Student-Athlete Handbook

Posted: Oct 17, 2003

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Purpose
Endicott College Mission Statement
Endicott Athletic Department Mission Statement

Team & Player Issues
Insurance
Use of Post Center
Uniforms and Equipment
Transportation
Lodging Policies
Overnight Hosting (recruits)

Social Issues
Code of Conduct
Discipline
Gambling
Drugs
Harassment
Hazing
Alcohol
Tobacco

Academic Policies
Eligibility
Transfers
Class Attendance
Academic/Athletic Conflicts
Academic Resources

Grievance Procedure

PURPOSE

Endicott Mission Statement

The primary mission of Endicott College is to in instill students an understanding of and an appreciation for professional and liberal studies. Deeply woven within this philosophy is the concept of applied learning, which has been the hallmark of Endicott. Linking classroom and off campus work experience through required internships remains the most distinguishing feature of the College.

Endicott has a vision for the total development of the individual within a community that fosters an appreciation of cultural diversity, international awareness, community service, and moral and ethical values. Endicott is an innovative and vibrant, student-centered institution that supports students in their pursuit of knowledge.

Naturally, no two students experience Endicott the same way or at the same pace. Yet, common threads run through the fabric of the Endicott experience: increased self-confidence, stronger professional skills and technological competencies, and perhaps the most valued of all, lives open to change.

Athletic Department Mission

Endicott's Athletic Department believes that, in concert with their academic pursuits, athletic challenges help students develop life skills that will serve them well as adults. Just as Endicott's curriculum is enhanced with the internship experiences, varsity athletics provide an outstanding "testing ground" against strong regional and national competition. Backed by highly experienced coaches and outstanding support from the College, Endicott athletes push themselves to realize their academic and physical potential. And while winning is important, a truer measure of success is evaluating how each student prepares for intense competition and how he/she handles the successes and conflicts associated with it.

TEAM & PLAYER ISSUES

Insurance*

Every student athlete must provide evidence of primary insurance. This policy will cover injuries related to games, practices and transportation.

Endicott College Athletics provides supplemental insurance that can be used when the primary policy has reached its limits. There is no premium to the student for this secondary policy; however, there is a \$250 deductible payable at the time of claim.

Additionally, the NCAA provides catastrophic injury insurance that may be used in the case of some serious injuries.

*These paragraphs only generally summarize our insurance plan and are not meant for literal interpretation. Some restrictions apply and are not mentioned here. For actual policy information on Endicott's supplemental policy and the NCAA's catastrophic policy, please contact the athletic director.

No student athlete shall be allowed to practice or compete until he/she has read, understood, and completed the following 4 forms:

1. Acknowledgement and Assumption of Risk: means you understand that there is risk involved with playing your sport and assume the responsibility for that risk.
2. Medical Insurance Questionnaire: proof of your primary coverage
3. Medical History Questionnaire
4. Medical Information Release: (Freshmen Only) allows us to get your health form from Endicott's Health Center.

Use of the Post Center

All athletes for all practices or meetings must check-in to the Post Center by swiping your ID. (Have it with you at all times)

Your varsity standing does not give you authority to remove scheduled participants from the courts, weight room or fields.

Please report all damage to the front desk as soon as it occurs

Your team will be assigned a varsity locker room that is appropriate and available for your season. Outside that assigned time, please use the general student locker rooms.

All locks must be issued by the Post Center.

No food/drink is allowed in classrooms, locker rooms, aerobics room, weight room, or gyms.

Always use the front doors or designated rear team doors for exiting the building. All other exits are alarmed. If you set one off, please report it to the front desk.

REMOVE AND CLEAN CLEATS OUTSIDE

No players should be in the equipment rooms.

Uniforms and Equipment

All uniforms and equipment issued to student athletes remain property of Endicott College. Please treat the items with care so that the College is continually well represented.

All game apparel is to be laundered by the Equipment Room Manager and should be turned in after each game by each player whether or not you got in the game.

Practice gear should be laundered regularly by coordination with your head coach and the Equipment Room Manager.

The Athletic Department does not buy travel/warm up suits or shoes for teams. Each team, through its head coach, has the opportunity to fund-raise for these types of items. The Athletic Department reserves the right to protect its image and the representation of its name. Therefore, color schemes and lettering must be approved by the Athletic Department regardless of the source of funding.

Transportation

Endicott College has the responsibility to transport all athletes to and from all games.

Student athletes must go with the team from portal-to-portal.

To be released from this obligation, a "Portal-to-Portal Release" form must be on file with the head coach and Athletic Department before the trip begins. The party that releases you must be a parent or legal guardian. Portal-to-Portal Release forms are available on the Endicott Athletics homepage.

