NCAA Certification Written Plan

OAKLAND UNIVERSITY
WRITTEN PLAN FOR COMPLETING THE SELF-STUDY
FOR NCAA DIVISION I ATHLETICS CERTIFICATION

INSTITUTIONAL GOALS

The goals of Oakland University’s (“University”) self-study of the University’s intercollegiate athletics program (“Program”) are to conduct a serious and comprehensive review of the Program with opportunities for significant input from appropriate constituent groups inside and outside the University’s athletic department consistent with the overall objectives of the certification program set forth by the NCAA and to:

1. Identify issues or problems confronting the Program.

2. Identify the extent to which the University meets the standards outlined in the NCAA self-study instrument.

3. Make recommendations to improve and strengthen the Program for the University’s students in general and for its student-athletes in particular.

4. Increase knowledge and awareness of the Program both on-campus and throughout the community at large.

5. Highlight and publicize the many strong attributes of the Program.

MAJOR COMPONENTS

The Oakland University Board of Trustees

The Oakland University Board of Trustees approved a policy for intercollegiate athletics to advance the overall mission of the University by contributing, via competitive sport, to the University's reputation for overall excellence and distinction and thereby to the national eminence of the University as a whole. The Athletic Department was directed to provide a wide range of athletic programs that compete at the regional and national level, while maintaining the welfare of student athletes, the spirit of fair play and with a commitment to equality of opportunity and academic achievement.

Within policies approved by the Board of Trustees, and the appropriate national and conference athletic governing bodies, the President determines institutional direction, practices and procedures relating to intercollegiate athletics.

The President

President Gary D. Russi is the chief executive officer and administrator of the University and is authorized by the Board of Trustees to exercise such powers as are appropriate to his position in promoting, supporting, and protecting the interests of the University and in managing and directing its affairs. President Russi is also responsible for all educational, financial, business, and administrative functions of the University. President Russi’s specific responsibilities in connection with the self-study certification are to appoint the Chair, select the members of the Steering Committee, to ensure effective representation of key campus constituent groups, charge the Steering Committee, and authorize the Steering Committee to complete the self-study certification process.

The Chair

Victor A. Zambardi, General Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Trustees, was appointed by President Russi as chair of the self‑study Steering Committee. Mr. Zambardi is a member of the President’s Cabinet, has direct access to the President, and has been given clear and absolute authority to guide the self‑study process.

Steering Committee and Subcommittees

All members of the Steering Committee, the chairs, and other members of the subcommittees were appointed by President Russi, and President Russi conferred upon the Steering Committee the authority to speak and act on behalf of the University. The majority of the Steering Committee members and the five Subcommittee Chairs have no day‑to‑day duties in the University’s Athletic Department. There is a good balance of members inside and outside the University’s Athletic Department, and ethnic and gender diversity throughout the committee structure. Likewise, students, faculty, and administration are well represented.

The Steering Committee

The Steering Committee is responsible for the general direction of the self‑study, including evaluation of the self‑study responses against the University’s operating principles and development of measurable goals the University intends to achieve to address issues or problems.

The Steering Committee is comprised of members of the University’s faculty, staff, administration, student‑athletes, a student, and representatives from the Oakland University Foundation. An Oakland University Trustee is an ex‑officio member of the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee is composed of the following individuals:

Victor Zambardi, Chairperson                           zambardi@oakland.edu
            General Counsel and
            Secretary to the Board of Trustees

David Doyle daved@mrgmi.com
Oakland University Trustee

Gary Russi russi@oakland.edu
President

Virinder Moudgil                                                   moudgil@oakland.edu
             Interim Vice President for
            Academic Affairs and Provost

Jack Mehl mehl@oakland.edu
Director of Athletics

Karen Kukuk kukuk@oakland.edu
Assistant to the President

William Macauley                                                 macauley@oakland.edu
            Faculty Athletics Representative and
            Associate Dean, Arts and Sciences

Michelle Piskulich piskulic@oakland.edu
Associate Professor, Political Science

Mohamed Zhody zohdyma@oakland.edu
Professor of Engineering

Spencer Hynes hyner2525@aol.com
Student Athlete/Baseball

Bozenna Johnson bojo21@excite.com
Student-Athlete/Softball

Denise McGee                                                      dmcgee@oakland.edu
            Assistant Athletics Director for
            Operations and Facilities and
            Senior Woman Administrator

Edward Nolan nolan@oakland.edu
Assistant Controller/Chief Accountant

Glenn McIntosh                                                      mcintosh@oakland.edu
            Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
            and Dean of Students

