Running Head: NEW PROGRAM REDESIGN PROPOSAL – WHEE CLIMB PROGRAM 1

New Program (Re)Design Proposal – Whee Climb Program

Isaiah Lunsford
HESA Department, Western Carolina University
HESA-611-01: Organization, Administration, and Finance in Higher Education
Dr. Dustin Evatt-Young
December 10, 2022
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New Program (Re)Design Proposal – Whee Climb Program

Dear Dr. Sam Miller,
Western Carolina University (WCU) student-athletes are provided a variety of support

and resources for their holistic development as students and athletes, but their professional

development is often a key component that is neglected. Cultivating professional identity and

supporting a balance of each identity with one another has been shown to have positive effects

on student performance in their academics, along with an easier transition into athletic retirement

(August, 2020; Menke, 2015). Built-in involvement with their professional development will

allow for students to invest their energy equally among their identities and take advantage of

their position in higher education for their holistic development (Astin, 1999). There is even the

opportunity for students to explore and recognize career paths that mesh well with their

personality types by going through professional development (Holland, 1959). This also allows

for student athletes to recognize and transfer valuable skills they have developed through athletic

experience into career readiness that employers are seeking in new professionals in their

respective fields.

Rationale

Recognizing the gap in student-athlete professional development offers the opportunity

for a new career readiness program that would span the traditional four-year undergraduate

experience, which will be called The Whee Climb program. Whee Climb’s intentional

programming and cocurricular experiences will align with the mission of Student-Athlete

Academic Support Services (SAASS) that looks to put student-athletes in positions to benefit

from the “educational, professional and cultural advantages of higher education” (Student-

Athlete, n.d.). Whee Climb would also benefit the institution’s retention rates by addressing the
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lack of programming tailored towards the sophomore and junior experiences, while promoting

student excellence through intentional career readiness programming (WCU Board, 2021).

Program Goals & Outcomes

A four year professional development and or career readiness program tailored towards

student-athletes is not a novel concept, as Big Ten schools such as Ohio State have introduced

similar programs as recently as 2015, but it is unknown if they are grounded in relevant

frameworks designed by subject experts (Student-Athlete Development, n.d.). When looking for

best practices created by experts in the field, the National Association of Colleges and

Employers (NACE) has developed eight competencies for career readiness. The competencies

include the following: Career and Self Development, Communication, Critical Thinking, Equity

and Inclusion, Leadership, Professionalism, Teamwork, and Technology (Competencies, 2021).

By grounding the goals of Whee Climb in these competencies, it will be able to ensure that is

built on best practices while aligning with the mission of both the department and the larger

institution.

The goals and student outcomes of Whee Climb are grounded in the NACE career readiness

competencies, which are listed below:

 Goal 1: To provide student-athletes a cocurricular experience that will aim to develop

their academic and professional identities.

 Goal 2: To connect student-athletes with potential employers through high impact

practice programming that builds transferrable skills for the workplace.

 Goal 3: To promote SAASS as a centralized resource for student-athlete holistic

development within the Athletic division that is grounded in best practices and theory.
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 Outcome 1: Student-athletes will develop their professional identities through continuous

self-reflection on their future professional and career plans, which is grounded in the

career and self-development NACE competency (Competencies, 2021, p. 2).

 Outcome 2: Student-athletes will be able to identify equitable workplace practices that

looks to consider all stakeholders that are impacted by the professional decision-making

process, which reflects the equity and inclusion NACE competency (Competencies,

2021, p. 5)

 Outcome 3: Student-athletes will continue to build leadership and teamwork skills

through cohort style experiences such as a Freshmen USI courses and ongoing skills

development workshops, which synthesizes the leadership and teamwork NACE

competencies (Competencies, 2021, p. 6; Competencies, 2021, p. 8).

Whee Climb would work to align itself with the mission statement of SAASS and the WCU

strategic plan, specifically strategic goal 2.3:

Student-Athlete Academic Support Services Mission Statement

The mission of Student-Athlete Academic Support Services (SAASS) is to successfully promote

student-athlete welfare by integrating academic, athletic, and leadership experiences. The

SAASS Office attempts to put the WCU student-athletes in positions to benefit from the

educational, professional and cultural advantages of higher education.

(Student-Athlete Academic Support Services, n.d.)

Goal 2.3: Create opportunities for skill development and career exploration through

involvement in experiential activities.

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• 2.3.2: Promote student engagement in high-impact practices connected to professional

development such as undergraduate research, service-learning, internships, and study abroad.

• 2.3.3: Develop co-curricular experiences that enhance classroom learning and professional

development. (WCU Board, 2021)

Required Resources

Staffing Resources

Staff running Whee Climb will need to cultivate and or maintain ongoing partnerships

across campus with departments that are already assist in student-athlete development. The

following departments would be asked to participate in some capacity within the program: the

Writing and Learn Commons (WALC), the Center for Career and Professional Development

(CCPD), Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), and even possibly Human Resources.

Meeting with the directors of each department will be vital to ensuring that they will be able to

provide their expertise for different events and experiences built into the program. Staff will also

want to recruit instructors for Freshmen USI courses for student-athletes, which can expect to

recruit two to three instructors in order to keep student to instructor ratios lower. The budget will

include funding to provide additional incentives to those that provide their time and expertise to

the program, as it is not central to their current role’s responsibilities.

When it comes to coordinating and implementing Whee Climb at large, I will request that

a full-time employee that has prior experience in career and professional development with

students be hired on. It would be beneficial if they have had prior experience with student-athlete

development, but by requiring a master’s degree in higher education student affairs or an

adjacent degree will meet the bare minimum for the position. They will maintain communication
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between the various departments that participate in Whee Climb programming, along with

developing the curriculum for the Freshmen USI course tailored towards student-athletes.

