Misc. Policies
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a United States federal law that gives students access to their education records, an opportunity to seek to have the records amended, and some control over the disclosure of information from the records. With several exceptions, schools must have a student’s consent prior to the disclosure of education records.
As a student athlete at Goshen College, it will be necessary from time to time to access student records in order to confirm eligibility, monitor academic progress, provide medical attention, deal with any discipline issues and provide the necessary information for scholarships or external awards. Student athletes are expected to relinquish FERPA rights to their coaches, athletic administration and the Office of the Registrar for these specific situations.
Participation in intercollegiate athletics at Goshen College is a voluntary and public act in which a student athlete’s name, information and likeness are used in reporting and promoting athletics events. It is expected that students will consent to the use of their name, information and likeness for the purpose of reporting and promoting Goshen College Athletics, the Crossroads League (CL) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Such use will be at the discretion of the Athletics department. Student athletes shall wave the right to any compensation for the use of their photo and/or name that may be used in College and Association publications, including printed and electronic forms.
Gender Equity
The Goshen College Athletics Department is committed to abiding by NAIA operating principles regarding the participation of women in intercollegiate athletics and with Title IX regulations as interpreted to date by the United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights. The Athletics Department will do its best to help ensure that similar sport programs are treated equitably and student-athletes receive equitable access to resources, regardless of gender. More specifically, the college is committed to providing equitable:
1. Athletics-related aid for male and female student-athletes
2. Participation opportunities for male and female student-athletes
3. Equipment and supplies for male and female student-athletes
4. Game and practice times for male and female student-athletes
5. Travel and per diem allowances for male and female student-athletes
6. Access to tutors and other educational resources (e.g., library, computer lab, advising) for male and female student-athletes
7. Number and quality of coaches for like sports up to the NAIA allowable maximum while providing equitable compensation
8. Locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities for male and female student athletes
9. Medical and training facilities and services for male and female student-athletes
10. Use and availability of housing and dining facilities and services for male and female student-athletes
11. Public communications and athletics public relations staff coverage of each sport
12. Secretarial and administrative support, office space and equipment for like sports
13. Prospective student-athlete recruiting resources for like sports
Hazing Policy
Hazing is defined as any activity that endangers, degrades, humiliates or intimidates another person physically, mentally or emotionally, regardless of whether the person consents to the activity. Hazing is prohibited by Indiana state law, and anyone associated with Goshen College Athletics is forbidden from participating in any form of hazing. Incidents of hazing should be reported to the Athletic Director or Dean of Student Life and will be thoroughly investigated. Perpetrators of hazing will face significant disciplinary action.
Multi-Team Participation
Goshen College Athletics recognizes that students have numerous talents and abilities and thus permits student athletes to participate in more than one varsity sport in an academic year. However, due to the length and intensity of each individual sport, it is important that student athletes involved with more than one team communicate effectively with each of their coaches prior to, and during each season, in order to establish expectations and implications for each sport (ie. start and end dates, off season conditioning, scholarships etc). Student athletes are encouraged to establish expectations and implications with each coach prior to the school year and communicate with each coach in the event of changes.
Similarly, in the event that a student athlete would like to switch sports during their athletic career at Goshen College, they are required to communicate these intensions with each coach well prior to the start school year. The affected coaches will discuss the possibility of this happening and whether the current coach would release the student athlete to the new team.
Team Travel Conduct
Any student-athlete and/or student serving in an official capacity for the Department of Athletics is a representative of Goshen College. As a representative of the college, such students traveling individually or as a team/group to an intercollegiate athletics contest shall agree to abide by the laws of the State of Indiana, college policies, Department of Athletics policies, and team rules (e.g., dress code, nutritional requirements and curfew). Student-athletes and/or students serving in an official capacity for the Department of Athletics shall be responsible for acting in accordance with such laws, policies, and rules during the entire period of travel and competition. All student-athletes are expected to depart and return with their team unless they are officially released by completing the Travel Release Form.
Students authorized to travel on their own, either to or from an athletic event, assume full responsibility for themselves and their behavior. At no time are students permitted to transport other teammates or students.
Failure to follow all team or institutional rules can result in punishments, including dismissal from the team and/or early return from the trip at the student-athletes' expense.
