By Edina A.T. Strum
Arizona Daily Wildcat
January 16, 1997

UA asks regents to delay tougher athletic eligibility 1 more semester

The requirements were adopted in November 1994.

The board's requirements, which are stricter than the NCAA's, call for students in their third year to maintain at least a 1.8 GPA, students in their fourth year to maintain a 2.0 GPA, and either a mid-year or semester-by-semester eligibility review. The NCAA determines eligibility once a year.

Although the board's requirements were made clear to all three universities, the University of Arizona failed to implement the mid-year reviews, said Mike Proctor, a UA attorney.

He said the UA only became aware of the oversight late in the fall semester.

"We're not sure where the breakdown occurred," Proctor said.

Rather than implement the policy immediately, the university asked the regents to waive the requirement through the spring semester.

The waiver is intended to be an opportunity to inform the students who would be affected, rather than have them lose eligibility without warning, the report stated.

"We didn't want the students to suffer for our mistakes," Proctor said.

The board voted to approve the waiver, after making it clear the oversight was unacceptable.

Regent Hank Amos said, "It's inexcusable. The only reason I'm going to vote for this is because it's not fair to the students."

Regents Jonathan Schmitt and Judy Gignac also expressed disappointment in the university's failure to comply with the regents' policy.

They asked Proctor what disciplinary action would be taken when the responsible party is found.

"Depending on who was in charge and the nature of the error, disciplinary action will vary," Proctor said. "There's nothing I've seen at this point to indicate there was anything intentional involved."

It may turn out to be a simple mistake in applying complicated regulations, he said.

Gignac said six students from various sports teams would have been affected, but she did not have more specific information.

The University Attorney's Office will continue to investigate the violation but cannot release any information regarding which students or teams were involved, due to privacy laws, Proctor said.

Gignac added that the UA is required to make a self-report of the violation to the NCAA. Proctor said the UA will do so as soon as the investigation is completed.

In other business, the regents approved establishment of the Rombach Institute on Crime, Delinquency and Corrections in the UA College of Business and Public Administration.

The institute will be funded by a total $710,000 gift from the UA alumnus. An initial $110,000 will be used to get the institute started and the remaining $600,000 will be transferred to the UA after Rombach's death.

The mission of the institute is to "advance public policy in the field of criminal justice and serve the state of Arizona in its efforts to reduce crime," according to the regents' executive summary on the issue.

The board also reviewed a draft of the Report Card for the Arizona University System, which will be voted on at the February regents' meeting.

The report card will "give the general public and decision makers data about where we are as a system," Regent Kurt Davis said.

The report is meant to help ensure all three universities are making progress on the strategic plan adopted by the board.

When shortfalls are identified, Davis said resources will be shifted to remedy the problems.

Some indicators that will be used include:

• access by students to full-time faculty,

• graduation rates,

• percent of faculty with "good" or "excellent" teaching rating,

• use of new technologies to serve rural areas,

• efficient use of resources.