Tutoring Athletes: Structure and Stability for Student Time
Posted on Oct. 8, 2010To hear John Blanchard tell it, athletes at Carolina have always been able to turn to someone for help with their schoolwork. Blanchard, senior associate director of athletics, has heard tales of a tutor working with Tar Heel football legend Charlie Justice ’50 in the late 1940s.
But “Choo-Choo” wouldn’t recognize what is available for today’s athletes. Players get help managing their course schedules, developing study skills, learning how to take good notes and understanding how to write a term paper. They have counselors and mentors as well as tutors, and all play different roles in helping 775 varsity athletes do as well in the classroom as they do on the field or court.
“It’s a realization of the intense demands of athletics in such a highly competitive academic environment,” Blanchard said. “We really strive for excellence, and it’s not a balance. It’s 100 percent student when you’re in student time, and it’s 100 percent athlete when you’re in athletic time. And that’s a challenge.”
To help with the “student time,” the University has what is formally known as the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes. The program came under scrutiny in August after University officials discovered possible instances of academic fraud involving a tutor and members of the football team. The tutor, who no longer is with the program, also worked for the family of Coach Butch Davis.
University officials have provided few details of what may have happened with the tutor and members of the football team. They have declined to discuss the specifics of their investigation until it is finished. That investigation includes an examination of the Academic Support Program and whether any changes should be made.
Chancellor Holden Thorp ’86, in remarks to the Faculty Council in September, noted that a faculty advisory committee looked at the Academic Support Program in spring 2009. The committee, in its report, said it “was overwhelmed by the attention to integrity and found the Academic Support Program thoughtful in its program planning and responsive to the needs of student athletes.”
“Nevertheless,” Thorp told the council, “it’s an opportunity for us to think about how we might change our processes so that we can avoid having this happen again in the future.”
The program in place at Carolina got its start in 1985 with Blanchard, who played football at Stanford and has a master’s degree in social work, as the first director. He started with one part-time staffer; until more staff was added throughout the ’80s, the program was focused on the football team. Blanchard says it was a recognition, at Carolina and other universities, that the time demands on athletes meant they needed additional support for academics. Carolina athletes are free to take advantage of academic tutors and counselors available to all students, but such campus services often are not available at nights and on weekends when athletes need them.
In 1988, control of the program was moved from the athletics department to the College of Arts & Sciences. The college continues to oversee the program, which now has 11 full-time staffers, two part-time staffers as well as 25 tutors and 25 to 30 mentors who are hired each semester to work with athletes in 28 varsity sports. The program’s annual budget is $244,770, which is paid for by the athletics department. Blanchard says the NCAA mandates that universities have such a program, but it leaves it up to individual universities to determine how it is structured.
The academic side is done by the academic people. That’s what we know. I don’t know a bit about weight training,” said Bobbi Owen, senior associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Arts & Sciences.
The program is in temporary space in Kenan Stadium’s Pope Box as it awaits completion next August of a five-story Carolina Student-Athlete Center for Excellence being built as part of a $70 million privately funded project that is closing in the east end of Kenan Stadium.
Virtually all of the work done by athletes with their tutors and mentors takes place in the program’s facilities, with tight restrictions on the relationship between the athletes and their academic coaches. Their work, for example, is required to be face-to-face, not by e-mail. Tutors and mentors are expected to develop rapport with the athletes but not become friends. University officials are careful when hiring tutors not to get rabid Tar Heel fans.
“A university community is full of lovers and haters,” said Owen. “What we really do is look for people who are in the middle.”
Before beginning work as a mentor or tutor, individuals receive at least four hours of training in NCAA compliance rules and the University’s Honor Code. They are required at the beginning of each semester to sign a document agreeing to adhere to all NCAA and University policies. At the end of each semester, they must sign a document affirming that they did not commit or witness any incidents of academic fraud or violations of NCAA and University rules.
The program provides academic counseling for all athletes, helping them determine class schedules and making sure they are staying on track toward graduation. The counselors also connect athletes to tutors and mentors — undergraduate or graduate students, retired professors, community members — who are hired each semester. Many of the tutors and mentors come from the Teaching Fellows Program in the School of Education.
Vanessa Price, a graduate student in education, works as a mentor and tutor in the program. In her role as a mentor, Price says she is assigned a handful of student-athletes. She makes sure they are completing their class assignments and works with them on study and research skills. Mentors primarily work with freshmen, helping them become accustomed to the academic demands at Carolina. As a tutor, Price, 22, helps student-athletes with the content of specific courses. She may meet with a group as small as two students or one as large as 25.
“We’re able to give them a structured and stable environment where they can feel safe to study and learn,” Price said. “That’s important because part of their life is very, very intense.”
Forrest Spence, who is in his second year of pursuing a doctorate in economics, spends about 13 hours a week as a tutor in math, economics and statistics. Spence, 25, says it can be difficult for even the best students to grasp economic concepts while sitting in a large lecture class.
“In lecture, it’s kind of intimidating to raise your hand and ask questions,” Spence said. “But when it’s just me and another few students, people are OK to really say what they don’t understand. Then we can just sort of hash through it to make sure everybody’s on the same page.”
Blanchard says any image of the primary purpose of the program as remedial work for athletes is a misperception. He said all of the University’s student-athletes use the program at some point during their years in school.
“This is a program that really is trying to level the playing field for student-athletes,” Owen said. “Not all students at the University have obligations for practice or weight training or running laps or swimming. Not all students at the University have their schedules so closely scheduled. Not all students at the University travel on behalf of the University.
“Having those facilities that are open to student-athletes makes a lot of logistical sense.”
The University has several tutoring or academic support programs that are offered to all students.
The Academic Success Program for Students with LD/ADHD offers services and help for students with a learning disability or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The Learning Center, open to all students, provides academic counseling, a reading program and tutoring in math and science. Students also can register and pay a fee for test preparation courses such as the GRE or LSAT.
The Writing offers both in-person and online help on papers or essays. Staff members at the Writing Center also offer English as a Second Language help for any students, staff, faculty or visiting scholars.
The decentralized approach with separate programs for different purposes is common at other universities, said Harold Woodard ‘78, associate dean and director of the Center for Student Success and Academic Counseling.
More online…
- How the Tutoring Program and Honor System Work At UNC
- Former Football Coach Blake Received Money From Agent
