Orientation for Parents/Guardians of Student Athletes

1. Orientation for Parents/Guardians of Student Athletes Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

2. Physicals & Health Insurance Does my son/daughter need to have a physical? Yes. All Student Athletes trying out for or returning to an athletic team MUST have proof of a current physical on file with the University’s Health Center as a condition of their eligibility. Record of the physical is required prior to your son/daughter trying-out for, practicing or competing with an athletic team. Who should we have conduct the physical? New student athletes should have their primary care physician perform the physical and report the results on the University issued health form. Returning student athletes should have their physicals completed at Eastern’s Health Services Office. Physical dates are scheduled throughout the academic year winter and spring sport athletes are screened in the fall and fall sport athletes are screened in the spring. Physical dates are announced to coaches and posted on the Student Development page of the athletic website.

3. Physicals & Health Insurance Do we need to file emergency contact forms? Yes. Student Athletes and/or their parents/guardians MUST complete an Emergency contact and Insurance Information Form with the Athletic Training Office PRIOR to the first official practice for their sport. A copy of a current health insurance card MUST also be provided to the Athletic Training Office. What do we do if our son/daughter is no longer covered on our health insurance plan? Students may subscribe to a health insurance program as a part of their enrollment at Eastern. For a list of programs available in Connecticut please refer to www.chickering.com.

4. Physicals & Health Insurance If my son/daughter is injured or ill, who should he/she see for medical treatment? If not an emergency, the student should report the injury or illness to Eastern’s Head Athletic Trainer, who will determine with the student if he or she should see a family physician or be referred to a medical specialist. In the case of an emergency, the student should seek treatment at a local hospital, medical clinic, or at Eastern’s Health Services office.

5. Physicals & Health Insurance How are medical claims related to athletic injuries /illness filed? Student Athletes covered by parent/guardian family insurance must submit all medical expenses to their primary insurance first. Eastern will be responsible for charges not covered by family and/or group policies for injuries occurring during official athletic participation, provided the athlete was referred to the appropriate medical care by one of Eastern’s certified athletic trainers or an Eastern team physician. What do I do if I receive a bill for unpaid medical expenses related to my son/daughter’s athletic injury/illness? In most instances, providers utilize a single billing address. Bills will often be sent to your address rather than to the Athletic Department. If the bill is for expenses not covered by your own family insurance, it is your responsibility to forward these bills to the Head Athletic Trainer at Eastern as soon as they are received so they may be processed.

6. Drug Education & Screening Are Eastern student athletes subject to drug testing? Yes. All Student Athletes are subject to random drug testing as part of the Connecticut State University System’s drug education and screening program. How frequently does testing occur? Random testing is conducted throughout the academic year. Teams advancing to the final round of a NCAA championship are also subject to testing as part of the CSUS program.

7. Equipment & Uniforms Does my son/daughter have to purchase practice gear and uniforms? In most cases, No. Practice gear is provided to nearly all athletic teams as part of their budgeted equipment . Uniforms are provided to all student athletes. Teams who wish to keep their practice and/or warm-up gear are required to fund raise for these items. What about equipment? Most major equipment and protective gear is provided to student athletes as part of their participation. You should check with your son or daughter's coach for anything you may need to purchase.

8. Academic Eligibility Is my son/daughter automatically eligible for athletic competition? No. All Student Athletes are reviewed for athletic eligibility at the start of each academic year. What do you look for when reviewing academic eligibility? First-time, full-time students will be declared eligible if they have a combined SAT score (math & verbal) of 820 or higher. Students with a score below 820 will be reviewed by an academic committee in order to determine their eligibility. Returning students must be in good academic standing (CGPA of 2.0 or higher) and be making satisfactory progress (averaging 12 credits earned for each full-time semester of academic study) to be considered eligible.

9. Academic Eligibility How often do you review student athletes for academic eligibility? Good standing is evaluated at the end of each semester after completing a full-year of academic study. Satisfactory progress is determined at the start of each fall semester. My son/daughter is a transfer student. How do you determine eligibility for transfers? Transfer students will be declared eligible at Eastern, provided they would have been eligible to compete had they returned to their previous institution. Thereafter, transfer student athletes are evaluated in the same way as all returning student athletes.

10. Missed Class Time Does the University have a policy for student athletes for missed class time? No. There is no departmental or university policy regarding missed class time. Student Athletes are provided with a letter to share with their instructors at the start of the semester documenting game days and times when they may be absent from a class. It is the responsibility of each student athlete to identify class and competition conflicts and discuss them with their instructors in advance of the event. Our department seeks the cooperation of the faculty in allowing students to be excused from class for athletic participation and provided with the opportunity to make-up any missed work. Faculty are not required to excuse students from classes for athletic competition.

11. Missed Class Time What should my son/daughter do to avoid missing too much class time? Have a copy of the team game schedule in hand when building their class schedule. Try to avoid scheduling classes late in the afternoon. This is not always possible; but scheduling morning classes will help reduce the number of conflicts. Do not schedule one-night a week classes on nights they know they frequently compete. Work with the Assistant Athletic Director for Student Development if they have particular concerns .

12. Missed Class Time Should my son/daughter miss class for practice? No! Student athletes are not allowed to miss classes for practice. Coaches are fully aware they need to make every effort to build a practice schedule around the class schedule of their team members. Student athletes may need to work out with their coaches the ability to arrive late to, or leave early from a practice in order to attend class. No student athlete will be penalized for missing a practice, or portion of a practice, in order to attend a class.

