rep: Cushman
	*ISSUE: Division III SWA Seminar.*
	*Management Council Action:* 1. Council reviewed the results of the recent DIII SWA research completed by Bonnie Tiell, Tiffin University and the compilation of results from the 2004 NACWAA Fall Forum roundtable discussions noting: · ADs and SWAs hold different perception of leadership role of SWAs. · Greater education on appropriate role of SWA provided to campus administrators (CEO, senior staff, AD) and conference personnel. · Significant administrative duties assigned to SWA (e.g., personnel; budget; EADA). · Greater clarification/articulation of duties and responsibilities with NCAA definition in NCAA manual (Bylaw change). · Greater educational efforts for conference commissioners to increase involvement of SWAs within conference governance. · Review title of “Assistant and/or Associate” AD as more meaningful. 2. Council agreed to establish an AD Hoc Group of the Management Council to include representatives of the CWA (Cushman); MOIC (Wong); Membership Committee (Strockbine); Commissioner (TBD); and at-large SWA (Dowd), with support from Ann Kearns, NCAA research staff. · Review SWA research in greater detail. · Discuss recommendations from research and SWA Seminar. · Forward concepts to CWA and DIII Membership Committee. · Recommendations forwarded to Council for its April 2005 meeting.

*MC SUPPLEMENT NO. 7* DIII – *FUTURE OF DIVISION III – PHASE II* Staff Liaisons: Dutcher, Belgiovine Council Rep: Coffey
*ISSUE: Membership Survey Results.*
*Management Council Action:*
Reviewed Membership Survey Final Report noting: · 82% response (352 respondents). · Membership mailing to CEO, AD, FAR, SWA, and Commissioners, December 20. · Results will be the focus of the presentation at the Future of Division III – Phase II Forum, Sunday, January 9.

*ISSUE: Virtual Focus Group and Conference/Independent Meetings updates.*
*Management Council Action:* Council members provided update on VFG groups and various meetings noting: · VFG response remains low although communication is key. · Consider sharing conference survey results. · Conference autonomy remains priority. · Membership remains suspicious of agenda and possible legislation despite continued efforts to dispel.

*ISSUE: College Sports Project (CSP) Update.*
*Management Council Action:* Council received an update noting: · Division-wide participation solicitation mailed November 29, 2004, by CSP. Deadline January 12, 2005 to commit to the broad principles of athletic integration and representativeness and become an active participant in CSP’s ongoing efforts to achieve these objectives. · Likely financial commitment/institution over 4 years to participate. Council discussed role of NCAA noting that staff continues to serve beneficial role in advisory capacity.

*ISSUE: Future of Division III – Sunday Forum Agenda.*
*Management Council Action:* Reviewed Forum format; Council expectations for facilitation of roundtable dialogue and logistics. Council noted the intent for broad membership input to create agenda for 2005.

*ISSUE: Timetable.*
*Management Council Action:* Reviewed timeline noting that “next steps” will be discussed at the Council’s post-Convention meeting based on membership feedback at the Sunday Forum, but that broad-based dialogue will remain essential.

MC SUPPLEMENT NO. 17
DIII – BUDGET COMMITTEE

Staff Liaisons: Alstadt-Barnett
Council Rep: Miranda

ISSUE: 2003-04 Budget-to-Actual. Attachment

Committee Recommendation:

Approve the final 2003-04 fiscal year financial results of $14,390,000 in revenue and $12,075,821 in expenses. Expenses were approximately $3,400,000 under budget. Championship expenses came in approximately $2,000,000 under budget as a result of reduced transportation costs. Non-championship initiatives were $1,400,000 under budget. The Student-Athlete Regional Leadership Conferences and the Initiative Grants for Diversity and Membership Education were not fully utilized by the membership this fiscal year. The Division III Financial Aid Division-wide pilot honorarium program was budgeted in 2003-04; however, the majority of the submissions were delayed and will not be paid until 2004-05. These unspent funds have been added back into the Division III reserve for use in future years.

Management Council Action:

Approved the 2003-04 fiscal year budget.