If a student cannot make departure time, he/she will not attend that game. Private vehicles are not permitted for transporting students to games.

Students may not drive College or rental vans. Only coaches and other EC community members on the College's approved driver list may drive Endicott or rental vans.

It is each team's responsibility to leave the vans clean and full of gas for the next user.

Lodging Policies

Stay with the team at all times and adhere to all curfews, check-in times and departure times.

Guests may only meet with you in common or public areas of hotels. No guests of either gender in your room.

Alcohol is strictly prohibited regardless if the student is of legal drinking age.

All phone and cot charges are the responsibility of the student athlete.

Coaches have the right to inspect rooms for cleanliness at any time.

Gross misconduct can result in a student athlete being suspended from the remainder of the trip and/or sent home immediately at his/her own cost. Such actions, despite occurring off campus, are still under the jurisdiction of Endicott College and its officials such as the Athletic Director and the Dean of Students.

Overnight Hosting (recruits)

All Student Athletes who assist coaches with recruiting must follow the following guidelines:

Student athletes must be registered as Shipmates with the admissions office and go through training in their office.

Coaches and student athlete hosts must agree on an itinerary.

The itinerary shall not include any location where drugs and alcohol are present.

Student athlete hosts should immediately call the coach if there are problems with the guest.

No off campus activities requiring the use of a private vehicle.

SOCIAL ISSUES

Code of Conduct
Expectations for student athlete behavior are based on the philosophy that participating in NCAA, Division III athletics is a privilege for some rather than a right for all. Abuse of any privilege may result in its removal.

Student athletes are representatives of themselves, their teammates and coaches, their families and hometowns, and the College. It is important to realize that in order to continue representing their team and/or the College, athletes must exhibit a high standard for personal conduct. Student athletes are always expected to exhibit: sportsmanship, honesty, integrity, and respect for themselves and others.

Listed below are a few simple rules student athletes are asked to live by:

Keep your priorities in mind. The body goes where the mind takes it.

Set a high standard for yourself and others will follow. No foul, abusive language and/or disrespect towards any coaches, teammates, officials, college faculty/staff or opponents.

Be a positive representative the entire athletic department in all daily interactions. If you have a problem, work it out in the manner of an educated citizen.

Appreciate your opportunities to compete against the best in New England. Avoid compromising those opportunities with thoughtless behavior off the court/field.

Discipline

The following forms of discipline may be used by the Athletic Department for warranted reasons, which include but are not limited to the categories listed on pages 4,5 & 6.

TEAM: Coaches and their assistants are granted the capacity to set team rules that provide common experiences for each team member within the parameters and scope of NCAA, Division III philosophy and the mission of Endicott Athletic. Matters that affect only the team and its day-to-day operation are handled within the team structure. However, severe disciplinary actions, such as dismissal from team or prolonged suspension, must be reported to the Athletic Director for the purposes of record keeping, consistency and appropriateness.

STUDENT: The Athletic Department recognizes that college-aged students may on occasion make inappropriate decisions in their personal live within our community. Within the bounds of progressive discipline and educational, experiential learning, it is not the Athletic Department's wish to punish student athletes for twice for the same offense. However, the Department reserves the right to decide if an offense infringes on our mission and integrity and hand out an appropriate sanction ranging from suspension to removal from the team.

GROUP: The Athletic Department and the College reserve the right to withhold privileges from the entire team should egregious acts be committed anywhere by any numbers of team members in the name of the team.

Gambling Activities

Student-athletes shall not knowingly:

Provide information to individuals involved in organized gambling activities concerning intercollegiate athletics competition;
Solicit a bet on any intercollegiate team;
Accept a bet on any team representing the institution;
Solicit or accept a bet on any intercollegiate competition for any item (e.g., cash, shirt, dinner) that has tangible value; or
Participate in any gambling activity that involves intercollegiate athletics or professional athletics through a bookmaker, a parlay card or any other method employed by organized gambling

Drugs

The use, possession, and/or sale of chemical substances by those persons not authorized to do so through medical prescription for personal use is forbidden by state and/or federal law. Additionally, the NCAA has determined that certain substances are a dangerous to student-athletes and are banned. A student-athlete who has tested positive for substance on the list of banned drugs shall be declared ineligible for further participation in postseason and regular-season competition during the time period ending one calendar year after the incident. The list of banned substances can be found at http://www.ncaa.org. Click on "Education/Outreach", then on "Drug Testing Program."

