Success story

Providing concussion care for all student-athletes with at-home baseline testing

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a small university with 19 Division I varsity teams and approximately 300 student athletes.

Womens Soccer Coach

New Jersey Institute of Technology

New Jersey Institute of Technology is a highly rigorous academic institution that sets students up for success not only on the field, but in the classroom as well.

Headquarters: Newark, New Jersey
Industry: Public University

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New Jersey Institute of Technology

New Jersey Institute of Technology is a highly rigorous academic institution that sets students up for success not only on the field, but in the classroom as well.

Headquarters: Newark, New Jersey
Industry: Public University

Visit site >

Matt Koscs

Matt Koscs
Head Athletic Trainer
New Jersey Institute of Technology

As part of NJIT’s commitment to student success, they’ve proactively stayed ahead of concussion policy and mandates. One way they’ve done so is with baseline testing.

When Matt took over as the Head Athletic Trainer at NJIT, one of his first orders of business was improving their existing concussion protocol with objective and reliable neurocognitive tools. He chose ImPACT because he needed a tool that was affordably priced, easy to implement, and that students would be successful with.

“With any concussion protocol, objective data is important. ImPACT translates cognitive performance into quantifiable data that can be compared over time to monitor how a student is progressing. I rely on this objective data much more than I do some of the more subjective assessments.”

AT-at-NJIT

By being able to objectively depict a student’s cognitive status, Matt has been able to get buy in from ancillary members of the concussion care team such as coaches, guidance counselors, teachers, and parents who all have an important role in a student’s successful return to learn and return to play.

At first, only students in contact sports were required to take an ImPACT baseline test. But when students in other sports such as tennis, swimming, or even outside of athletics started getting concussions they quickly made the switch to baseline test all student athletes.

At-Home Baseline Testing to Address Challenges With Group Administration

NJIT has found success over the last 12 years using ImPACT in their concussion protocol, but have had some challenges with group baseline testing including finding a suitable computer lab and coordinating availability of students and test administrators. Recently, Matt lost access to the computer lab he was utilizing for group baseline testing and as a result, some athletes slipped through the cracks and did not complete their baseline test. Around the same time, schools in the U.S. were temporarily shifted to distance-learning and subject to social distancing mandates, so group baseline testing was not feasible. At this point, Matt turned to FDA-cleared, at-home ImPACT baseline testing. Through the Customer Center, he was able to assign ImPACT baseline tests to the student athletes who had yet to complete it.

“Getting everyone available at the same time and finding a computer lab to conduct group baseline testing is a challenge, so being able to test all student athletes remotely has saved me a lot of time that I would usually spend coordinating group testing.”

at-home-baseline-testing

The Future of Baseline Testing

After using the remote ImPACT Baseline Testing feature, Matt sees how much time it can save him as well as his students compared to group baseline testing. He sees an opportunity to streamline the process by including an at-home ImPACT baseline test as part of the online onboarding process all students complete prior to coming to campus. This would not only save time, but also ensure that no student misses out on baseline testing.

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