Development of a freshman and transfer student athlete orientatio

Rowan University Rowan Digital Works Theses and Dissertations 5-1-2001 Development of a freshman and transfer student athlete orientation program at Rowan University Michael D Jefferson Rowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd Part of the Higher Education Administration Commons Recommended Citation Jefferson, Michael D., "Development of a freshman and transfer student athlete orientation program at Rowan University" (2001) Theses and Dissertations 1573 https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1573 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Rowan Digital Works It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Rowan Digital Works For more information, please contact graduateresearch@rowan.edu DEVELOPMENT OF A FRESHMAN AND TRANSFER STUDENT ATHLETE ORIENTATION PROGRAM AT ROWAN UNIVERSITY By Michael Jefferson A Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts Degree of The Graduate School Rowan University May 1, 2001 App b Date Approved essor 5/ 1/ ABSTRACT Michael D Jefferson Development of A Freshman And Transfer Student Athlete Orientation Program May 1, 2001 Dr James Coaxum Higher Education Administration Many college student athletes fail to attain degrees Academically, students struggle to maintain the minimum academic requirements to remain enrolled in their college or university The purpose of this thesis project was to determine the feasibility of developing a freshman and transfer student athlete orientation program at Rowan University An action research design was used to collect qualitative data on student athletes regarding their attitudes and perceptions towards the development and possible implementation of an orientation program for freshman and transfer student athletes Student athletes and university administrators supported the development of an orientation program for student athletes at Rowan University MINI ABSTRACT Many student athletes fail to attain degrees academically Academically student athletes struggle to maintain the minimum academic requirements to remain enrolled in their college or university The purpose of this research was to determine the feasibility of developing a freshman and transfer student athlete orientation program at Rowan University ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge my parents, grandparents, and godparents, for their enormous and continuous support throughout this process I am very blessed to have a family that acknowledges the strength and power of "the man above" and constantly reminds me that this could not have been accomplished without him I would also like to recognize my extended family and fEriends for their tremendous support and encouragement I would like to thank the entire department of Educational Leadership, and am grateffil to Dr Larry Marcus and Dr Richard Smith for believing in me and granting me this wonderful opportunity Last but not least, I would like to thank my comrade, mentor, and advisor, Dr James Coaxum, for his assistance and dedication in overseeing my successful completion of this thesis change project and graduation TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements 11 i Chapter Introduction Problem Statement Purpos~e of the Study Significance of the Study 11 Review of the Literature Retention of Student Athletes 13 The Role of Academic Advising 16 The role of Orientation in Student Retention 20 Conclusion 22 24 Methodological Design Organizational Description 25 Action Research Design & Methodology 26 Meeting with Rowan University Administrators 27 Interviewing and Surveying Athletes 28 The development of the Orientation Program 30 Presentation, Findings, Analysis Gaining Administrative Support Findings fr-om Student Athletes The Development of the Orientation Program Reflection, Recommendations, Conclusions 31 31 33 38 41 Reflections 41 Recommendations 47 · 49 Conclusion References iAppendix · 50 55 LIST OF TABLES Table One: Differences in Cohorts After Proposition "48" Table Two: Male and Female Athletic Programs at Rowan University 15 26 Chapter One Introduction Perhaps one of the most studied areas in higher education is student retention Of the nearly 2.4 million students who entered a college or university in 1993, over 1.5 million will leave their first institution without receiving a degree (Tinto, 1993) While many institutions establish programs to address student retention, the number of students who fail to obtain degrees continue to increase (Lenning, 1982) Retaining students in higher education is a financial issue as well as an academic issue From a financial perspective, students who drop out during their first year represent the loss of three or four years of tuition for colleges and universities (Bean, 1990) This has produced a financial drain on colleges and universities Each student that fails to reenroll in a college or university also represents a loss of revenue Academically, student's struggle to maintain the minimum academic requirements to remain enrolled in their college or university while colleges and universities affempt to retain as many students as possible to increase their retention rates Bean (1990) cites various reasons why students depart college before completing their degree He states that students may not fit into an institution socially or academically, religiously or economically, or they may simply leave because the school is not a good match for their needs As the retention of students continue to decrease, institutions of higher education must begin to address this issue and somehow establish a remedy Colleges and universities must especially begin to find solutions to the retention problems for those groups who experience high attrition rates One such group is student athletes Over the past few years, concern over the retention of athletes in intercollegiate athletics, has