Northern Arizona University’s athletics department is readying itself for an important series of events in its efforts to become reaccredited by the NCAA, and a steering committee leading the process is seeking participation from faculty, staff, students and the Flagstaff community.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0committee<\/a>, led by\u00a0Sarah Bickel<\/strong>, associate vice president for Student Affairs, and consisting of members from the campus and Flagstaff communities, is crafting a “self-study” report that will become the basis for a comprehensive and focused site visit by an NCAA peer review team in October.<\/p>\n The committee has made the draft report available for review and feedback before it is finalized and submitted to the NCAA on May 1.<\/p>\n “We want everyone\u2014faculty, staff, students and the community as a whole\u2014to participate in this process, to consider our strengths in providing both competitive and educational opportunities to our student-athletes, and also to help identify opportunities for improvement,” Bickel said.<\/p>\n “Becoming reaccredited assures that our athletics department operates with integrity and demonstrates that we are meeting NCAA standards,” she added.<\/p>\n As is customary, the self-study report was written in response to a series of questions provided by the NCAA and focuses on three NCAA operating principles:<\/p>\n The committee is still finalizing its section on “equity and student-athlete well-being,” but has made its sections on\u00a0governance<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0academic integrity<\/a>, as well as an\u00a0introduction<\/a>, available for review online. Feedback can be submitted to\u00a0Becky.Butcher@nau.edu<\/a>\u00a0by April 28.<\/p>\n There will be a public forum from 9-10 a.m. April 29 in the University Union Havasupai rooms A and B to review the findings, process and plans for improvements.<\/p>\n The final report will be submitted May 1. The NCAA Peer Review Team is scheduled to visit NAU Oct. 22-24.<\/p>\n The reaccreditation process is a customary practice among NCAA members that occurs every 10 years. The NCAA began accrediting athletics departments in 1993. NAU was first accredited by the NCAA in 1998.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n