News release Public Information Office  SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu Spring 2004 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Rene Abadie Date: 6/6/05   SOUTHEASTERN’S ATHLETIC ADVISING SYSTEM WINS NATIONAL RECOGNITION         HAMMOND --  Southeastern Louisiana University’s on-line student athlete progress reporting system has been recognized as an outstanding innovation in the area of collegiate academic advising by the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA).        The university will be awarded the organization’s Outstanding Advising Technology Innovation Certificate of Merit for its Internet-based progress report for student athletes at the annual NACADA national conference in Las Vegas in October.         Southeastern’s program is one of two advising technology innovations to be honored with the award in nationwide competition this year. The nominations were judged on the basis of content, interactivity, clarity and creativity.        Dean of Enrollment Management Stephen Soutullo conceived the idea for the On-line Progress Report (OPR) system as a way of easily and quickly identifying athletes having academic difficulties.        “The previous process involved distributing and collecting progress reports on paper, a cumbersome, time-consuming and involved process,” Soutullo explained. “Often the student athletes who were having academic problems would not be identified until it was too late for our academic support staff to help them.”        Working with Southeastern’s Career and Academic Planning Center – which provides the academic support to all students, including athletes  – and with technical support from the university’s PeopleSoft programmers, the system was developed to be a user-friendly resource for faculty and athletic staff.        “The system has greatly streamlined the academic support system for student athletes,” said Dorothy Burton Nelson, director of the Career and Academic Planning Center. “The new system allows faculty to send progress reports quickly, easily, and confidentially. Faculty participation has increased significantly, and we expect this to result in positive changes in student performance. The system has successfully integrated the efforts of faculty, counselors, and coaches in providing our student athletes the academic support they need to achieve their educational goals.”         "The Online Progress Reporting System has definitely helped to improve the communication between our faculty and the athletics department,” added Southeastern Athletic Director Frank Pergolizzi. “ We are now able to receive academic information related to our student-athletes quickly and accurately."        NACADA was organized in 1979 to promote quality academic advising and professional development for its membership. The organization’s nearly 8,000 members include college faculty, professional advisors, administrators, counselors and others focused on the intellectual, personal and vocational needs of students.