ISSUE: Division III Loss of Revenue Recovery Plan and Insurance. Attachment

Committee Recommendation:

Review the updated financial recovery plan and consider obtaining additional insurance coverage for Division III in the event of a catastrophe causing a loss of revenue. The annual cost to the DIII budget would range between $112,500 to $225,000 for coverage ranging from $8 to $10 million.

Management Council Action:

Charge Budget Committee to move forward and pursue specific additional insurance coverage figures for action at its April 2004 meeting effective for the 2005-06 budget.

ISSUE: 2004-05 Budget-to-Actual. Attachment

Committee Action:

The first quarter results include $15,445,000 in revenue and $2,245,235 in expenses. Please note that the Financial Aid Education expenses for this year will also reflect the delayed honorarium payments from 2003-04. This is the first year for the new mandated reserve level of $1,500,000.

Management Council Action:

Accepted the information.

ISSUE: 2004-05 and 2005-06 Biennial Budget. Attachment

Committee Action:

The 2005-06 budget reflects the nonchampionships reallocations approved by the Management and Presidents Councils. These reallocations include $25,000 for the addition of the Division-wide Sportsmanship Initiative, a $50,000 reduction in the Initiative Grant-Diversity, a $50,000 reduction in the Initiative Grant-Membership Education, a $75,000 increase in Initiative Grant-Student-Athlete Welfare, a $27,000 increase in the Conference Technology Grant and a $27,000 reduction in the STARR program. The 2005-06 Championship budget also includes $1,500,000 for team sport automatic qualification enhancements.

Management Council Action:

Accepted the information.

ISSUE: Eight-year Revenue and Expense Projections. Attachment

Committee Action:

This schedule includes the results and projections from 2002 through 2010. The projected reserve balance in 2010 is $8,145,479. The Championships Committee is working on initiatives to enhance the quality of championships, including enhancements to the student-athlete experience that may reduce that reserve level over the next several years.

Management Council Action:

Accepted the information.

ISSUE: Budget Timeline.

Committee Action:

Inflationary adjustments or reallocations for the 2005-06 budget must be submitted to the national office finance staff by January 31. The Executive Committee will approve the 2005-06 budget during its August meeting.

Management Council Action:

Accepted the information.

MC SUPPLEMENT NO. 19
DIII – Financial Aid and Awards Committee

Staff Liaisons: Quigg, Peal
Council Rep: Feezell

ISSUE: Amend NCAA Bylaw 15.4.1.1 (Annual Electronic Report)

Committee Recommendation:

Amend NCAA Bylaw 15.4.1.1 (annual electronic report) to specify that an institution’s failure to submit the annual report by the due date established by the Financial Aid and Awards Committee and approved by the Management Council will result in a loss of eligibility for championships and grant programs. The champs penalty and waivers will be handled by championships staff; the grant penalty by the governance staff.

Management Council Action:

Agreed to adopt noncontroversial legislation. Council noted that notification will be sent to CEO, financial aid administrators and directors of athletics.

ISSUE: Restricted Membership Status – Failure to Submit Annual Report.

Committee Recommendation:

Request the Membership Committee review whether an institution that fails to submit its annual report should be moved to restricted membership status to reinforce the importance of the requirement for annual submission consistent with Constitution 3.2.4.1 and 3.2.5.1.

Management Council Action:

Approved the recommendation.

ISSUE: Financial Aid Review Reporting Timeline.

Committee Recommendation:

Amend the reporting timeline to July 1 to September 30. The committee reviewed the timeline based on information from the division-wide pilot; annual notification of institutions required to submit justifications; and workload and research needs. It determined that moving the window from June 15 – November 1 to July 1 – September 30 was most appropriate.

Management Council Recommendation:

Approve the recommendation.

Presidents Council Action:

ISSUE: Acceptable Variance between Gift Aid Awards for Student-Athletes and Other Students.

Committee Recommendation:

Support a model that defines gift aid as “total institutional gift aid based on the lowest estimate of bias” and a threshold variance of four percent. Based on the pilot results, the four percent threshold would result in approximately 10 percent of the division’s membership with bias estimate requiring further justification.

Management Council Recommendation:

Approve the recommendation.

Presidents Council Action:

ISSUE: Annual Electronic Reporting Process – Review of the 2004 Division-Wide Pilot Results.

