Academic programs and services that affect student athlete success

Abstract

Academic programs for student athletes are an integral part of collegiate athletic programs across the country. The Summer Bridge Program at Texas A&M University is a transition program for student athletes that are beginning their first year of college. The program allows student athletes to begin their college career in the summer immediately following graduation and take a few courses and learn study and time management skills. The purpose of this study was to determine if transition programs were effective in helping student athletes succeed academically while in college. Chickering’s Theory of Identity Development and literature on learning communities formed the framework of the study. Learning communities and transition programs are becoming popular programs at colleges and universities to help all student transition to college and succeed academically. Also, there was much literature regarding the Academic Progress Rate and the 40/60/80 rule which determines the amount of degree plan that must be completed at the end of the sophomore, junior and senior year of college created by the NCAA. These rules are a driving force for academic centers to provide services for the academic success of student athletes. Data were collected both quantitatively and qualitatively with cumulative grade point ratios (GPR’s) of the student athletes and interviews were conducted with a small number of student athletes in select sports. After the GPR data was analyzed, the student athletes that participated in the program had lower GPR’s than those that did not participate. The qualitative data from the interviews provided positive statements and feelings toward the Summer Bridge Program. Additional research is needed since the area of transition programs for collegiate athletics has not been extensively investigated.