Pregnancy
Effect on Team Membership
According to federal law, a student-athlete may not be dismissed from a team simply because she becomes pregnant. Thus any pregnant student-athlete at GC may remain on her sports team as long as she maintains academic good standing and does not choose to withdraw from the team. She is eligible to receive the same athletics-related services as any other student-athlete. Federal law also mandates that a pregnant student-athlete must be given as much time off as is medically necessary and must later be permitted to return to active team membership if she is still eligible, although she is not guaranteed a return to her specific playing position on the team. If a student-athlete’s participation in a sports team is interrupted by pregnancy, NAIA bylaws permit her to apply for an additional year of eligibility.
Effect on Athletics Scholarship
A student-athlete who becomes pregnant during her season of competition and is unable to continue to compete shall retain her athletic scholarship for the duration of the academic year. If that student is unable to resume competing with their team in subsequent years, they shall forfeit the remainder of their athletic scholarship. Since Athletic Scholarships are awarded on a one year basis, the awarding of subsequent athletic scholarships shall be at the discretion of the Head Coach in consultation with the Athletic Director.
How to Continue Participating in Athletics
A student-athlete is encouraged to inform her coach and the athletic trainer as soon as she becomes pregnant, though she cannot be required to do so. The athletics department will help her put together a support team to work with her to determine the best decisions during her pregnancy. This team could include the athlete’s coach, the athletic trainer, the athlete’s physician, and an academic adviser. The athletics department encourages a pregnant student-athlete to follow the advice of her physician regarding athletic participation during and following pregnancy and is not responsible for any injury to the student-athlete or complications to her pregnancy that may occur due to participation in athletics.
NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook Pregnancy Information
Though the NAIA does not provide suggestions for pregnant student-athletes, the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook includes the following guidelines:
1. The safety to participate in each sport must be dictated by the movements and physical demands required to compete in that sport.
2. Sports with increased incidences of bodily contact (basketball, ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, rugby) or falling (gymnastics, equestrian, downhill skiing) are generally considered higher risk after the first trimester because of the potential risk of abdominal trauma.
3. Warning signs to terminate exercise while pregnant include vaginal bleeding, shortness of breath prior to exercise, dizziness, headache, chest pain, calf pain or swelling, pre-term labor, decreased fetal movement, amniotic fluid leakage and muscle weakness.
4. If a student-athlete chooses to compete while pregnant, she should be made aware of the potential risks of her particular sport and exercise in general while pregnant, be encouraged to discontinue exercise when feeling over-exerted or when any warning signs present, follow the recommendations of her obstetrical provider in coordination with the team physician, and take care to remain well hydrated and to avoid overheating.
Team Locker Rooms
Each team will be issued combination locks for their team. These locks are the property of each program and must be accounted for by the coach. If locks go missing for any reason that teams operating budget is responsible for replacement. In season sports will be giving prioritization on lockers. If all of the lockers are taken, out of season athletes may utilize a locker in the public locker room. All lockers are to be cleaned out and empty before RFC shutdown July 1st or locks will be cut off and locker contents donated to Goodwill.
Frequently a locker room will be closed for use by a visiting team. GC athletes are not allowed to enter the locker room during these times unless accompanied by an Athletic Administrator.
RFC Laundry
Each team is eligible to have a student from their team paid by the RFC to wash practice gear and game uniforms. The head coach is responsible for selecting the worker and communicating that selection to the Associate AD so they can be trained on laundry equipment procedures. The worker reports directly to the coach in regard to day to day management of the laundry. The Associate AD will approve the pay. Rec Center Staff will only wash towels, no athletic laundry. Student-athletes and Staff are not allowed to wash personal laundry at the RFC. Coaching gear may be washed with the team laundry.
RFC Towels
The RFC supplies sweat towels for all users of the RFC including athletics. These towels are not to leave the building, and must be returned to a hamper in either a locker room or at the front desk. Teams that leave sweat towels in public spaces may lose the privilege of using them or have their budget charged for a team specific set.
Shower towels are provided at the front desk for athletes to use ONLY IN THE RFC LOCKER ROOM. These towels are not to leave the building and must be returned to a hamper. The RFC has a limited budget for these towels and may occasionally not have a sufficient supply on hand if numerous athletic teams end practices at the same time. Athletes are encouraged to provide a personal towel that they store in their locker.
The RFC will purchase “away game towels” for each in season team. Ensuring these are not left behind, washed, dried, folded, and ready for the next trip are the responsibility of that team’s laundry worker.
Storage Rooms
Each team has their own storage room somewhere in the RFC. A lock box with a combination is located beside each door. It is the coach’s responsibility to decide who has access to that combination and how frequently to change it. RFC desk staff will not have keys to storage rooms at the front desk. If a team leaves their storage room open and equipment goes missing it will be the responsibility of that team’s budget to replace the items. Equipment must be put away every day.