Henry Mittelstaedt hmittelstaedt@mandmpc.com
Community Member

Larry Baylis llbaylis@aol.com
Community Member

Steven Shablin shablin@oakland.edu
Registrar

Gloria Sosa gasosa@oakland.edu
Director, Center for Multicultural Initiatives

Robert Johnson                                                     rejohnso@oakland.edu
            Associate Vice President for Enrollment
            Management/Director of Admissions

The Steering Committee has authority to speak for the University in matters relating to conformity with the operating principles set forth in the self‑study process, and will:

· Hold regular meetings;

· Monitor the progress of the subcommittees to ensure that the self-study is being completed in a competent and timely manner;

· Maintain a written record of dates and minutes of meetings, records of attendance that will be primarily distributed electronically;

· Receive and review the work of the subcommittees, identify issues or problems confronting the Program, present a set of measurable goals to achieve to address issues or problems with the Program and steps the University can take to achieve those measurable goals;

· Collect and organize data;

· Seek input from the campus community, particularly student-athletes, coaches, and faculty;

· Prepare a final report on the self-study, relying on the reports of the subcommittees.

The Subcommittees

Five subcommittee chairpersons along with subcommittee members have been appointed with each one being responsible for one of the following five major sections of the self-study:

1.            Governance;
            2.            Academic Integrity;
            3.            Fiscal Integrity;
            4.            Equity and Welfare; and
            5.            NCAA Compliance.

Each subcommittee chair is a member of the Steering Committee. Each subcommittee chair is responsible for writing the subcommittee’s report. The membership of the subcommittees is broadly based with representation from a wide spectrum of the University community, and each subcommittee has a student‑athlete representative. A member of the University’s Athletic Department is assigned to each subcommittee to facilitate data collection, and Associate Director of Athletics Tracy Huth is an ex-officio member of all committees. Each subcommittee member has indicated that s/he has adequate time to devote to the self-study. Subcommittees will perform the following responsibilities (“Subcommittee Responsibilities):

· Maintain a written record of meeting dates, meeting minutes, and attendance;

· Insure that all subcommittee meetings are accessible, providing opportunities for individuals and campus groups to be heard;

· Collect, organize, and interpret data pertinent to the self-study;

· Respond to self-study items;

· Evaluate results against the University’s operating principles;

· Identify issues or problems confronting the Program;

· Develop measurable goals to address issues or problems;

· Seek input from the campus community, particularly student-athletes, coaches, and faculty;

· Write the subcommittee’s report to the Steering Committee including making preliminary recommendations for steps the University can take to achieve the measurable goals.

Governance Subcommittee

The Governance Subcommittee will perform its Subcommittee Responsibilities by collecting, organizing, and interpreting data pertinent to the Program and the following issues:

· Ongoing educational effort within the University;

· Written policies and procedures;

· Involvement of individuals outside the Athletic Department in compliance;

· Decisions involving the University's governing board concerning athletics;

· Decisions involving the President concerning athletics;

· Mission statements of the University and the Program;

· Governing board composition (including titles and positions);

· Organizational charts of the University and the Athletic Department;

· Composition of the athletics board or committee (including titles and positions;

· Roster of current conference members;

· Minutes from University's Senate Athletics Committee and governing board meetings;

· Published policies of the University's governing board;

· Mid-Continent Conference manual;

· Planning documents related to the Program.

· Athletic policies and procedures manual;

· Evaluating all of the data against the Measurable Standards for NCAA Operating Principles 1.1 and 1.2.

The Governance Subcommittee is composed of the following individuals:

            Virinder Moudgil, Chairperson                           moudgil@oakland.edu
             Interim Vice President for
             Academic Affairs and Provost

Karen Kukuk kukuk@oakland.edu
Assistant to the President

Jack Mehl mehl@oakland.edu
Director of Athletics

John Mills jfmills@wwrplaw.com
Director, Oakland University Foundation

Ronald Sudol sudol@oakland.edu
Associate Provost

Gary Shepherd shepherd@oakland.edu
Professor of Sociology

Gary Parsons parsons@oakland.edu
Men’s Soccer Coach

Theresa Rowe rowe@oakland.edu
Director, Information Systems

Geoffrey Upward                                                    upward@oakland.edu
            Associate Vice President for
            Communications and Marketing

Bobbie Bieszki bjbieszl@oakland.com
Student-Athlete/ Women’s Basketball

Academic Integrity Subcommittee

The Academic Integrity Subcommittee will perform its Subcommittee Responsibilities by collecting, organizing, and interpreting data pertinent to the Program and the following issues:

· Integration of student-athletes within the University community;

· Student-athletes’ reasonable expectation of graduating;

· Academic authority;

· Available academic support;

· Scheduling to minimize conflicts;

· Admissions profiles of student-athletes vs. students generally;

· Special-admissions data for student-athletes and students generally;

· Student-athlete degree program information;

· Graduation-rate disclosure forms for the last three years;

· A copy of the University's most recent catalogs;

· Information from exit interviews of student-athletes;

· Student-athlete eligibility files;

· Academic reports submitted to the President, the Director of Athletics, and/or the University Senate;

· Evaluating all of the data against the Measurable Standards for NCAA Operating Principles 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3.

