Cypress College Athletics Introduces Student-Athlete Success Center

 

CYPRESS, CA – Cypress College Athletics, with the support of the campus, opened the doors to its Student-Athlete Success Center (SASC) on Monday. The College is seeking to continually enhance the conditions that promote student success, even after being ranked the #1 community college in California according to the 2018 Best Community Colleges ranking.

 

The SASC is a dedicated academic space for student-athletes with resources geared to help them succeed in the classroom. In a recent study comparing student-athletes to non-athletes at Cypress College, student-athletes were 2.5 times more likely to transfer or earn an AA degree, while minority student-athletes were about 3 times more likely to transfer than minority non-athletes. (Student-Athlete Success Study)

 

"For the 2016-17 academic year, our entire student-athlete population earned a cumulative 3.01 grade point average which is absolutely impressive," said Dr. Richard Rams, Dean of Student Support Services, Kinesiology & Athletics. "However, there are areas that we have identified where we can improve. Our Athletics Counselors, Dana Bedard and Jeff Cutkomp have helped design an additional resource that will help us further improve outcomes and keep our student-athletes eligible and transfer ready. Our coaches are committed to ensuring that this resource is utilized by our athletes and our Student Athlete Advisory Committee has expressed significant interest in ensuring their peers understand the positive impact the SASC will have. The SASC codifies a student-athlete learning community and academic support network at Cypress College." 

 

Services for student-athletes in the SASC include private study space, computer access, tutoring support, counseling services, and group meeting space. Academic counselors will meet with student-athletes on a regular basis to review their Educational Plans and most recent grade checks. The goal is to provide an academic home for athletes on campus, where participation in academic support services will continue to increase course completion rates and move student-athletes on to the next level.

 

"Our athletes have always taken their classes seriously. Wtih the help and guidance of the SASC, I know it will greatly help them reach their academic goals," said Head Women's Basketball Coach Margaret Mohr.

 

The SASC is one of many inclusive efforts at Cypress College to help improve academic success for all students. Initially conceived by the faculty and coaches of the Athletics department during our 2014 Department Program review, the SASC was ultimately realized through the collaboration and support of the campus administration, namely former President, Dr. Robert Simpson (2012-2017), current President, Dr. JoAnna Schilling, Executive Vice-President, Dr. Santanu Bandyopadhyay, Athletics Director, Bill Pinkham, Dean of Kinesiology & Athletics, Dr. Richard Rams, and Dean of Counseling & Student Development, Dr. Paul de Dios.