Academics

Dear Faculty Members:
    Best wishes for the upcoming school year. As the University’s Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR), I want to let you know what the University is doing to make sure that our academic mission comes first.
    If you have a student athlete in your class, team-related travel may interfere with attendance. We are working to minimize the impact of that reality. At the start of each semester, your student athletes should provide you with a list of dates when they will miss class for that reason. The Athletics Department tracks those absences as well as other absences. If student athletes get too many unexcused absences, they face sanctions including loss of playing time.
    At the same time, travel difficulty or scheduling changes can affect the attendance plan. When such matters are beyond the control of the student, I would appreciate your cooperation in working out the difficulties. We usually can arrange to record lectures, administer quizzes or exams, or facilitate other reasonable accommodations that you deem appropriate. Just let me know what you need. 
    One major role of the FAR is to facilitate communication between the Athletics Department (including coaches) and faculty members. Please understand that a coach should never initiate contact with you to discuss a student athlete’s performance in your class. Coaches know this. If you ever have a concern along these lines, please contact me. Also, do not let student-athletes make unreasonable demands on you. In the past, faculty members have been persuaded by student athletes to teach a second class session so that they would not have to miss practice. The professors’ intent was good, but it elevated practice over the classroom and that sends the wrong message.
    The Athletics Department closely monitors the academic performance of student athletes to be sure they are progressing towards a degree and to comply with NCAA regulations. You may be aware of recent situations at Syracuse University and the University of North Carolina. At both of those schools, faculty members who thought they were doing favors for student athletes actually hurt the programs. Both schools faced NCAA sanctions and had their academic reputation tainted due – at least in part – to actions taken by faculty members. Despite pending NCAA issues at this institution, there are none that suggest academic impropriety on our campus. We are dedicated to keeping it that way.
    You might hear from me over the course of the year. We track grade changes for student-athletes, and we usually contact professors to verify that any changes were made for legitimate academic reasons. We also may be in contact if there is a question of academic dishonesty. Please understand that this is not a matter of questioning your authority or integrity. The NCAA makes us verify that student athletes are being treated like all other students, and contacting the professors is simply a matter of following through on that obligation. 
    We have a new plan this year related to attendance. As noted above, the Athletics Department tracks absences. Sometimes the department’s numbers do not match with numbers reported by faculty members. If that happens, you will receive a form from the FedEx Student Athlete Success Center. It will ask you to verify the reported numbers. Please do not feel intimidated by this; it is an initiative designed to reduce any pressure being felt by faculty members. Do however respond to it quickly so that we can impose any justified sanctions on the athletes. 
    If have any questions or concerns relating to any of these issues, please email or call me. Please also feel free to contact me any time that you have an issue that touches on athletics. The FAR is also an advocate for the faculty, and I will do my best to help. 
    Thanks for your time and attention,                                                                     
                                                                    Ron Rychlak
                                                                    Professor of Law 
                                                                    Jamie L. Whitten Chair of Law & Government 
                                                                    Faculty Athletics Representative                                                                                                                 (662) 915-6841
                                                                    rrychlak@olemiss.edu