By Earl W. Edwards

Earl W. Edwards is Director of Athletics at the University of California-San Diego and a recipient of the 2007 Athletic Director of the Year award for the NCAA Division II West Region from NACDA. He also operates Athletic Consulting by Earl Edwards (ACEE) and can be reached at: ewedwards@ucsd.edu.

One of the buzz phrases we throw around a lot these days is "student-athlete experience." We want our student-athletes to have a fabulous four (or more) years participating in our athletic programs. We want to make sure they are learning, growing, and experiencing college life to its fullest.

But how do we know if our student-athletes are truly getting the most out of their time at our institutions? Is there a way to determine how every athlete is impacted by their participation?

Here at the University of California-San Diego, we have developed several processes to evaluate our student-athletes' experiences. They begin as the student-athlete enters our program and end as they leave us, making their feedback a constant in our department. This has helped us continue a proud tradition of academic and athletic excellence at our school.

SETTING THE STAGE
The mission of the UC-San Diego athletic department is to be committed to the physical, intellectual, and personal development of student-athletes while enhancing their overall student life experience and campus pride. Through our 23 intercollegiate sports, we strive to promote the pursuit of excellence, strength of character, teamwork, ethical conduct, and diversity, as well as other lessons competitive sports teach.

Our first step toward knowing whether we are reaching these goals, and thus providing a great experience, is to make our student-athletes aware of them. We do this in two different ways at the start of the school year.

The first method is an orientation with new athletes. The purpose of this meeting is to introduce the freshmen to the culture of our department, as well as the many resources and staff that are available to them. We explain the role of each member of our staff, which includes athletic trainers, sport psychologists, compliance officers, strength and conditioning coaches, and administrators.

Our athletic department video, titled "Real Student, Real Athlete, Real Success," is also shown. It describes the athletic and academic culture we strive for on our campus. Athletic administrators, coaches, student-athletes, faculty, and the chancellor address various aspects of athletics and academics at UC-San Diego. It also describes the relationship our school has with the city of San Diego. This information helps incoming freshmen understand what we are working to accomplish through UC-San Diego athletics.

Second, all new and returning athletes come together for a meeting and party. The athletes are introduced to coaches and staff and I give a "State of the Union" address. I briefly recap some of our successes from the previous year, update them on current issues, explain new initiatives, and emphasize the importance of supporting each other. I also talk about our expectation for them to serve as role models in the classroom, on the field, and in the community. We then break up for some food, fun, and games.

The get-together is a great way to create team and staff bonding as well as develop a family atmosphere, which is another important part of introducing and reinforcing our department's culture. Student-athletes start their careers here knowing what the "student-athlete experience" entails and how we will support them through their time here.

ANNUAL SURVEY
We then evaluate our student-athletes' experiences in two ways. The first is through an annual survey titled "Student-Athlete Evaluation of Intercollegiate Athletics," which is completed by each athlete shortly after their season ends. This is used primarily to get feedback on the coaches and sports.

This survey is divided into three sections. The first asks simple yes or no questions regarding performance, such as: Have you improved your technical skills in your sport this year? Have you improved your physical fitness this year? Have you improved your overall athletic performance this year?

The second section is a 20-question evaluation of the coach using a rating system on a scale of one to five. Examples of these statements are: displays knowledge of the sport and communicates technical expertise; applies discipline procedures that are consistent and handled appropriately; motivates players effectively; effectively uses practice time; and overall rate of effectiveness.

The third section asks the student-athletes to respond to four questions in written form:

• What do you consider to be the strengths of your coach?
• What, if any, do you consider to be areas of concern or weaknesses and what suggestions do you have that would help your coach be more effective?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of your assistant coaches? Please identify by name.
• Please provide any other comments that you feel are appropriate.

The results of this survey are presented to the coach through a one-on-one meeting with his or her supervisor. It is clearly articulated to the coach that the purpose of the evaluation is to provide feedback to make the experience of our athletes the best that it can be. It is not an instrument designed to hire or fire coaches. We also state that it will ultimately make the coach better by identifying areas that may need improvement.

With this review, the confidentiality of the students is paramount, so we take great care in how we present the information to the coach. On one sheet, we list the questions of the second section, with the numerical responses from each athlete and the overall average for each question. The coach can look at the responses and get a quick assessment of each area. If a question has an average response rate lower than a three, it needs to be a point of emphasis for the following year. The coach and supervisor will identify potential ways to address the area(s) of concern.

A second sheet contains the responses from each of the open-ended questions from the survey. If there is a consistent negative response, then we will address that question. For example, if several athletes state that the coach needs to provide more discipline, we will discuss methods to do so.

EXIT INTERVIEW
The second formal way we get feedback is through our "Student-Athlete Exit Interview," which is completed once an athlete finishes his or her eligibility. There are 32 questions and statements addressing various aspects of the athlete's experience over his or her time here. Some of the statements we use are:

• Rate your overall athletic experience at UC-San Diego.
• Do you believe that participation in athletics helped promote your academic, physical, and social growth?
• How did your regularly scheduled practices, competitions, and other athletic activities affect your class schedule, examinations, meals, etc.?
• If you were being recruited from high school today, would you choose to attend UC-San Diego again? Why?
• Indicate the extent to which you, as a student-athlete, felt integrated into the student body. (Consider campus activities, housing, food services, etc.)

If responses in this questionnaire pertain to the team, the supervisor will sit down with the coach and identify those areas that need improvement. More often, responses to this survey will relate to department issues, which will be addressed by the staff. For example, many athletes had expressed a desire for more help with their careers, so the athletic department established a partnership with campus career services and an outside placement agency.

INFORMAL EVALUATIONS
We also use informal methods to get a sense of what our athletes are experiencing. Some really powerful feedback comes at two of our marquee athletic events. At our end-of-year, all-sports banquet, we select one outstanding athlete, usually a senior, to share his or her student-athlete experience. The emotion, passion, and description of their experience always validates why all of us in athletics do what we do.

Our "student-athlete day luncheon" celebration is much more intimate. We ask 12 student-athletes who are also good students and have performed some type of community service to attend. We also invite coaches, several deans, and faculty members. One of the 12 provides a testimony about their student-athlete experience at UC-San Diego.

By listening to our athletes' speeches at these two events, we better understand what aspects of our program are affecting them the most. We can see where our efforts ring loud and clear, or what they are leaving out of their talks and thus where we need to improve.

I believe that evaluating the student-athlete experience is one of the most important things we do as athletic administrators. It allows us to see if we are meeting the mission for our athletic department and identify areas that need to be improved upon. It also allows the student-athlete to be heard--instilling a sense of pride and loyalty that connects them to the university well into the future.