ACADEMIC SUPPORT FOR STUDENT ATHLETES
MISSION STATEMENT
* To create a supportive educational environment that assists student-athletes with their transition to the university culture.
* To guide student-athletes in becoming responsible for their learning by teaching skills that help them identify and pursue their educational goals.
* To encourage student-athletes to develop and apply the skills and abilities that will expand their range of personal and professional choices and reinforce their commitment to life-long learning.
Academic support for SMU's varsity athletes is coordinated through the Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center, which opened its doors to the student population in 1989 and has become one of the University's most widely used student services. Annually, more than 2,000 students take advantage of one or more of the Center's many services. Before 1989, such services were offered only to student-athletes through the athletic department. These services were extended to all SMU undergraduates at the recommendation of the Task Force on Student Academic Support under the leadership of President A. Kenneth Pye, who envisioned an environment in which student athletes would participate and excel in all areas of University life. SMU's student athletes have realized this vision: SMU's student athletes consistently exceed both the school's overall graduation rate and Division I-A averages. Each of SMU's sixteen teams exceeded the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR) requirements for the 2004-2005 academic year, as well as for the multi-year average. Three SMU programs—men's basketball, men's swimming, and women's golf—have been awarded NCAA Public Recognition Awards for ranking in the top 10% of NCAA teams in their respective sports.
To ensure that SMU's student athletes take full advantage of the myriad academic resources available to them through the A-LEC, the Center employs four full-time staff members who understand the distinctive needs and unique experiences facing student athletes: Associate Director Sue Bierman, Senior Academic Counselor Jane Preston, and Academic Counselors Meg Banahan amd Deirdre Joseph. These staff members are responsible for tracking student athlete needs at each stage of the academic calendar. Their work includes counseling student athletes during summer orientation and registration sessions, meeting with all student athletes to discuss each semester's academic support needs, conferring with coaches and student athletes to determine which student athletes should be recommended for more closely monitored academic assistance.
Also working with SMU's student athletes are all other A-LEC staff members—the Director, the Associate Director for Academic Skills, the Associate Director for Tutorial Services, the Coordinator of Services for Students with Learning Disabilities, and the Learning and Communications Specialist.
All A-LEC staff members report to the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs though the Associate Provost for Educational Programs.
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