By Frank Mercogliano, Asst. A.D. for Communications
When you go to a concert or when you step up to the mic as the lead speaker at a major talk, feedback is very, very bad. When you are an athletic department, and specifically, the University of New Mexico, feedback is very, very good.
Regardless of the topic, feedback comes to us in all forms. From message board postings, letters to the editor, emails and phone calls, whether good or bad, we get feedback. Generally speaking, that feedback is helpful. UNM has held “Town Halls” with season ticket holders that have led to things like more free parking at women’s basketball, to yes, even beer sales throughout WisePies Arena and University Stadium.
While that feedback is great for us to learn about how to better the fan experience, what about the student-athletes? How do we as a department ensure that the student-athlete experience is living up to what it needs to be? Feedback, positive and negative, is critical for any athletic department to understand the needs and concerns, and to understand the successes, for any student-athlete. So how is this best accomplished?
Senior student-athlete exit interviews.
These are perhaps the most important pieces of feedback to our department, but to just look at a document with the notations from the initial interviews does a disservice to all involved. It’s much more than that. To understand the student-athlete exit interviews, one has to understand the process, which allows for confidentiality and transparency, and in the end, allows our department to grow, learn and get better.
“The senior exit interview process is an important tool in assessing student-athlete welfare and improving the student-athlete experience at UNM,” said Amy Neel, who is on the Athletic Council and serves as UNM’s Faculty Athletics Representative. “To ensure that participants do not worry about reprisals for their responses, graduating seniors are invited to an in-person, confidential interview conducted by faculty members of the Faculty Senate Athletics Council.”
Student-athlete exit interviews are not conducted by members of the athletic department. How could a student-athlete confidently express him or herself with a coach, or a friend of a coach, in the room? Instead, student-athlete exit interviews are conducted by the Athletic Council, which is currently comprised of nine faculty members from various colleges, ranging from music to political science to communications to Africana Studies.
Over the course of several meetings, Athletic Council members meet with exiting seniors from any and all of UNM’s 22 sponsored sports. From free flowing dialogue to specific questions, student-athletes are allowed a chance to give their opinions and perceptions of their experiences, whether they were a student-athlete for just one year, or four or five (and even in some cases due to injury six).
Regardless of whether an issue was six years ago, or in the last month, if it’s brought up in the interview process, it is noted by the Council. The Council takes those notes from the exit interviews and pares them down into a document that protects the anonymity of the student-athletes, and that document is shared with by the Council with Paul Krebs, Vice President for Athletics.
Anonymity is a key for the student-athletes to feel free to express anything in those meetings, and much like an anonymous source wanting to remain so, potential publication of the raw notes from the interviews could in theory jeopardize the very transparency that the athletic department seeks to have.
“I am very disappointed that our raw notes were made public,” said Neel. “We assured the student-athletes that their comments would be kept confidential to benefit future student-athletes.”
Krebs understands the critical nature of the process.
“The fact that our student-athletes feel comfortable speaking with the members of the Athletic Council is of great importance. These interviews are critical. It’s a direct line to see the things that we are doing well, and where we need to improve,” said Krebs. “We aren’t alone as these are done by athletic departments all across the nation, and while we need to be transparent in the things we do, we need to protect the rights of our student-athletes so they can keep their anonymity and be allowed to speak freely and not have their every thought subjected to public scrutiny.”
It’s also important to note that many times, the concern of a student can be and is cleared up quickly, whether it’s a misunderstanding of insurance issues, or class advising. Sometimes, student concerns appear credible and are vetted and handled by the various sport coordinators.
“The students’ responses are summarized by the Council, and both positive and negative comments are discussed with Athletics administration,” said Neel. “Constructive changes have been carried out by the Athletics Department as a result of this process.”
It’s that type of feedback that serves as an important tool for the UNM Athletic Department. It is the department’s sincere hope that our exiting senior student-athletes will continue to give feedback to the Athletic Council and not be deterred by any attempts from people outside our department to use their perceptions to discredit them or their experiences at New Mexico.
While not an all-encompassing list, some very tangible things have come out of previous student-athlete exit interviews, including UNM’s hiring of a full-time nutritionist, two new large multi-passenger vehicles for student use, the new R.D. and Joan Dale Hubbard Clubhouse for the baseball team to career workshops and a soon-to-be announced new Athletic Performance facility that will benefit a large number of student-athletes.
“The senior exit interviews have long been the University of New Mexico’s most effective tool to measure the wellbeing of our student athletes,” said Dr. Michael Rocca, a member of the Athletic Council. “Two characteristics make them so effective. First, they are conducted by the Faculty Senate Athletic Council, who are made up of UNM faculty members independent of the Athletic Department. Second, a bond of trust has developed between faculty and students that information obtained during the interviews would not only remain anonymous but would only be used to better the experience of UNM student athletes.”
“The nature of the Athletics Council’s independence as well as the assurance that conversations would remain anonymous and private give our student-athletes the freedom to speak with us honestly about their experiences. There simply is no better mechanism to assess student-athlete welfare than these interviews,” added Rocca.
Perhaps that best sums up why student-athlete exit interviews are valuable. They allow for critical feedback. They allow for positive feedback. They allow for negative feedback. While student-athletes always have a voice during their playing career, it allows that voice to be heard even when they are no longer wearing UNM across their jersey. They allow for a free-flowing exchange of thoughts and ideas. They are fundamental to the overall student-athlete experience. They aren’t required by the government. They are required by the NCAA for all institutions. If we as a department are seeking not just a pat on the back, but an honest look from the people who live the experience every day, we need to the feedback from the student-athletes and the Athletic Council to better ourselves.
One former student-athlete who went through the experience was Kendall Spencer. Spencer won the NCAA Indoor long jump title, served as the NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Committee Chair and became the first student-athlete to ever sit on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors.
“It’s no mystery that the day-to-day lives of student-athletes are fast paced. The time between freshman and senior year races by and before we know it, we’re out in the real world. This time however, spent in the classroom, on the field and within the community is the very essence of the student-athlete experience. A one of a kind experience that warrants protection and constant improvement,” said Spencer. “The senior student-athlete exit interviews offer a substantial opportunity for colleges and universities around the country. For most of us, it’s the first time we have the opportunity to reflect on our journey as college students and impact the lives of those to come by providing feedback used to improve the next generation of students.”
Spencer added, “I look back on my adventure at the University of New Mexico with a smile, knowing that my experience was phenomenal and that my feedback during the exit survey helped create the one of a kind experience that exists today.”
The positive is the pats on the back are much more frequent, but the beauty of democracy is at play, because regardless of the feedback, one truth is always evident. Those student-athletes are #Lobos4Life.