The Academic Integrity Subcommittee is composed of the following individuals:

Michelle Piskulich, Chairperson piskulic@oakland.edu
Associate Professor, Political Science

Mohamed Zhody zohdyma@oakland.edu
Professor of Engineering

Keith Merritt kamerritt@oakland.edu
Athletic Academic Advisor

Jennifer Gilroy gilroy@oakland.edu
Senior Associate Registrar

Laura Schartman schartma@oakland.edu
Director, Institutional Research

Spencer Hynes hyner2525@aol.com
Student-Athlete/Baseball

Eric Stephan stephan@oakland.edu
Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach

            Patrick Bennett                                                       pcbennet@oakland.edu
            Academic Advising Coordinator
            Engineering & Computer Science

Charles Clark cclark@oakland.edu
Director, Academic Skills Center

Robert Taylor taylor@oakland.edu
Professor of Chemistry

Peter Nacy nacy@oakland.edu
Director of Admissions

Brian Bouwman bouwman@oakland.edu
Admissions Advisor

The Fiscal Integrity Subcommittee

The Fiscal Integrity Subcommittee will perform its Subcommittee Responsibilities by collecting, organizing, and interpreting data pertinent to the Program and the following issues:

· Auditing and budget procedures;

· Projected and actual athletic revenues and expenditures;

· External and internal financial audit reports and management letters for the last three years and written statements related to reporting outside income;

· Corrective actions planned or implemented resulting from independent financial audits;

· Evaluating all of the data against the Measurable Standards for NCAA Operating Principles 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3.

The Fiscal Integrity Subcommittee is composed of the following individuals:

Edward Nolan, Chairperson nolan@oakland.edu
Assistant Controller/Chief Accountant

            Simon Dover                                                    dover@oakland.edu
            Assistant Athletic Director for
            Finance and Administration

Marjorie Goodhue goodhue@oakland.edu
Internal Audit Manager

Jack Mehl mehl@oakland.edu
Director of Athletics

            Cheryl Verbruggen                                           verbrugg@oakland.edu
            Associate Director, Budget and
            Financial Planning

Linda Switzer                                                    switzer@oakland.edu
            Manager, Financial Aid Accounting and
            Cashiers

Gadis Dillon dillon@oakland.edu
Professor of Accounting

Edward Farragher farraghe@oakland.edu
Professor of Finance

Ryan Rzepka rzoakland20@msn.com
Student-Athlete/Men’s Soccer

The Equity and Welfare Subcommittee

The Equity and Welfare Subcommittee will perform its Subcommittee Responsibilities by collecting, organizing, and interpreting data pertinent to the Program and the following issues:

· Commitment to gender equity;

· Commitment to minorities;

· Commitment to student-athlete welfare;

· Gender and racial/ethnic composition of the athletic department student-athletes and students, and NCAA gender-equity study data;

· Adherence to established University Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action policies and procedures for staff, administrators, and coaches.

· Student-Athlete Handbook and written materials documenting student-athlete exit interviews;

· Title IX audit report(s);

· Schedules, media guides, other marketing materials, travel schedules, and recruitment;

· Evaluating all of the data against the Measurable Standards for NCAA Operating Principles 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4.

The Equity and Welfare Subcommittee is composed of the following individuals:

            Glenn McIntosh, Chairperson                           mcintosh@oakland.edu
            Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
            and Dean

Amy Hirschman hirschma@oakland.edu
Assistant to the Athletic Director

Gloria Sosa gasosa@oakland.edu
Director, Center for Multicultural Initiatives

Larry Baylis llbaylis@aol.com
Community Member

            Helen Ellison                                                        ellison@oakland.edu
            Assistant Director,
            University Diversity and Compliance

Bozenna Johnson bojo21@excite.com
Student-Athlete/Softball

Thomas Ford ford@oakland.edu
Head Athletic Trainer

Peter Hovland hovland@oakland.edu
Head Coach, Swimming

Gail Ryckman ryckman@oakland.edu
Manager of Employment

Dawn Aubry dmaubry@oakland.edu
Director, New Student Programs

Terri Eudy eudyteet@oakland.edu
Assistant Director Aquatics

Karen Lloyd lloyd@oakland.edu
Assistant Dean of Students

Peter Nacy &n