THE PATH TO
GRADUATION #1: ASSESMENT The levels of academic preparation, ation, on, n, educational edu eedducationa catio all orientation and career interests incoming erests sts ts fo for alll in for incomi nco coming ming student-athletes are evaluated. learning valuate uated ated. ted A staff sstaafff lear learni le earning specialist administers erss a variety varietyy of aca varie acad academic a skills ls and career interest assessments. est assessments ass as seessmen ents. ts. s. Individual Inndividual dividu academic support planss aree the tailored then tai then ttailo ilore lored red to match atch a stud studentathlete’s academic adem em emic mic skil sk skills lss aand and ccareer interests. e Furthermore, more re, e,, allll ne new w student-athletes st dent-ath stu are requ required too participate University includes pate ate te inn a Un Univ Uni nive versity rsity orientation, which which inclu ncludes c udes es assessment mathematics essm sm meent in math ment ma m athematics hematics placement andd foreign fo eign eig language, ngua uaage, uage, e, am aamong amo mon ong ng others others.
#2: #2 2: S SK SKILL K LL DEV KILL KI DEVELO DEVELOPMENT LOPM PM PMENT MEN NT A comp comprehensive compre mpreh ehe hensive nsiv tutoring pro progra program ram m of o approximately pproxim mate tutors 60 tuto 60 tu tutor ors rss pr provides one-to-onee and a d small-group s ll-group instruction. instr instruc struuct ctition. n. Student-athle Student-athletess are a e aassistedd with study skills, techniques skill ski llss, problem-solving p oblem-solving te tech hniqques and specific course hniqu material. m ma mate ter eririal. al. AAthletic Student de Life Lifee Office counselors may recommend student-athlete re rec coom mmend mend tutors or a stude st udent-athlete te may req request uee t one o independently. in ind deependently. ntly. Center TThe Th hee Study Skills Ce Cente err provides provides d student-athletes de t at athlet with assistance aas sssistance stance in colleg college reading readdingg stra strategies ategies and iindividual instruction improvement. iin nsstruction ruction for read readingg im improve mprovement. roveement. ment Meanwhile Meanwhile, Mea while, th thee Center TThompson hhompson mpson Writing Ce enter nteer offers a ddyna dynamic, amic, mic positive posi e atmosphere student-athletes aat tm mosphere to help lp st udent-athletes generate ideas udent-athletes deaas and strategies sst trrategies egies for writin writing assignments. assignments. Consultants hhelp el student-athletes organize sst tuudent-athletes ent-athletes oorgan nize ize papers, revi review e gramm grammatical ti al basics, proofreading bba assics, cs develop proofre eading and library research eading research resumes. sskills, sk kiillls, and design resum mess. A learning mes. leearning specialist regularly re reg guularly conducts ucts tim time management ma management agement and st study d skills s workshops. goal wo wor w orkks kshops. hops. The staff’s goa oal al iss to help student-athletes become writers bec beco be com om mee independent wr writer ers rs and a d learners in the academic acad acade addem em micc environ environment. Understanding Underst Unde U erssta tan anding ing computers and an hhaving havingg access to them regular onn a reg regu ulaar basis are essentia ular essential too today’s today’s ay s successful student. Centers, stu uddent. udent. ent Th TThe hee two two Athletic Comp Computerr Centers Cen C nters,, also located ocat ate ted ed in tthe hee PPrentice entice Ga Gautt Academic emicc Ce Center, enter, provide student-athletes den ent nt-athlete t-athle hletes ess with w computer knowledge nowle ge an and nd access. The Athle Athletic Computer hle letic etic tic Co Com omp mpu puterr Centers are open sixx days daays a week withh extended extende ex extendedd hours hhoours offered during peak times. time mes. The Kerr Foundation Language Center unddat ation atio ion Fo FForeign Fore orre reig eig ignn La Lang nngua uage ge C ente en terr wa wass established to aassist student-athletes with speaking, ssis ssi ss sis iisstt st ist stud ude uden dent enteen tt-aat t-at ta hlet athl etes es w itithh sp spea eaaki king nng,, listening, readingg aand writing languages. ndd w ritititting ririti ing n iinn di ng ddifferent diff dif fffffer eren er entt la en lang ngguaage ges. ges ss. The Center, coordinated Modern Languages ate tedd by by a M oder oder od eern rn La LLang ang ngua uage ua ges gge es department instructor, offers top-notch multimedia ffffer ers er rs a to top toppp-nno pnotc notc tchh mu m mult ltltim imed im edia ed ia environment for all foreign la language lang ngu ng gua uuag age ge iinstruction. nsstrtruc tru ruc uctition ucti tio ion on. on. Realizing the increasing role mathematics plays ath them emat ema em mat atic atic icss pl ppla play lay ays in ays in society today, the Prentice Gautt Academic Center addem adem emic mic C ente en terr ai te aaims ims to help all student-athletes achieve an understanding deerssta ders t nd tand ndin din ing ng of math and related topics in their course work. TThe he Mathematics Center offers regular instruction for student-athletes placed in preparatory mathematics
courses consultation couurses and nd tutorial co onsultation in all math and statistics courses. statis s courses At OU, preparation is enhanced OU non-athletic leti career prep ennhaanced through development,t, job ough workshops shops in resume ume de job search strategies, s tegies interviewing viewingg skills lls and graduate school chool ool preparation assistance. p aration ion ass stance. tan e TThee Soone Sooner Ca Career eer Program rogram is dedicated educating student-athletes deeddicated ated to educ ting stu udent-athle th tes aabout ut the world providing wo d of work wo andd ppr iding a ttransition nsitio siti n from ccollege ollege g athletics careers. Thee pr program includes athleetics to theirr first ca areers. Th ram inc udes de des the OU Career Fair, career information seminars seminars, Caree Fair minaars,, opportunities for summer internships in various pportu fields, an employment referral service and mentorship f opportunities for graduating student-athletes. Effective communication well essential skill in ell is an essenti successful personal and professional interaction for OU rofessi es o inter nt student athletes. The OU C Communications Center offers Communicati municat n training for effective oral communication and media ral communicati mmunicat unic relations. A workingg med media conference room diaa con onfere ce ro roo featuring a stage audio-visual systems s ag and modern rn audio-v vissual sy stems is aavailable inn a state-of-the-art communications sstat ate-of-the-art e-of-thee art a communic mm nications cationns ccenter. enter nt r.