caused great debate As modern day television contracts and an annual multi-billion dollar sports market boosts the interest and relevance of intercollegiate athletics, colleges and universities have experienced difficulty trying to balance the importance of athletics in conjunction with academics The belief that many students enter college for the sole reason of participating in collegiate athletics has stirred debate among athletic departments in colleges throughout the country Intercollegiate athletics play an important role in the culture of an institution Many institutions of higher education are recognized for the success of their athletic programs while difficulty of curriculum places a distant second Shriberg and Brodinski (1984) argue that academics are relegated to a secondary position to athletics because institutions rely upon athletic revenue for significant contributions towards budgeting, planning, and My second recommendation concerning the development of an orientation program for freshman and transfer student athletes concerned what topic should be addressed during the third session of the orientation program? After in depth analysis, I felt that showing students how to practice good study habits is far more beneficial than simply telling them Therefore, the third session of the program was changed into a library and computer lab orientation session, disregarding the previous session on when, where and how to get help The goal of this portion of the program is to familiarize fr-eshman and transfer student athletes to the uses and capabilities of the university library, computer labs, and various other research labs Some students and administrators requested that the orientation program last longer than one day However, due to time and financial constraints, the program has initially been developed in a single day format The program does· not reconvene throughout the year and once the athletic season and classes begin, students will not be able to assemble due to their busy schedules Conclusion The development of an orientation program for freshman and transfer student athletes is an idea that has the potential to have a major impact on the retention of student athletes It will give student athletes a head start academically, show them that our university does care about their academic future and make them aware of the influences that may keep them from obtaining a degree Our ability to implement this program in institutions of higher education throughout the country depends upon the amount of time, effort, and money that institutions are willing to invest Our ability to retain student athletes involves more than simply orientating them to the various issues that may impede degree affainment Retaining student athletes includes many factors, including support, monitoring, and advising to name a few Orientation is merely a means of familiarizing student athletes to a college environment, culture, and climate The aspect of familiarizing student athletes to the college community should assist the student athlete in making his/her transition as easy a transition as possible As student athletes continue to entertain and create millions of dollars in revenue each year, colleges and universities in return must strive to insure that athletes will be given the one quality that is more important than anything they can receive, an education References Astin, A.W (1977) Four critical years: Effects on college benefits, attitudes and knowledge San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Beal, P.E (1979) What works in student retention Iowa City: American College Testing Service Beal, P.E & Noel, L (1980) What works in student retention Colorado: The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems Bean, P.J (1990) The strategic management of college enrollments San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Bolman, T., Deal, R (1997) Refraining organizations San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Braxton, J.M (2000) Reworking the student departure puzzle Nashville, Tenn: Vanderbilt University Bruce, C.W (1976) A study of the effects of tutoring upon academic achievement, self concept, and study habits and attitudes of freshman male athletes (Doctoral dissertation, George Peabody college for teachers) Dissertation abstracts international, 36, 5076A-5 077A Catanese, J (1989) Future priorities of academic advisors of athletics Nashville, TN: George Peabody College of Vanderbilt Chickering, A.W (1969) Education and Identification San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Coakley, J.J (1986) "Sport in Society," St Louis: C.V Mosby Cope, R & Hannah, W (1975) Revolving College Doors New York: John Wiley & Sons Crowe, D P (1998) A descriptive analysis comparing the academic success of student athletes and non-athletes New York: Scribner' s Department of Educational Research (1999) Student athlete academic report Glassboro: Rowan University Edwards, H (1982) Race in contemporary American sports National Forum 62, 19-22 Edwards, H (1984) The black dumb jock: An American sports tragedy College Board review, 131, 8-13 Ferrell, C (1985) New academic rules for freshman athletes: Assailed as an artificial barrier 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Publications Lenning, T (1982) Studying student retention: Variable selection and management concerns San Francisco: Jossey-Bass MCallette, B., Howard, R (1992) Monitoring and assessing intercollegiate athletics Jossey Bass: San Francisco McGee, L.M (1999) Transition of student athletes to college Washington D.C.: Temple Publishers NCAA (1987) Proposition "48" Overland Park: Kansas NCAA Fact Sheet (1999) Abstract from: ERIC Document Reproduction Service ERIC Item: ED 433 319 Noel, L., Levitz, R., Salvri, D (1985) Increasing student retention San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Ozga, J., Sukhnandan, L (1998) Undergraduate