California Irvine Athletics

ACADEMIC SERVICES WITHIN ATHLETICS

Study Table
Tutoring & Mentoring Program

The mechanics of Study Table are simple: All Student-Athletes may attend Monday through Thursday evenings in the Fall quarter, and Monday through Wednesday in the Winter and Spring quarters. Those that are required to attend based on objective data (including high school grades, test scores, success in their college courses, chosen major, or those in their first quarter at UCI) will be assigned a specific number of sessions they must attend, with some flexibility given due to class, practice, and/or work schedules.

Held in the Al Irwin Academic Center with seating for more than 100, no student is ever turned away from access to Study Table. Study Table provides a supervised, positive peer-pressure environment in a business-like and professional setting, enabling our students to avoid potential distractions and perform at a high intellectual level. Via supervisors on hand each session, they also have a ready source for information regarding campus resources, receiving individual attention for their questions. These supervisors also function as mentors (a.k.a. Academic Sport Supervisors) and are assigned to each squad to monitor each student's progress during the quarter on a one-to-one basis.

To augment Study Table each evening, the Athletics Tutoring Program provides guidance in a breadth of fields, as well as informal instruction in specific courses. During the first week of each quarter, students are requested to indicate which of their courses may present problems or difficulties in the coming quarter. Based on this information from each student, a tutoring schedule offering a wide variety of subject matters is constructed to meet the needs of most of our student-athletes. The tutor schedule is given out at Study Table and to every coach for posting, in addition to being available via the Student-Athlete Web portal for current Student-Athletes. The schedule is updated throughout the quarter, to ensure that student-athletes needs are being met based on their progress, or lack thereof, in specific courses.

Our tutors come from a fairly narrow band of the student population at UCI. Approximately 10 percent are graduate students, pursuing either Masters degrees or Ph.D.'s. The remainder are undergraduates who have demonstrated excellence in their studies, with at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA, an A grade in the class in which they will tutor, and guidance from the Study Table Staff in effective tutoring methods. These undergraduate students are actively recruited through professors' referrals, the Campus-wide Honors Program, and the campus Work-Study Program. All tutors are also regularly assessed by the students they are working with to ensure their effectiveness.

Additionally, as many as half of our undergraduate tutors are Student-Athletes themselves; this pays dividends in the tutorial setting, as no one knows the special circumstances our students face better than their most immediate peer group.

Tutoring Jobs

Academic & Student Services is always seeking qualified tutoring candidates in all fields of study. Minimum requirements include:

• Minimum 3.0 GPA
• A major in the particular courses you'd like to tutor
• And/or an 'A' grade in the courses you'd like to tutor
• Apply Online via Handshake and Complete a tutor information/application sheet
• Review of the Athletics Tutor Manual for NCAA Rules & Regulations (upon hiring)

Academic Sport Supervisors
Academic Mentoring

Academic mentoring is accomplished by assigning athletic teams to an Academic Sport Supervisor. An academic sport supervisor is available to assist their student-athletes throughout their UC Irvine student-athlete experience. Whether through connecting student-athletes to campus resources, quarterly grade checks, interviews with professors and tutors, or individual or team meetings, student-athletes are regularly checked for satisfactory progress towards their degree. Student-athletes are also required to meet with their academic advisor for their designated major at least once a quarter in order to determine which classes are required for their major.

As a department, this alone provides most of what our student-athletes need in the way of assistance. But it is still only part of what is available. The campus has several programs that are of particular interest to the prospective Student-Athlete, and those are highlighted in the section on Campus Academic Services.

CAMPUS ACADEMIC SERVICES

Learning and Academic Resource Center

The Learning and Academic Resource Center, also known as LARC, is an academic support unit within the Division of Undergraduate Education and offers a more formal tutoring process than the Athletics Tutoring Program, but with a narrower focus. LARC provides assistance to UCI students through both small groups and individual conferences and restricts enrollment to no more than eight students in any Tutoring section. The scope of LARC's assistance includes small group tutoring in a wide variety of lower division courses and academic learning skills workshops. All LARC staff work collaboratively with the faculty, staff, and administrators of the courses they support. LARC staff members engage in research and evaluation to identify academic needs, develop programs, and assess their effectiveness in order to help students develop the strategies necessary to become successful, independent learners.

LARC’s mission is to create independent, confident learners by connecting successful students trained as facilitators with peers enrolled in historically challenging courses, and by providing creative study strategies and encouraging active involvement in the enthusiastic pursuit of academic success. LARC connects “what to learn” with “how to learn” in a student-centered, collaborative learning experience.

Tutorial sessions meet twice weekly for approximately an hour beginning in Week #2 and lasts through the end of each quarter. Though this program normally costs $110 per quarter/per class, Student-Athletes are entitled to receive one complimentary enrollment per quarter, as long as they are in good academic standing, and remain members of their respective squads.

Academic Learning Skills Workshops

The LARC office also provides FREE 50-minute Academic Learning Skills Workshops in the following areas:  Time Management, Efficient Study Planning, Note Taking, Reading with Purpose, Memory and Concentration and Exam Prep Handout. The Workshops are truly the focal point of this very effective program and are offered throughout the academic year for students to enroll into as needed for their continued success and academic development.

Academic Advising

Another resource that Intercollegiate Athletics relies upon is one of our greatest assets. Academic Advising is available within each school of the institution. Student-Athletes are mandated to make and keep an appointment to see the academic advisor in their major each quarter, and update their Degree Audit for Academic Planning Guidance and review with the Academic Sport Supervisor. UCI's advisors are trained to assist each student in their specific major, even if the student-athlete has not yet declared a course of study (Unaffiliated/Undeclared). Advisors see each of our Student-Athletes as individuals, and not just as another name or number.

Not only have UCI's Advisors been trained in the specific academic requirements and policies of UCI, but also are keenly aware of the rules dictated to Student-Athletes by the NCAA. Advisors keep our students on track to graduate in a timely fashion, and help monitor the Satisfactory Progress and Continuing Eligibility regulations of the NCAA. In order to avoid any potential for conflicts of interest, they are employed by the individual schools within the University and not the Athletic Department, ensuring that each time they meet with a student-athlete, academic progress is their primary focus. Academic Advisors are the most frequently used by the academic sport supervisor and the student-athlete for assistance mechanisms.