Dennis Leighton quoted on NCAA story in Inside Higher Ed

Dennis Leighton, D.P.T., associate professor of physical therapy and NCAA faculty athletics representative, spoke at the annual convention of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and was quoted in story on Inside Higher Ed regarding a controversial pilot program to gather the graduation rates of athletes from Division III institutions. 

The Jan. 15, 2010 story explained that officials from small, tuition-driven colleges criticized the pilot program, arguing that they cannot bear the cost of additional data collection. Leighton countered the notion that the reporting request of those in the Division III pilot program would be cumbersome. The University of New England, he said, is already compiling some of the data being requested by the program. He said establishing the means by which to mine the data from institutional research might cause some initial difficulty, but argued that once a system was in place, gathering the data would be a relatively easy affair.

Leighton also spoke to the fringe benefits of reporting, noting that he has used positive data about the academic performance of athletes at UNE to win favor for the program among skeptical faculty members. The story included a photo of Leighton addressing the conference.