13. Financial Aid Can a member of my son/daughter’s coaching staff answer financial aid questions for me? Unfortunately the answer to this question is NO. As a NCAA Division III institution, members of the athletic department are not allowed to discuss financial aid packages with parents, students, or members of the university’s Financial Aid Office. Who should I contact regarding questions concerning financial aid and the aid package my son/daughter received? You should contact the Financial Aid Office by calling 860-465-5205. Their office has full-time administrators on staff to answer your questions.

14. Financial Aid & Loans How do I find out if we qualify for any loans to off-set the cost of tuition? The Financial Aid office should be able to advise you on what loans you may qualify for and how to apply for those loans. Does the university allow for tuition payment plans? Yes! This service is managed for Eastern by TuitionPay.  You can pay your full academic year’s charges in 10 or 12 installments.  A semester can be paid using 5 or 6 installments.  The first payment is due on June 1st for Fall term and November 1st for Spring. For more information, contact TuitionPay at 860-635-0120 or visit http://www.tuitionpay.com

15. Services Available What services are available to my son/daughter as a student athlete? There are several services available to your son/daughter as a result of their student athlete status, each are discussed on the following slides: Athletic Training Services Equipment Room Services Sports Information Services Student Development Services

16. Athletic Training Eastern has a fully equipped training room located within the Sports Center. Eastern employs two full-time, certified athletic trainers. Eastern also employs a staff of student trainers. Eastern student athletes have access to the trainers and training room facilities for diagnosis and rehabilitation of athletic related injuries. Eastern also has a working relationship with an Orthopaedic doctor located in Willimantic.

17. Equipment Room Eastern employs a full-time Equipment Manager and student work staff to fulfill the needs of our 17 intercollegiate athletic teams. All practice gear, equipment and uniforms are issued from the Equipment Room. Student athletes are held responsible for returning all equipment and gear issued to them. Failure to return issued items will result in charges being placed on the student account. Laundry service is provided for practice gear and uniforms.

18. Sports Information Eastern employs a full-time Sports Information Director and an extensive student work staff to fulfill the needs of our 17 intercollegiate athletic teams. All promotional materials related to the intercollegiate athletic program is posted on the web site atwww.easternct.edu/athletics/ Game summaries and box scores will be made available on the athletic web site. Press releases and news stories are issued to local media via the sports information office.

19. Student Development Eastern’s Assistant Athletic Director for Student Development provides services to student athletes related to academic, athletic and personal development. Workshops are offered throughout the academic year for all student athletes. Every student athlete is required to participate in at least one workshop per semester as part of their overall growth and development. New student athletes are required to participate in an orientation workshop in the fall semester. They are also required to participate in additional workshops throughout the academic year.

20. Student Development The Assistant Athletic Director monitors mid-term and final grades for all student athletes. Academic planning and advising services are also available to all student athletes through the athletic student development office. An academic contract program is in place for student athletes identified as “at-risk” academically. This includes student athletes placed on academic probation; with a CGPA below 2.3; with a semester GPA below 2.0; and new student athletes with a combined SAT score below 820.

21. Fund Raising Will my son/daughter be required to fund raise? Yes. In many cases student athletes are asked to fund raise in an effort to off-set costs not covered by the general athletic budget. These expenses may include: Warm-up/travel gear, practice gear and footwear which student athletes may keep Extended trips

22. Booster Club Does the athletic department have a booster club? Yes. The E-Club is a subsidiary of the ECSU Foundation, Inc. The club conducts an annual giving campaign in an effort to increase funds available for all intercollegiate athletic teams. The club also conducts an annual golf tournament to help raise funds for athletics.

23. Miscellaneous Questions Can my son/daughter return to campus prior to the semester report date for housing? Only if your son/daughter is participating on a team for which we seek early return. For example, fall sports teams reporting early for pre-season. Can I take my son/daughter home with me after a contest? Yes, but only with permission of the head coach. You must also have a Travel Release Form on file in the Athletic Director’s Office. Are provisions made for my son/daughter when traveling to and from athletic contests? Yes. Coaches are allocated funds for their approved travel squad size for any meals missed when traveling for athletic competition.

24. Miscellaneous Questions What type of transportation is utilized for team travel? In most cases, charter bus service is used to transport athletic teams to and from athletic competition. In some cases, university vans are used to transport teams to competition sites within an 40 mile radius of campus. Other questions? If you have additional questions regarding the athletic department, please feel free to contact our office. A phone directory of head coaches and athletic staff members are provided on the following screens.

25. Head Coaches Numbers Justin Axel, Men’s Lacrosse 860-465-5178 Denise Bierly, Women’s Basketball 860-465-44586 Chris D’Ambrosio, Women’s Soccer 860-465-0175 Greg DeVito, Men’s Soccer 860-465-4334 Maureen Fahey, Women’s Swimming 860-917-5933 Bill Geitner, Men’s Basketball 860-465-5332 Bill Holowaty, Baseball 860-465-5185 Christine Hutchison, Field Hockey & Women’s Lacrosse 860-465-4333 Diana Pepin, Softball 860-465-5182 Frank Poulin, Men’s & Women’s Cross Country & Track 860-465-4341 Fran Vandermeer, Women’s Volleyball 860-465-0176

26. Athletic Staff Numbers Director of Athletics, Joyce Wong 860-465-5169 Associate Director, Mel Graf 860-465-4332 Assistant Director, Janice Patry 860-465-5315 Head Trainer, David Yeo 860-465-5166 Assistant Trainer, Thomas Holton 860-465-5171 Sports Info. Director, Robert Molta 860-465-5172 Equipment Manager, Scott Smith 860-465-4326 Administrative Asst., Jackie Nelson 860-465-5179 Athletic Fax Number 860-465-0186