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NCAA site visit this week for recertification

Oct. 30, 2007

KALAMAZOO--Western Michigan University's bid for recertification by the National Collegiate Athletic Association will move forward this week with a campus visit by a four-member peer review team made up of educators from around the nation.

The University is nearing the end of a recertification and self-study process, which occurs on a 10-year cycle, and is meant to ensure the University is in compliance with the NCAA's commitment to integrity in intercollegiate athletics.

The team visiting WMU Tuesday through Thursday, Oct. 30-Nov. 1, will be led by Dr. Carol Garrison, president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Other members are: Matt Billings, assistant director of athletics/compliance at Boise State University; Dr. Mary A. Boudreaux, associate director of the Academic Center at Louisiana State University; Michele Brunke, senior administrative associate for athletics certification at the University of Texas at Austin.

Team members will be accompanied to Kalamazoo by two NCAA officials. While there are no public events associated with the team's visit, the peer reviewers will spend their time on campus conducting interviews with a number of students, faculty and staff members. Their goal is to verify that information presented in the written materials prepared by WMU for the recertification process is an accurate reflection of the operation of WMU's athletic programs and that the information was gathered in a process that involved campuswide participation.

WMU's recertification initiative has been under way since summer 2006 and is led by Dr. Eileen Evans, vice provost for institutional effectiveness. In preparation for the site visit, an 18-member campuswide committee led by Evans has conducted a self-evaluation and prepared a written report to verify and document that WMU's policies, procedures and applications meet or exceed the NCAA's rules and regulations. The issues around which the process revolves involve the NCAA's three areas of focus for recertification: governance and commitment to rules compliance; academic integrity; and equity and student-athlete well-being.

Media contact: Cheryl Roland, (269) 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu

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