COLUMBUS -- A panel of faculty told The Ohio State University Board of Trustees Friday (7/7) that recent reports focusing on the graduation rates of student athletes at Ohio State don't tell the whole story - in fact, almost 90 percent of student athletes who exhaust their eligibility do graduate from the university.

However, in light of recent overall declines in the graduation rate of student athletes, the panel has visited three other institutions whose student-athlete graduation rates exceed Ohio State's. The group, representing the University Senate's Athletic Council and its Committee on Academic Progress and Eligibility, noted that the academic performance of student athletes has been given considerable attention at Ohio State for the past three years. Three years ago, for the first time, athletes' graduation rates dipped below the overall student graduation rates at Ohio State.

The group this spring visited the University of Nebraska and Florida State and Penn State universities. Among those schools' strengths for athletes are a comfortable atmosphere for African-American students at Florida State because of its proximity to Florida A&M University and FSU's policy of redshirting freshmen, which lets first-year students get ahead academically, said David O. Frantz, the 1999-2000 chair of Athletic Council and a professor of English. At Penn State, team coaches foster a climate that emphasizes athletes' academic performance, Frantz said, adding that Nebraska is especially good at celebrating the academic success of its athletes.

The panel found that challenges at Ohio State, for both student athletes and the entire student population, include the use of the quarter system, the non-uniformity of the General Education Curriculum, the ability to drop courses late in a quarter and the inability to enroll in desired majors in some cases. Among athletes, Ohio State also sees a higher transfer rate out of the university for those whose athletic, not academic, success is unsatisfactory - which decreases the overall graduation rate.

As part of its examination of the academic performance of athletes, the Athletic Council's Committee on Academic Progress and Eligibility recommended that the student athlete academic support operation carry dual reporting lines to both the athletic director and to the Office of Academic Affairs via a specially appointed faculty liaison. The office currently reports only to the athletic director. Frantz said the recommendation is endorsed by David Williams II, vice president for student and urban/community affairs, Director of Athletics Andy Geiger, and Martha Garland, vice provost and dean for undergraduate studies.