#3: 3: COUNSELING COUNS UN E ELING G
#5 #5: 5: R RE RESIDENT RESIDEN ESID SIDENT DEN LIFE DE Student-athl Student-athletes dentt-athlete athletes letess reside eside inn a vari vvariety of University environments, including the Sooner Housing housing using envir environm ronme nment ments, nts includin in ncluud uding ding th Housing Center, managed by Center. enter. The SSoonerr Hou Housi Ho ousing singg Ce Center nter, nt ter, m across the street Athletic St Student Life staff, aff,f, is located l catedd acros aacr ac Stadium. provides from Okl Oklahoma Memorial emorial Stadi SStad tadiu dium. um. m It prov ppro rovid a living academic eenvironment that at iss conducive conduci too tthe the aca academ adeemic em and student-athletes. Sooner ppersonal persona rsonal so development opment ment of stu stude student-ath -athl athle hletes. ete tes. Th The hee SSo Housing President’s Hous ousing usingg Center C Ce r was the winne win winner of th thee 1998 1199 9988 Pres Pre esid side center Trophy rop y fo for th the he ooutstanding utstanding tstandin ho housing ing ce cente nter terr on on the OU O contribution campus cam mpus aandd was w s rrecognizedd for its con contribu but utition on to excellence, programming aacademic cademic eexcelle ellence, nce ce, innovative novative programm programmin ing ngg and and campus mpuss divers diversity. ive The The SSooner oner Housing Cen Center er w waas als was alsoo President’s selected ed ass the t Pre Preside ident’s d ntt’s Trophy ophy runner-upp iin 199 19 11997 9997 and 2000. 0
#6: LIFE E SKILL SKILLS LS S AN AND MOR MORE RE E OU O U is a member off th the NCAA NCAA’s A’s Life L e Skil Skills Program contributing andd iis dedicated an edd to co contributin ntri ngg to the he gr growth and student-athletes development evelop lopment pm men off st me student-athle d t-a tes tthrough de thhrough ugh academic adem excellence, ellence, c at ce, athletic ticc eexcellence, xce e per pers ppersonal sonal development, evelopme velo development. ccommunity mmunity unity service and n career reee devel de velopment. ment.
S Student-a Student-athletes hletes receive ca caring, ringg, profe professional ssional support u fro Academics from cade cs as a wel well as Psy Psychological sycholog ologgical Resources ources (PROS). P S). Thi This support m may take k several s forms, including ncluding career e choice, aacademic cademicc or personal al decision decisions. Four pprofessional f nal athletic academic acadeemic couns counselors lors aare ppresent sent to hhelp lpp student-athletes e -athletes through th ough the ed educational cational nal pprocess. ro s
The OU Athletic Student LLife program program m places laces special emphasis upon recognition of out ooutstanding outsta staanding ing academic Scholar-athletes performances by student-athletes. student-athletes Sc cholar-athletes olar-athle with a 3.0 GPA PA and above are recogniz recognized ed each ch semester at halftime of a football or men’s bas bbasketball bask ketball ball game. An awards banquet is held in the Spring Spring to recognize recogniz winners. scholar-athletes and special award award winn w nners. ners.