Committee Action:

1. Submission Numbers. It was reported that 227 institutions participated in the 2004 division-wide pilot, which included 157,872 student records. The breakdown of the records included 17 percent student-athletes and 83 percent other students. The sample reflected statistical significance and was a representative of the division in relation to the cost of attendance; campus enrollment; and private versus public factors.

2. Honorarium Update. It was reported that 88 institutions requested the $1,000 honorarium. It was also noted there were technical problems with the delivery of automatic e-mails to chief executive officers regarding the honorarium, possibly caused by institutions’ spam filters. The committee agreed that institutions that submitted data by November 1 will be contacted to apply for the honorarium. The committee further agreed that institutions reporting after November 1 will be contacted to apply for the honorarium if an institution experienced technical problems or if the chief executive officer believed they were eligible for the honorarium if the data was submitted
after November 1.

Management Council Action:

Accepted the information.

ISSUE: Review of the 2004 Division-Wide Pilot Findings – Suggested Changes for 2005.

Committee Action:

The committee reviewed the 2004 division-wide pilot findings.

1. Submission process.

a. Institutions will be permitted to submit data via e-mail, CD-ROM or the Financial Aid Data Management Systems (FADMS) during full implementation of the financial aid reporting process; and

b. The committee directed staff to include case studies in the Users Manual, located in the FADMS that will include narratives drafted by institutions that participated in the division-wide pilot.

2. Reporting Issues.

a. The Combination of Zero Need and/or Zero Gift Aid. Institutions must continue to report students who have zero need and/or zero gift aid. This group will be accounted for by the use of a specific statistical model.

b. Accounting for Students Who Do Not File a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Institutions must continue to report students who do not file a FAFSA; however, these students will be separated in all reporting.

c. Definition of the Relevance and Accuracy of the Total Financial Aid Award and Work Study Variables. Eliminated the category of total financial aid award from the report. Institutions will only submit gift aid and federal work study and/or campus employment, if awarded by the financial aid office, for each student-athlete and other students. Reporting of work study will be in two separate columns, federal work study and/or campus employment, if awarded by the financial aid office. These variables will be captured as yes/no questions.

3. Report Format.

a. Revisions to the Institution Report Format. The issue of in-state and out-of-state financial aid for public institutions. The committee noted that this issue will be addressed as a justification.

b. The committee directed staff to amend FADMS so the report will reflect institutional contact information, the name of the individual(s) that completed the report and the name of the individual(s) responsible for the report.

4. Review Process – Filters for Staff and Committee Review of Data. The committee agreed to use the following filters for review of institutions that have a statistical bias that suggests a need for closer examination:

a. Proportionality test (proportion of student-athletes of entering class compared to proportion of total institutional gift aid awarded to student-athletes);

b. Statistical issues (e.g., sample size, confidence interval);

c. Historical review;

d. Proportion of student-athletes in incoming class;

e. Gift aid as proportion of cost of attendance;

f. Packaging methodology; and

g. Additional considerations (e.g., financial need bracket assessment, sport-by-sport breakdown assessment).

The committee agreed to review the filters on an annual basis and make necessary adjustments.

5. Communication of Final Reports to Institutions. The committee agreed on the following methods of communication during full implementation of the financial aid review process:

a. Each institution with a statistically significant variance will receive written notice of bias. However, not all of these institutions will be required to go through the formal review and justification process.

b. Bias estimates should be included in the preliminary reports available to institutions after initial upload.

c. The final report, including the bias estimate, will be sent to institutions not later than December 31.

d. A memorandum will be sent to those institutions that need to submit justifications.

It was noted that the division-wide pilot was confidential, and served as a self-assessment tool to assist the committee in determining an acceptable variance. The committee agreed it is the institution’s discretion to share and discuss reports with its conference office through financial aid administrators and chief executive officers. The committee noted that the national office can serve as the clearinghouse for the conference aggregate data and compare such data to the national aggregate, if requested.

Management Council Action:

Accepted the information. Council requested the committee to consider including the director of athletics in all communication regarding the entire financial aid reporting process (e.g., memorandums, reports, notifications).