Eric E Hall, Anthony Weaver, Caroline J Ketcham
High impact practices (HIPs), such as study abroad, internships, learning communities, and undergraduate research, have repeatedly been shown to positively affect academic success (Kuh, 2008), yet not all students have equal access to these experiences. One cohort who often have high time demands and resource constraints are student-athletes (SAs); limiting their opportunities to participate in HIPs and potentially negatively impacting their academic experiences and success. SAs face unique challenges, such as heavy time commitments to their sport including seasons that overlap multiple semesters and pressure to achieve athletic success, which can reduce access to and involvement in HIPs. The SA cohort has not been a focus in HIP research and thus participation rates and barriers are not well represented or understood. Extensive research within the breadth of HIPs across institutions is essential to elevate the SA experience and inform institutions about potential barriers and challenges for underrepresented populations. It is clear that in order for SAs to participate in many HIPs, innovative practices are required. This work is a portion of a funded two year collaboration with 9 participating Division I collegiate institutions from the same conference. The overall goal is to identify best practices and barriers to participation and strategies to improve the quality of their experience. This poster will highlight the 1st year data including participation rates of SA in HIPs across the nine institutions. Preliminary analysis shows that defining and tracking of these practices is inconsistent. More importantly, HIP offerings and SA participation rates vary across institutions. Further analysis will include best practices and quality of HIP experiences for SAs within and across institutions. Consideration and discussion of how the 8 elements of HIPs as defined by Kuh and colleagues can be applied to intercollegiate athletics would be beneficial for institutions to consider to increase access to HIPs. Recommendations related to how to intentionally supplement and elevate the athletic experience to incorporate qualities related to HIPs will be provided.
