Ongoing Review & Improvement of Processes

UNC will continue to support an atmosphere of academic and athletic excellence. Based on the ongoing review of academic processes for student-athletes, and in consultation with the Faculty Athletics Committee, the Provost and Athletics Director’s Executive Committee on Student-Athlete Academics considers matters related to the academic experience of student-athletes and makes process changes and improvements when necessary. 

In this time of substantial change for collegiate athletics, ongoing environmental scanning is necessary. UNC will continue to monitor national and conference level changes and make institutional changes accordingly. 

In their review and monitoring of academic processes for student athletes, the Executive Committee on Student-Athlete Academics collaborates with the Faculty Athletics Committee to: 

• Lead innovative thinking and approaches to the academic experience of student-athletes. 
• Collaborate on process improvement efforts, share information, and bring forward issues and trends that impact the academic experiences of student-athletes. 
• Recommend changes and improvements to processes. 

• Communicate and coordinate with relevant departments to monitor, review, assess and document academic processes related to student-athletes to ensure that these processes always strengthen and support the academic integrity of the University. 
• Provide regular and objective reporting to the Chancellor. 
• Maintain the Academic Processes for Student Athletes website to ensure that it accurately describes what we are doing and how we are doing it. 

In 2021-22, the Executive Committee on Student-Athlete Academics agreed to a one-year trial for the process review described below- and at the conclusion of the trial agreed that the PRT should continue that process review.

• The FAR and ASPSA Director with the assistance of the FAR support person from the Chancellor’s Office (the Process Review Team or PRT) will be tasked with coordinating the process review with a goal of reviewing approximately one-half of the processes each year so that all processes are reviewed within a two-year period. These processes are all cataloged at https://apsa.unc.edu. 
• The PRT will establish a schedule for the review and forward each process to the appropriate staff to review and update. 
• The PRT will create a Microsoft Teams site and give permission to appropriate staff and ask them to update the Word document for the process with Track Changes on. 
• The PRT will review any updates that are proposed to ensure consistency in how each process is presented.
• The PRT will notify the relevant FAC Topic Group for the academic process when the process update is complete so that the FAC Topic Group can meet with its Liaison to review the process and ask any questions.  If the topic group believes there are issues that would benefit from further discussion with FAC or wants to suggest policy or process changes, they will notify the PRT and the PRT will schedule time at a FAC meeting to discuss with the FAC. 
• The responsibility of reviewing the processes remains with the Faculty Athletics Committee (FAC) and the PRT will provide guidance and support to coordinate this review. 

• The PRT will also establish a schedule for informational discussions about each process with FAC.  Some processes will be discussed in a FAC meeting with the staff responsible for the area every year and some less frequently. 
• If, after discussion and a vote, FAC recommends a policy or process change, the PRT will forward the recommendation to the Executive Committee for Student-Athlete Academics and report back to FAC on any action taken by the Executive Committee.    
• Any updates to the processes will then be made to the website.