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Wed, 16 Jan 91 14:47:08 EST |
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Mark Grassl writes:
>Lt. Matt Jonson writes:
>>Why does a division I athlete deserve any more academic assistance than
>>any other given student...?
>
>Maybe because the athletic department wants to keep them eligible.
>Maybe the athletes miss class due to games. Maybe the athletes can't go
>to office hours due to practice. I don't like to begrudge anyone the
>chance to learn something extra through the use of tutors or academic
>assistance. The point is they are pushed to learn something.
>But you may have a point, is academic assistance available to non-athletes?
>From experience I would say many students just don't ask often enough for
>help(shyness? embarassment?).
Yes, I don't think the problem is that athletes are being given "more"
academic assistance than other students. It is true that average
students don't take enough advantage of the avenues open to them for
help - but they are there. In the case of athletes, it seems that the
NCAA is trying to get a better handle on how its athletes are doing
in school so it can cut down on the situations where basketball
teams graduate only 35% or so of their players, and also to cut down
on the number of players who go on probation because of poor grades.
Some schools already have academic advisors for their athletes (RPI
among others) and many coaches already keep firm tabs on how their
athletes are doing in school. This regulation just seems to be
acknowledging that this is a positive thing and that it is worth
investing time and money in. I believe that the cost is negligible
since most tutors come from work-study and are paid through financial
aid - they don't make much. And, if you figure that the number of paid
assistant coaches has been decreased and take some of that money to
put towards the tutors/advisors, then it seems to me that you're
actually getting more value for your money than you were before.
Of course, I think the cutting of the assistants was bad, but it
doesn't make a difference now.
- mike
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