Sophomore Student-Athletes' Perceptions of Athletic Academic Support Services

Abstract

Student-athletes' are faced with a unique set of challenges to balance both athletic and academic responsibilities. Many colleges and universities have provided their student-athletes with support services to help assist them in achieving academic success. This study focused on sophomore student-athletes perceptions of their institution's resources and their identity as a collegiate athlete. Chickering and Reisser's (1993) theory of identity development was used to better understand the new experiences and development of student-athletes' during their transition from freshman to sophomore year. The results of the present study indicated that without the athletic academic support services, student-athletes felt they would not do well in their courses and/or not graduate from the institution. The daily routine of going to class, practice, and working on homework requires that student-athletes' have time management skills to earn high achievement in each aspect of their collegiate experience. Athletic academic support services help to monitor student-athletes progress towards degree and athletic eligibility. The services provided will vary based on resources to adequately staff and maintain the athletic academic center.

Date of Award	2016
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Daniel Nadler (Supervisor)