An Evaluation of the Impact of Academic Policies and Athletic Procedures for Student Athletes

The current study is an evaluation of the ways academic policies and athletic procedures can impact learning for student athletes as inconsistent practices regarding athletic travel and make-up work can have negative effects on learning for student athletes. A total of 11 participants (i.e., 8 student athletes, 3 faculty members) participated in this qualitative phenomenological study. Chickering’s student development theory and Kolb’s learning theory framed the current inquiry into (1) the needs of student athletes and the ways they process important information (e.g., policies and procedures) and (2) related faculty guidance, student affairs, and the governing body for athletics, practices, and policies that impact student athletes’ learning. Several themes emerging from the data, including impact/motivation, process/policy, lack of communication, and course difficulty for student athletes and policy, process, and knowledge and understanding for faculty. The themes detected in the data were used to create an intervention that can be used to govern the make-up work process for student athletes, faculty members, athletic administrators, and student affairs professionals