Harassment

Harassment is defined a verbal or physical conduct interfering with an individual's performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work, education or living environment. Harassment includes, but is not limited to, slurs, verbal or physical conduct. The College and the Athletic Department prohibits harassment based on, but not limited to, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age or disability.

Sexual harassment is defined as sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when (1) submission to such conduct is made a condition of the individual's education or work, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for academic or employment decision affecting such individuals, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working, academic, athletic, or living environment.

Positive steps will be taken to eliminate harassment when it is discovered. Persons found in violation of this policy will subject themselves to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

Hazing
As required by Massachusetts State Code, Chapter 536 of the Acts of 1985, The State Board of Regents has promulgated HAZING REPORTING REGULATIONS for all colleges in Massachusetts. The Athletic Department is required to inform you of the law and get your team's signed understanding and agreement to comply with the law.

Applicable sections of the statute are as follows:

State Definition: Whoever is a principal organizer or participant in the crime of hazing, shall be punished by a fine, or by imprisonment in a house of correction, or both.
The term "hazing" as used in this section shall mean any conduct or method of initiation into any student organization, whether on public or private property, which willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of any student or other person. Such conduct shall include whipping, beating, branding, forced calisthenics, exposure to weather, forced consumption of any food, liquor, beverage, drug or other substance, or any other brutal or sexually inappropriate treatment or forced physical activity which is likely to adversely affect the physical and mental health or safety of any such student or other person, or which subjects such student or other person to extreme mental stress, including extended deprivation of sleep or extended isolation.
Consent by any such student or other person shall not be available as a defense to any prosecution this action. (You have the responsibility to reasonably foresee the results of your actions.)
Failure To Report Hazing: Whoever knows that another person is the victim of hazing as defined above and is at the scene of such crime shall, to the extent that such person can do so without danger or peril to himself or others, report such crime to an appropriate law enforcement official (or coach, athletic director, Dean of Students, director of counselor or any College faculty or staff member) as soon as is reasonably possible. Whoever fails to report is punishable by the State

Alcohol

The use, possession and sale of alcohol by persons under the age of 21 is illegal and punishable by the athletic department, Dean of Student Office, city of Beverly, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

While not illegal, use of alcohol by student athletes aged 21and over present's risks to the entire Athletic Department's pursuit of excellence and each individual's physical well-being.

It is well documented that for up to 36 hours after consumption of even small amounts of alcohol in the body can slow reaction time; distort balance, perception and hand-eye coordination; diminish strength and fine motor skills and speed up the onset of fatigue.

Obviously, the athletic department feels that the use of alcohol is counter-productive to its mission.

Use of Tobacco Products

The use of tobacco products is prohibited for all student-athletes in all sports during practice and competition. While not illegal, use of tobacco products by student athletes aged 18 and over presents risks to the entire Athletic Department's pursuit of excellence and each individual's physical well-being.

ACADEMIC POLICIES

Eligibility

Endicott subscribes fully to the NCAA, Division III Philosophy Statement that places its highest priority on the pursuit of a baccalaureate degree. The athletic department personnel work with student-athletes and the faculty ensure that the integrity of academic responsibility is not compromised.
According to Section 14.4.1 of the NCAA bylaws to be eligible to represent an institution in intercollegiate athletics competition, a student-athlete shall maintain satisfactory progress toward a baccalaureate or equivalent degree at Endicott as determined by the regulations of Endicott.
In compliance with the NCAA and Endicott College officials, each student-athlete shall be enrolled in a minimum, full-time, baccalaureate course of study of not less than 12 credits per semester and maintain satisfactory academic progress. Satisfactory academic progress is defined as maintaining a cumulative grade point average of not less than:

Credits attempted			Minimum Cumulative GPA
 1 - 16.5  	 			       1.50
 17 - 32.5 				       1.60
 33 - 49.5 			                1.70
 50 - 80.5 				       1.90
 81 and above			                2.00

Endicott College Athletics reviews each student athlete's progress at the conclusion of each semester.
Student athletes in NCAA, Division III have 10 full-time semesters (regardless of whether or not they participated in athletics) to use their 4 seasons of eligibility.
Graduate students who have remaining seasons and semesters of eligibility may only compete at the institution from which they received their bachelor degree.
Students must be full time (12 credits for undergraduates, 9 for graduate students) in order to participate, except for their final semester immediately before graduation, during which they may be part-time.

Transfers

Transfer student athletes must complete a year in residence before participating at Endicott. However, if the student never participated in athletics at his/her previous institution, or participated, and was eligible to return to his/her previous institution, he/she may invoke "Division III Exception" and participate immediately at Endicott. If the student participated in athletics and was not eligible to return and participate at his/her previous institution, then he/she must spend a year in residence before participating at Endicott.

