After its visit to the College last week, a certification review team from the National Collegiate Athletic Association found Dartmouth in "substantial compliance" with the qualities the NCAA requires of its members.
A group of four NCAA representatives visited the College from Nov. 11 to Nov. 13. At the conclusion of the visit, the team presented its preliminary findings and a formal written report will be issued later.
The group examined four areas -- governance, academic integrity, fiscal integrity and commitment to equity-- outlined in a self-study the College recently conducted as part of the certification process.
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Karl Furstenberg chaired Dartmouth's certification steering committee which performed a year-long evaluation and submitted its findings to the NCAA in August.
"When they come, they basically have a kind of checklist from the NCAA that they look at that relates to the four areas," Furstenberg said.
"They talked to a broad range of people that have different perspectives on the athletic program," Furstenberg. "They really were very impressed with what they saw."
The team consulted about 50 people, including faculty, student-athletes and coaches, he said.
"Our report comes to the very clear conclusion that Dartmouth is in very full compliance," Furstenberg continued. "The program is at such a high level of standards that it's really a model."
At a meeting on Wednesday, Dartmouth was rated in "the highest category that they can find you in," which is "substantial compliance," Director of Athletics Dick Jaeger said.
The review team pointed out some minor areas for improvement of which the self-study committee was already aware, Jaeger said. These areas included improving minority representation on its football coaching staff and on its sports teams.
"They [were] partially checking to see if the report is accurate, but more importantly, talking to people about the quality of the program," Furstenberg said.
This was the first time the NCAA certification team visited the College and Furstenberg said the process will be repeated in the future, although the NCAA has not decided how often.
"They still haven't decided if they're going to do this every five years or every 10 years," Furstenberg said. "For a place like Dartmouth ... it's likely to be every 10 years," because of the College's substantial compliance.
Jaeger said the process was a good experience and it was important to get outside corroboration for the self-study's findings.
"I think the self-study and the visit reconfirms for us that we're proud of the program and proud of the students and staff that participate in it," Furstenberg said.
"And we're also pleased to have it behind us," Furstenberg added. "We've been working on this for 16 months."
