Whereas, The SMART Tool Companion Report for the California Community College Athletic Association (Institute for Evidence-Based Change, July 2011)[1] demonstrated participation in intercollegiate athletics programs closes the achievement gap for minority students, results in higher grade point averages (GPAs), and increases the rate and percentage of transfer to four-year institutions in comparison to a full-time, nonathletic cohort;
Whereas, Student-athletes must maintain full-time status (12 semester units or more, 9 semester units academic) during their season of competition and complete 24 semester units (18 semester units academic) between their first season of competition and their second season of competition for eligibility, and due to the fact that the California State University system requires 60 transferrable units for community college transfers, these student-athletes must take more than the minimum number of units;
Whereas, Intercollegiate athletic practices and competition times are typically scheduled between 2 pm and 7 pm daily, limiting course selections and creating challenges to the athletes’ opportunities to enroll in the proper courses to maintain athletic eligibility, graduate, and transfer in four semesters; and
Whereas, The SMART Tool Companion Report indicates that student-athletes comprise a small percentage (8%) of the population of all full-time students statewide;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges convene a taskforce of representative statewide faculty in the California community colleges to research: 1) the local impact of the lack of priority registration policies for student-athletes on their ability to achieve and maintain athletic eligibility, and 2) the local impact of offering priority registration for student-athletes on enrollment for the student body as a whole; and
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges report its findings to the body by the Spring 2015 plenary session.
MSC