Mission
The Kennesaw State University Student-Athlete Success Services Program strives to help student-athletes make the most of their collegiate experience by offering services which include: academic advising, tutoring, career development and life skills development. Our emphasis is on the growth of the whole individual by preparing student athletes beyond college athletics.
About Student Athlete Success Services Center
The Kennesaw State University Student Athlete Success Services (SASS) center staff is dedicated to providing excellent academic support for all student-athletes while they are pursuing their degree, and to ensure compliance with NCAA rules pertaining to athletic eligibility.. Students are surrounded with comprehensive academic support which helps them to be successful and balance the demands of being a student-athlete. This includes many tools to assist students in being successful.
ACADEMIC ADVISING: The Athletic Advising staff is available to help undeclared student-athletes select their courses, and also can help students learn more about the 80 bachelors, masters and doctoral degree programs on campus. We are focused on vocation, and helping students identify their passion. We also are the point of contact between athletics and faculty, and work to maintain a positive relationship with campus. The SASS staff also provides documentation for athletic travel events to professors, which are counted as excused absences.
TUTORING: SASS offers free tutoring for all student-athletes. This is a great benefit that we encourage students to take advantage of, because of the demands that are often placed on them. Tutoring may be one time, weekly, or bi-weekly to help our students with supplemental instruction. We also offer walk-in tutoring during certain evenings to help students during study hall. Whether students need help with a difficult concept in math, or help to improve their writing style, the tutors are trained to assist students and become better informed learners.
ELIGIBILITY MONITORING: We also have a comprehensive process to monitor our student-athletes academic progress throughout the semester. Many students are in our STAR mentoring program (Students Taking Academic Responsibility) and meet weekly with one of our academic advising staff. These meetings help students get organized, stay on top of assignments and learn specific study strategies. In addition we send out progress reports 4 times a semester to ask for professors feedback on how all student-athletes are doing in their course. This helps us target our efforts to help students succeed.
MENTORING: All of our incoming student-athletes are given a faculty or staff member as a mentor to meet with throughout their tenure at KSU to help them make the transition, and also to have a resource for questions or needs they may have. This is a unique program and not only allows our faculty and staff to get to know our student-athletes; it also provides the athletes with a ‘seasoned’ person on campus to reach out to for help.
FACILITIES: The SASS building is home to the athletic advising staff, and is also a great location for students to study. This 6000 sq. ft. space includes a study lounge, computer lab, private tutor rooms as well as the staff offices. It has wifi available throughout the building, and is located on the corner of Chastain and Big Shanty, conveniently located across from the weight room and practice gym. Student-athletes also have the ability to check out laptops from SASS in order touse them for team travel.
PRIORITY REGISTRATION: Priority Registration is given to student-athletes at KSU in order to accommodate travel and practice times. This is a great benefit for student-athletes that helps make the challenge of balancing academics and athletics easier.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: Unique to KSU, we strive to produce leaders in the Community, and go beyond the typical community service opportunities provided. The Center for Student Leadership offers a class for KSU student-athletes to develop leadership skills, and also employs a Director of Student-Athlete and Experiential Leadership that is dedicated to helping students grow and develop.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: KSU also employs a full time Director of Character Development, who works with student-athletes to develop key skills from both a faith-based and values-based foundation. This is a great resource for our student-athletes as they grow as a team but also as individuals.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT: Life after sports is an important focus for student-athletes at KSU, and we are passionate about helping students to prepare for their career. The Career Services Center at KSU has dedicated a person to specifically work with student-athletes and the Leadership program to help them develop their resume and also prepare for a career after sports.
SPORTS PERFORMANCE: In addition, a Sports Psychologist is also available for our student-athletes to help them hone their mental game. Currently this sports psychologist works with several teams to develop cohesiveness and team work, and also helps them develop a strong mental approach to competition.
STUDENT-ATHLETE RECOGNITION: Student-athletes work hard both on the field and in the classroom, so we want to make sure they are recognized for their achievements. We make sure our student-athletes are nominated for recognition and awards for local, conference, regional, and national awards. Our teams have been outstanding in the classroom, earning a record cumulative 3.11 GPA during the 2011-12 academic year. They have been recognized numerous times by the Atlantic Sun conference for their academic excellence. SASS also utilizes Grades First, a comprehensive software that manages communication, tutorrequests, progress reports, travel notification, and study hall management as well as many reporting functions. This allows us to be efficient and keep coaches, faculty, and student-athletes updated and informed about many different issues.