Finally, they shall ensure that programming throughout the program is grounded in the NACE

career readiness competencies and aligns with the departmental and institutional goals.

Physical Space Resources

Accommodating for the number of student-athletes that will participate in the Whee

Climb program is a logistical issue due to the sheer amount admitted each academic year, but by

having the program housed under the Athletic department it means that athletic facilities such as

the Ramsey Center will be available for program events. The hospitality room housed in the

Ramsey Center is an essential space that student athletes are already familiar with and can

accommodate for various programs, along with the concourse and actual basketball court being

available for large scale events such as career fairs. Classroom space will also be required for

Freshmen USI courses that are tailored towards student-athletes, which will vary from year to

year depending on the incoming student-athlete freshmen cohort. These space requirements are

not too much to accommodate for and will be able to built into the current facilities use on

campus.

Budgetary Resources

The following budget provides a breakdown of the costs of Whee Climb, and includes

items such as materials for specific, intentional programming events, along with staffing cost to

bring on a full-time employee and have current employees join on for programming expertise.

Due to the nature of college athletics, there is room for corporate sponsorship opportunities,
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especially when it comes to items such as book bags and lapel pins, along with opportunities for

sponsoring specific programming events like professionalism and career fairs.

Budget Items Item Cost Overall Budget Cost

Nike Book Bags $40.30 per backpack x 135 = $5,440.5

$5440.5

Business Cards 100 for $18 x 135 = $2430 $7,870.5

Lapel Pins $3.25 per pin x 135 = $439 $8,309.5

Full Time Employee Salary $45,000 for Masters, $50,000 $53,309.5

for Doctorate

USI Course Instructors $2700 x 5 = $13,500 $66,809.5

Discretionary Funds (Further $10,000 $76,809.5

funding for expert speakers,

professionalism events, etc.)

Total Budget Request 76,809.5

Impact on Campus Resources

WCU’s athletic department has a substantive budget that has room to fund Whee Climb,

along with potential for corporate sponsorship to cover funding a portion of the programming

costs. The main draw on resources that will occur are from having department staff joining on

for tailored programming towards student-athletes professional development. There will be the

need to create a position specifically for the program coordinator, which will involve Human
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Resources creating the position and putting a search committee together to find the candidate

with the right experience for heading the program.

Projected Timeline

The Whee Climb program is a long-term project that will be an ongoing program that

will have multiple moving parts, needs to be rooted in both best practices and theory, and will

require an assessment plan to evaluate the efficacy of the program on a regular basis. In order to

get Whee Climb off the ground, I project a fiscal year turnaround before the program can get

started, along with being able to start with a new Freshmen cohort in 2024-2025.

 January-March 2023: Create a committee to go over logistics of budgeting, determining

where the funding would come from in the Athletic budget. Consult with assessment and

student learning goal experts on properly grounding the program in theory and best

practices, ensuring that the program is set up to begin on an annual assessment cycle.

 March 2023: Coordinate a meeting with the directors of involved departments to go over

which staff members can take on programming tied to their areas of expertise.

 April 2023: Discuss with Human Resources about creating a job position for the Whee

Climb Program Coordinator, and the timeline to building a search committee to begin

looking for candidates.

 April-June 2023: Search Committee will look to interview five to 10 candidates, bring

top three to campus for in-person interviews and hire at the beginning of the next fiscal

year.
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 July-December 2023: Have Program Coordinator begin coordinating connections with on

campus partners and potential corporate partners that can provide funding and expertise

resources.

 January-June 2024: Program Coordinator will create programming timeline in

coordination with expert input during the process, will reach out to instructors to be

brought on for USI courses in the Fall 2024 semester. They will also look to secure

professional materials as outlined in the budget, possibly through corporate sponsors or

on wholesale basis.

 July 2024: Hold orientation with Freshmen student-athlete cohort to ensure that everyone

has received their materials, are signed up for USI courses, and are prepared to begin the

semester.

This program will take time and resources to be implemented in a manner that will

promote student learning outcomes that are grounded in best practices. I submit this is what

our student athletes deserve for their holistic development. It is the responsibility of SAASS,

the athletic division, and Western Carolina University at large to ensure that student athletes

are provided programming that will prepare them for their future professional careers. By

implementing Whee Climb, student athletes will be able to experience a four-year cohort

program that will promote not only personal development, but also build connections with

one another that will improve student retention (WCU Board, 2021). I ask that this proposal

will be taken into consideration when looking to the future of how we support our student-

athletes, as students, as athletes, and as future professionals.

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References

Astin, A. W. (1999). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher

education. Journal of College Student Development, 40(5)

August, R. A. (2020). Understanding career readiness in college student-athletes and identifying

associated personal qualities.  Journal of Career

Development, 47(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845318793936

Competencies for a Career-Ready Workforce. (2021). National Association of Colleges and

Employers. https://www.naceweb.org/uploadedfiles/files/2021/resources/nace-career-

readiness-competencies-revised-apr-2021.pdf

Holland, J. (1959). a theory of vocational choice. Journal of Counseling

Psychology, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1037/h0040767

Menke, D. J. (2015). The 3-I career advising process and athletes with foreclosed

identity. NACADA Journal, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.12930/NACADA-14-031

Student-Athlete Academic Support Services. (n.d.). Western Carolina. Retrieved November 26,

2022 from https://catamountsports.com/sports/2018/6/19/211718805.aspx

Student-Athlete Development Program (n.d.). Ohio State. Retrieved December 1, 2022 from

https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sasso/student-athlete-development-program-professional-

2/

WCU Board of Trustees. (June 3, 2021). WCU Strategic Plan: Honoring Our Promise, 1-8.

https://www.wcu.edu/_files/discover/Strategic-Plan-2022.pdf