Once enrolled at Endicott, transfer student athletes will be reviewed semester-by-semester in accordance with all credits he/she has attempted. For example, a transfer student that has attempted 90 credits elsewhere, must earn a 2.00 or higher in his/her 1st semester of work at Endicott. (The same as a student who attempted all 90 credits at Endicott.)

Class Attendance

The policy of the Athletic Department is that all athletes are expected to attend all classes and examinations. It is understood that not all students can attend all classes. Absences fall into three main categories: a) absences because of other class activities; b) absences because of official College functions; and c) absences because of personal reasons.

The policy is that, regardless of the reason for the absence, the responsibility is upon the student to contact his/her faculty member before the absence so that a mutual agreement can be reached regarding the worked to be completed and how the course will be graded in light of the absence.

Individual faculty members may establish attendance standards in their course syllabi, which become criteria for assessment and evaluation. A student who accumulates absences risks failure in the course. In extreme cases, a student may be dismissed from a course which could render him/her ineligible for athletic competition and, ultimately, from the College.

Academic/Athletic conflicts

Student-Athlete Procedures for Seeking to be Excused from Classes

No classes are to be missed for practices.
Upon receiving athletic travel schedules from his/her coaches, the student-athlete must determine if any conflicts exist with his/her academic (classes, projects, trips, etc) schedule.
The student-athlete must make an appointment to talk face to face with any faculty members teaching classes where the conflict exists as soon as possible after receiving their travel schedules.
Upon notification of any non-scheduled contest (make-up games, tournaments, etc.), the student-athlete must seek out any faculty members whose classes are in conflict and make an appointment to talk with the faculty members immediately.
After the student-athlete has made a good faith effort to contact the faculty member and has not been able to, the student athlete must contact the faculty athletic representative and his/her coach and inform them of the steps they have taken.
The faculty athletic representative will try to contact the faculty member on the student-athlete's behalf.
An agreement will be made between the faculty member and the student-athlete to resolve the conflicts to the mutual benefit of everyone concerned with recognition that academics has priority over athletic competition. (i.e. some games may have to be missed for academic conflicts.)
If the FAR is unable to contact the faculty member, he will then contact the Vice President for Academic Affairs to determine what action is in the best interest of the College.
The Athletic Department and the Faculty Athletic Representative will assist students with making arrangements for exam conflicts during post-season play. However, athletes must keep their faculty members informed throughout the semester that post-season play is eminent.

Academic Resources

Each student athlete's academic progress is monitored by the Athletic Department. Students who need assistance have the following resources available to them:

Faculty Athletic Representative: David N. Bader, ext 2182. Bader graduated from Salem State in 1990 with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Philosophy. He received the Jane Gray Psychology award and is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi National Academic Honor Society. In 1992, he received a Master of Science degree from Salem State in Marriage and Family Counseling and began a private practice in counseling in 1993. Before becoming a full time member of the Endicott College Psychology department in 1999 Professor Bader taught as an adjunct faculty member at Endicott College and Salem State and served as the Interim Coordinator for Salem State's Gloucester Center in 1996. Currently he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Academic Psychology at Walden University.
Academic Support Center: Interim Dean of the College, Dr. Laura Rossi-le, ext 2290. The Academic Support Center provides a variety of services to all students, including athletes. The services are Supplemental Instruction Program, Peer Study Groups, Peer Learning Program, College Learning Program, Student Support Program (extra fee), and Computer Lab instruction. The Academic Support Center is located on the lower level of the library. Students may drop in at any time or be referred by a coach or faculty member.
Coaches and athletic administrators are each very concerned about each student's progress. They may be a great source for directions and referrals regarding your academic questions and concerns.

Grievance procedure

Coaches are expected to maintain very high levels of professionalism at all times. The following procedure allows students to express concerns about a relationship with a coach without negative repercussions for exercising their rights.

The student athlete will notify the Athletic Director or Senior Women's Administrator in writing of a grievance against the coach. The AD and/or SWA will initially attempt to mediate.
If a satisfactory result cannot be reached, either party may request a hearing from the AD/SWA.
The hearing committee will consist of the Faculty Athletic Rep and 2 coaches and 2 student athletes from other sports.
The student athlete and the FAR will each choose a coach and a student athlete to be on the hearing committee. Those members could be dismissed for conflict of interest and another member must be selected.
The FAR will notify the AD when the committee is fully assembled and a hearing date will be set.
The grievance and results of any mediation or hearing are confidential for all parties involved.