A Approximately te on one nee ccounselorr per 1100 stud student-athletes ent-athletes t iss available ai b ttoo assist ass the he student-athletes student-athl t- etes w with thh planning schedules, class sc cla schedu edules, less, choosing choosing degreee pr programs ograms and setting attendance personal o and annd acad academic d mic goals. oa C Cou Cours Coursee atte attend dance ance and course course perfo performance mance are che checked a min minimum mum um m of four times tim per sem semester for o ea each ach student-athlete tuden athlete participating pating iin the intercollegiate nte ggia i at athletic hletic program. rogram og m.
receive Graduating student-athletes receiv re ce ve recognition ecognition cognition prio prior to OU’s graduation ceremonies ceremoniees inn Mayy att a recepti reception. receptio . representing Each is ggiven an “O” ring, repres re epreesenting nting their eir athl athleticc participation and nd graduation graduatioon from graduat ffr m the University off Oklahoma. All scholarship O scholarshiip student-athletes st ent-athletes who exhaust their eligibilityy w ex within with n eight se semesters may mayy year receive an additional additionaal yyea ear off financial aid within inn a six year period. six-year perio
The ppersonal health and nutritional need needs eds of studentstudentathletes are monitored by the OU Sports Medicine staff taff of physicians ians and certified athletic trainers. The Wagner Wagne Dining Hall makes every effort to accommodat accommodate the acc requirements sspecial spec sp pecia eccial iall di dietary diet iet etar aryy re requ q irem quir rem emen ents ts ooff OU U sstudent-athletes. tude tu dent nt-aathlete thle th lete tess. tes. s
#4: FACULTY ACULTY RELATIONS RELATION RE Thee fa Th faculty facu cultltlty cu ty gu gues guest estt pr es prog program’s ogra og gra ram’ ram m’ss pu m’ m purp purpose rpos rp ose os se is ttoo en enha enhance haanc ncee th thee athletic relationship with faculty athl at hlet hl etic et icc ddepartment’s epar eep artm ar tmen tm ent’ en nt’t’s t s re rela lat la atitio t oon onsh ship sh ipp w itithh th the fa the facu cuultlty ty an andd staff. members guest coaches staf st a f. FFaculty af accul ulty ty m embbe em berss aare re sselected re elec el ecteed to bbee ggu ec gues est es st co coac ache ac hs he sports academic forr the fo the w th week we ek iinn al alll ssp spor orts or rts tthroughout hrou hhr ough ou gho gh hou out th out the he aac acad adem ad emi em mic i yyear. earr.r ear. ea During time, faculty Dur D Du uririring ring ng tthat hatt titime hha m , th me the fa the facu cuultlty ty gu gguests gues uessts ts aare ree pprovided rovi ro vide vi dedd wi de with ithh a planned activities designed give lillist ist st ooff pl pplan lan lan anne nedd ac ne acti tittivi vittities vi ties e tthat hatt ar ha aaree de desi esi ssign sig gned ggn ned ttoo gi ggiv ve tthem ve hem hhe em em experience a oopportunity an ppor ppo pp ortu oor rtu ttuni tun nity nni tyy ttoo ex expe xpe peririen peri ien ence ce vvarious ario ar ious iio ouss aaspects spec spec sp ects cts t ooff th the he athletic operations athl at thl hhlet let etic icc ddepartment’s epar ep arttm artm ar t en tmen ent’t’t’s’s op ope peerrat atio ioons ns aand n iintroduce nd ntr nnt tro rodu rodu d ce duce c tthem hem to hem he student-athlete lifestyles den entt at athl hlet hl let ete te lilife iffe fest styl st yles yl yles es aand ndd eexpectations. xpec xp eecta cta tatittition ion onss. oons. s
comprise Student-athlete Studen Student-ath ath ete leaders l aders from om eea each sport co com omprise mpr prisee the th Student-Athlete improve Student Student-Athl ent-Ath Athlete Advisory Board Board, which chh aaims aim ims to iim mpr communication Department commu co commun munication with the Athletics etics Dep De epa partment artment rtme t aand an University regarding Univ U Un iiver ersi sity ty aadministration dmin dm inis istrtrat atio ionn re rega gard rdin din ing ng st sstudent-athletes’ stud tuden udden uden enttt--at at athl needs concerns. Student-Athlete Advisory need ne edss an andd co conc ncer erns ns. Th Thee St Stud ude uden ud den ent eentnt-At t-AAthl A hlet At hle lete ettee AAd Adv v Board community Boar Bo ard ar rd de ddeveloped eveelo lope pedd a co pe comm mmu mm mun uniitity uni ty ou ooutreach utrtrea each ppartnership each ea a Oklahoma Youth Center, local with wi thh tthe hhee O klah kl ahom ah omaa Yo om Yout out uthh Ce C Cent ent nter nter eer,, a lo er lloca oca cal residential facility mentally faci fa cililility ci ty ffor oor pphysically, hysi hy sica si ica cal call ca alllly llly, lyy,, m enta enta en talllllly ly aan andd ssexually abused children. chil ch ilildr d en dr en.. T e bo The Th bboard boar oar ard al ard allsso also so ddesigns esig ees siig ignns ns programs that encourage excellence and social responsibility and exce exc ex cceeellllllen l en ence ce iinn ac aacademics acad a ad serve student-athletes on campus-wide sserv se erv rve ttoo rrepresent rve ep epr ep committees. com co mm mm
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