completion: developing an explanatory model, Higher Education Ouartely, 52, pp 316-33 Panos, J.C & Austin, A.W (1968) Attrition Among college students: American educational research journal, 5, 57-72 Pascarella, E (1985) College environmental influences on learning and cognitive development: A critical review and synthesis In J Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, Vol I New York: Agathon Patton, M Q (1987) How to use qualitative methods in evaluation Newbury Park, CA: Sage Purdy, D (1983) Transition into college sports: The freshman student athlete Paper presented at the meeting of the North American Society of Sport Sociology St Louis, MO Rentz, A L (1996) Student affairs practice in higher education Charles C Thomas Publishers: Illinois Rowan University Institutional Research (1999) Athletic academic report Sherrington, K (1987) "The Toughest Job: Academic advisors frustrated in an effort to improve conditions," Dallas Morning News Shriberg, A & Brodzinski, F.R (1984) Rethinking services for college athletes San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers Smith, B.F & Brackin, R (1993) Components of a comprehensive orientation program: The Ohio University Stewart, D.W., & Shamdasani, P.N (1988) Focus group research: handbook of applied social research methods Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Stompf, G & Sharer, G (1993) Trends & issues in orientation programs Univ of Maryland Storm, S.P (1984) The effect of Academic and social integration: institutional commitment and pre-college characteristics upon voluntary freshman persistence at the University of MissouriColumbia University of Missouri-Columbia Swann, P.R (1989) An analysis of support services for student athletes attending division I institutions of higher education Unpublished dissertation: University of Conn Tinto, V (1990) Principles of effective retention Journal of The Freshman Year Experience, 2(1), 35-48 Tinto, V (1993) Leaving college Chicago & London: Univ of Chicago Underwood, J (1980) "The writings on the wall" Sports Illustrated May, i2±i280:36-73 Upcraft, L (1993) Designing successful transitions: A guide for orienting students to college: University of S Carolina 54 Appendix A Interview Protocol 55 Intervriew Prot~ocol Thesis/Cange Project GHmplernenztation ofanz athlekte orientatona progoram) A) Start of asking the group what are their overall feelings on the academic support that they receive here at Rowan University? Attempt to get a general feel for any negative or positive attitudes Who has had trouble and who hasn't? B) Generate conversation on why some people may have had trouble and why others may not have Try and establish the different academic characteristics between those who were academically successful, and those who weren't C) Attempt to get a generalization of how each person did academically in high school and or at their previous school D) Ndow begin to introduce them to your orientation program, what it is about, and what your attempting to (Raetention) Ask the athletes what they think about the idea? Do they feel as though their coaches and teammates will support it? E) Get into the academic history of each program; filnd out how often their coaches stress the importance of academics Aslk the athletes if deep down inside, they feel as though their co~aches really care about their academic future or academic eligibility? F) Start to generate Ideas one when, where, aend how are the best ways to implement this program Wjhat topics should be given the most attention, how much time and money should be used G) B3ring closure to the topic, find out if anyone has any suggestions, and thank them for their cooperation other Appendix B Open-Ended Survey Instrument 59 Survey Concerning The Implementation A Freshman/Transfer Student Athlete Orientation Program 1) How have youfaired in your academic transitionfr~om high school or you previous college to Rowan University? In your eyes, has your academic transition been a success~ful one? Couldyou have done better academically? Why or why not? 2) Do you feel as though the athleticprogram at Rowan University has done its share of makingyour transitiona success~ful one? If not, how could they have done more to help? 3) Do you feelI as though a special orientationprogramforfr~eshman/fransfer athletes would have made your transition a little easier?A program thatfocused more on issues thatper~tain to the student athletes, for example, Time Management, Advisement on scheduling, and more informationon when, where, and how to get academic help? If so how? 4) Ifyou wouldn't have benefitedfrom an orientationprogramfor student athletes, you know ofanyone in the past orpresent that may have? If so, how would this type ofprogram have made a difference for them? 5) Does the future, academic stature, and athletic eligibility ofyour teammates mean enough to you that you would encourageall~freshman and transfersathletes to participatein an additionalone day orientationprogoram that cateredto theirneeds? If not why? 6) Are there any other student athlete academic supportconcerns thatyou may feel as though are not being addressed?Are there any other ideas, comments, or suggestions that you may have on this issue or Idea? THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME! ... implementation of an orientation program for freshman and transfer student athletes, I analyzed the data and prepared the final recommendation for an orientation program for freshman and transfer student. .. freshmen and transfer athletes will give athletes a "head start't on the difficulties of being a student and an athlete What makes developing an orientation program for freshmen and transfer athletes... implementation of an orientation program for freshman and transfer student athletes Student athletes and university administrators supported the development of an orientation program for student athletes at