When I asked Ted White what he attributes rising graduation rates within UGA's football student athletes to, he pointed at a whiteboard hung from a wall in his office with one quote written on it and attributed to Peter Drucker and said, "That quote right there. Culture eats strategy for breakfast."
Within the UGA athletics department, there are many techniques and strategies used in helping all student athletes stay focused and engaged, academically. Ted White, the associate athletic director for academic support, identifies what those specific techniques are.
For football players specifically, the strategy for academic focus begins from when they are first enrolled. "What we like to do is invite the incoming football players to take two summer school courses to help get on campus and get oriented. They get put through an orientation process that summer...get used to courses," said White.
When they are freshman, football student players complete a learning style assessment and then a full learning evaluation to assess their strengths and areas that will challenge them academically.
Then they work with a college adviser on their coursework for the fall, complete the ISTARTSTRONG program, which is an interest survey that is designed for freshman in college to help them find an academic area of interest based on their interests and strengths. This program also provides its users with five career fields based on the users' interests according to the answers they give in the survey.
The athletic department also provides a major fair where representatives from the different colleges of UGA come to the main administration building for athletics and explain what their individual school has to offer for students.
"The idea for us is that you're not going to be successful unless you're interested in the courses," White said. White also clarifies that there are certain groups whose desires are taking the easier route because their focus goes into being drafted, but there are others who actually want to be lawyers or doctors and their care is shifted more towards academics.
"I was recruited to come here expressly for the purpose of helping to create or foster an environment that valued academics and valued outcomes for the individual beyond the football field," White stated.
Other supportive approaches such as counseling, mentoring and tutoring help football players stay on a steady academic track. However, behind these methods that help create a support system for student football players, there were also strict policies instilled.
White and other supervisors created a policy where a football student player can miss class and a tutoring session twice without penalty. However, if a student player is absent from class or a tutoring/mentoring session a third time, he will miss 10% of his season. Each absence after the third counts for another 10% and it continues in that manner. From this policy, students attendance rates quickly increased.
Administration also feeds to the athletic directors and coaches how important graduation and education is for all students, including athletes.
White stated, "To get [coaches] initially invested was all about our athletic director...The athletic director tells the coaches that we are going to instill these academic policies, the students will be suspended if they don't go to class..."
It reinforces a culture in which there are increased expectations for athletes.
White says that this system of techniques isn't perfect and some student athletes don't like it, but the success rate of football players at UGA keeps steadily rising each year, especially within graduation rates, with every year the system is reinforced.
He states, "My thought was challenge, push, encourage and support, and it will work out. But the key is that internal drive. If the student has the internal drive and likes the success, then they'll be successful."
Within the UGA athletics department, there are many techniques and strategies used in helping all student athletes stay focused and engaged, academically. Ted White, the associate athletic director for academic support, identifies what those specific techniques are.
For football players specifically, the strategy for academic focus begins from when they are first enrolled. "What we like to do is invite the incoming football players to take two summer school courses to help get on campus and get oriented. They get put through an orientation process that summer...get used to courses," said White.
When they are freshman, football student players complete a learning style assessment and then a full learning evaluation to assess their strengths and areas that will challenge them academically.
Then they work with a college adviser on their coursework for the fall, complete the ISTARTSTRONG program, which is an interest survey that is designed for freshman in college to help them find an academic area of interest based on their interests and strengths. This program also provides its users with five career fields based on the users' interests according to the answers they give in the survey.
The athletic department also provides a major fair where representatives from the different colleges of UGA come to the main administration building for athletics and explain what their individual school has to offer for students.
"The idea for us is that you're not going to be successful unless you're interested in the courses," White said. White also clarifies that there are certain groups whose desires are taking the easier route because their focus goes into being drafted, but there are others who actually want to be lawyers or doctors and their care is shifted more towards academics.
"I was recruited to come here expressly for the purpose of helping to create or foster an environment that valued academics and valued outcomes for the individual beyond the football field," White stated.
Other supportive approaches such as counseling, mentoring and tutoring help football players stay on a steady academic track. However, behind these methods that help create a support system for student football players, there were also strict policies instilled.
White and other supervisors created a policy where a football student player can miss class and a tutoring session twice without penalty. However, if a student player is absent from class or a tutoring/mentoring session a third time, he will miss 10% of his season. Each absence after the third counts for another 10% and it continues in that manner. From this policy, students attendance rates quickly increased.
Administration also feeds to the athletic directors and coaches how important graduation and education is for all students, including athletes.
White stated, "To get [coaches] initially invested was all about our athletic director...The athletic director tells the coaches that we are going to instill these academic policies, the students will be suspended if they don't go to class..."
It reinforces a culture in which there are increased expectations for athletes.
White says that this system of techniques isn't perfect and some student athletes don't like it, but the success rate of football players at UGA keeps steadily rising each year, especially within graduation rates, with every year the system is reinforced.
He states, "My thought was challenge, push, encourage and support, and it will work out. But the key is that internal drive. If the student has the internal drive and likes the success, then they'll be successful."