WSSU athletes champion academics

Winston-Salem State is putting the "student" in student-athlete. Seventy-seven WSSU student-athletes finished the fall 2014 semester with a 3.0 GPA or higher and made the dean’s list.

"That’s a third of our student-athletes, and we find that very respectable and very good," said Clifton Huff, chief academic adviser for athletics.

"We had another 10 percent of the athletes finish with around a 2.9. We’re proud of the effort those 77 put in and the 18 or so that had a 2.9 or a little higher."All WSSU student-athletes, regardless of classification, are required to maintain a 2.0 GPA to remain eligible. The NCAA requirements for Division II athletes is a 1.8 for freshmen, 1.9 for sophomores and 2.0 for juniors and seniors.

University College and Lifelong Learning and GradesFirst are two programs that have led to the recent increase in success among WSSU student-athletes and all students campus-wide. The new Student Success Center at Hill Hall, which opened for the spring 2014 semester is the office for UCaLL and has been a nice asset as well. The Success Center is a place for students to go and study, meet with UCaLL counselors and keep their academics in order.

Huff, who is in the midst of his third academic year at the University, worked at Florida A&M University and Grambling State University before coming to WSSU and said the Success Center at Hill Hall is the best of the three universities.

"The academic center at Winston-Salem State is a lot more conducive to learning than those I had the privilege to work in at the other two universities because it’s larger and has more support staff," Huff said.

UCaLL helps all students and student-athletes stay on track to graduate and stay eligible to play by pairing them up with tutors and counselors. GradesFirst, a software program, provides students, coaches, tutors and UCaLL counselors with up-to-date information regarding students’ or student-athletes’ progress in their classes on a daily basis.

Huff dealt with GradesFirst while at FAMU and Grambling, and he strongly advised WSSU to bring the program to the University two years ago.

The UCaLL staff helps run the student-athlete study hall program and makes sure student-athletes are attending study hall. Just as every student on campus, all student-athletes have a faculty adviser and an academic success counselor. There are also three academic success counselors within UCaLL whose job is to specifically monitor the student-athletes.

Any student-athlete who has a GPA of 2.5 or lower and any freshman or first-time transfer student must participate in the program. The program requires these students to attend study hall in Hill Hall eight hours per week. Student-athletes meet every couple of weeks with their academic success counselors to create a plan to ensure they are able to meet their study hall requirements.

"We want to make sure we help our athletes off the field because they’re students first," said Kathy Stitts, associate provost and UCaLL dean.

"We want them to have just as much, if not more success off the field as they do on the field."

The UCaLL staff and the academic success counselors report to coaches as well as Athletic Director Tonia Walker. Walker said she is happy with the collaboration between UCaLL and the athletic department.

"About three years ago, because of various academic scandals involving student-athletes at certain universities, the North Carolina General Administration mandated that academic oversight of student-athletes fall under the universities’ provosts," Walker said.

"So no longer are we able to manage the academic pursuits of our student-athletes; that falls under UCaLL. And so because of the great partnership we have with UCaLL, because of the structure that’s put in place not only for our student-athletes but for all of our students, we are able to achieve great feats like (having 77 student-athletes make the dean’s list)."

Walker and the athletic department ensure student-athletes are rewarded for their academic success just as well as they are for their athletic performance. The athletes on the team with the highest average GPA for each academic year are each given Athletic Director’s Cups at the end-of-the-year sports banquet. The individual athlete with the highest GPA over two years of participation is awarded the Chancellor’s Cup.

"Even though we are pleased with the 77 number, we are always looking for ways to increase it," Walker said.

"In order to do that, we will continue to work on the structure of study hall and ensure we are equipping our student-athletes with the skills needed to talk to professors and build relationships with their professors so that they’re comfortable going to them and asking for help if they don’t understand something," Walker said.

"It’s more than just study hall, and it’s more than just going to class -- it’s forging those relationships with their professors."