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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2017 | 3

UNIVERSITY

Academic Council hears about student-athlete concerns Thursday By Bre Bradham

how they pursue academic interests, Putallaz—also professor of psychology and neuroscience—said that exit interviews with athletes have shown they may sometimes have to put off taking classes until they align with their schedules. She said that the distribution of majors among students athletes is very diverse, and the only place she has noticed a dip in relation to the general student body is in biology, which she noted might be due to the heavy concentration on lab work. Regarding concussions, Coleman said that they were monitoring the Athletic Department to make sure that they have a policy on the issue that is understandable and that the department educates students, coaches and staff about the policy. “We believe that the University has a policy and a concussion management plan that reflects the best practices and that they

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implement it,” he said. When there is a concussion or the suspicion of a concussion, the medical staff takes over and has control of when the studentathlete is eligible to return to the sport, he said. Beyond physical well-being, Coleman said that the department is very much aware of mental health issues. He explained that the issues that student-athletes face differ in certain ways from other students, often because of the increased exposure that results in a lack of privacy to address the mental health problems. He said that it’s a topic that will be addressed further in the Spring. Overall, Coleman said that he is optimistic about Duke Athletics’ work to date and going forward.

At Thursday’s meeting, Duke’s Academic Council heard updates on the University’s athletics and discussed a proposed new graduate program in dance. The proposed Master of Fine Arts in Dance program will be voted on at the Council’s next meeting in two weeks, which is their last one of the semester. The athletic updates covered student-athletes’ academics and the University’s work to prevent and treat concussions. “I’m very optimistic about how we deal with the issues related to athletics,” said Jim Coleman, chair of the Athletic Council and the John S. Bradway Professor of the Practice of Law. Coleman said the Athletic Council’s academic committee— See COUNCIL on Page 6 made up of faculty members and deans who are on the Athletic Council—meets in the Spring to talk about student-athletes’ academic performance. They look at certain aspects of the academic experiences: the pattern of majors, participation in high impact learning experiences and whether they are taking multiple independent studies or repeatedly taking classes with the same professor. “The kinds of things that have gotten universities in trouble in the past, we monitor to make sure that it’s not a problem here at Duke,” Coleman said. He noted that the Athletic Council has completed a “comprehensive examination” of the Academic Support Services unit of the Athletics Department, and they found that the “unit is doing extremely well.” He noted that the council made some recommendations and would monitor them going forward. Martha Putallaz, the faculty athletics representative to the Atlantic Coast Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, said the last time she had presented to Academic Council about issues the NCAA was concerned with was May 2012. One of the major changes since her last presentation was the decision by the NCAA to allow five athletic conferences— including the ACC—to have autonomy to make some decisions Bre Bradham | Associate Photography Editor related to student-athletes’ well-being and resources. James Coleman, chair of the Athletic Council and the John S. Bradway Professor of the Practice of Law, said that the Athletic As for the effect that athletes’ practice schedules have on Department’s Academic Support Services was doing “extremely well.”

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