I n management classes at Kenan-Flagler Business School, they teach that when setting up a task force, it is critical to give it a clear direction, someone to report to and a deliverable.
It’s baffling, then, why a professor of organizational behavior and former dean of the business school, Provost Jim Dean, would allow the Student-Athlete Academic Initiative Working Group to exist as purposelessly as it has.
The University’s statement announcing the creation of the group said “the goal is for the University to have in place processes covering the total experience of student-athletes...”
The group meets regularly to discuss the procedures, like academic adviser policies, that the University already identified as impacting student-athletes.
It’s unclear if the group is tasked with evaluating the processes that impact student-athletes or coming up with new processes that will impact student-athletes.
Meetings have not helped. Recently, members discussed a policy that allows athletes to miss seven class periods per semester — a policy that would allow athletes enrolled in Tuesday/Thursday classes to miss up to a quarter of their scheduled classes in a semester.
The policy clearly drew criticism from the academics in the room, but Dean had to put a stop to the conversation before the group could propose any real reform.
“I think that’s outside the scope for us. We clearly don’t have the authority to do that,” Dean said.
The Student-Athlete Academic Initiative Working Group’s scope is as opaque as its name is long. Administrators need to empower the group to produce real recommendations for addressing issues facing student-athletes.
