Student Services - Western Kentucky University Athletics

Academic Advising

Priority Registration - This service alleviates any class and practice time conflicts for our student-athletes. All student-athletes are required to meet with their major department advisor and their SASC academic advisor before the registration period to discuss progress toward their degree (PTD), and to ensure they are in compliance with NCAA rules and regulations.

Degree Works - Degree Works is a web-based advising tool designed to assist students and advisors in reviewing program progress. Degree Works audits will display up-to-date information about the student’s progress towards graduation. Degree Works organizes a student’s transcript chronologically and categorically, easily identifying courses/requirements that have been completed and courses/requirements still needed in order to complete a degree or certificate program for graduation.

Academic Progress Monitoring

Athlete Grade Review (AGR) - SASC has an online Athlete Grade Review system in place that is administered three times a semester. During which, professors have the opportunity to indicate if a student-athlete is frequently absent or if they have any other concerns. A compilation of the Athlete Grade Review reports is sent to each head coach.

Academic Meetings - The following student-athletes have mandatory weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly academic meetings with their SASC academic advisor:

First year freshmen
First year transfer students
Continuing student-athletes with a cumulative GPA below 2.5
Students who are currently not in good academic standing as determined by WKU academic policy
(Academic Warning, Academic Probation, or Academic Committee)

Facilities

The Carol and Denny Wedge Student Athlete Success Center opened in January of 2009. SASC is a 10,000 square foot academic complex located in Houchens Smith Stadium (east side) and houses the academic advising staff, a computer laboratory and a large study area designated solely for use by student-athletes. The Student Athlete Success Center is also equipped with conference rooms, and several private study rooms for WKU student-athletes to meet with athletic tutors on a one-to-one basis or work on class projects.

Features of the Center include:

Advising offices (7)
One conference room (1)
One large study room (Capacity 120)
Three large private study rooms equipped with whiteboards
Six small private study rooms
Computer Lab equipped with 40 personal computers
Printing station

Study Table

WKU student-athletes can utilize the SASC for studying purposes during the academic center’s hours of operation. At this time, the SASC is staffed with student workers who serve as either athletic tutors, athletic mentors or departmental assistants. Student-athletes are required to sign in at the front desk in the SASC lobby area using their WKU student ID card. They are logged into our online system called TutorTrac, which tracks student-athletes’ visit history along with their tutoring appointments. This system generates a weekly study hour report that is sent to each head coach on Friday evening.
Students MUST sign in regardless if they have mandatory study hours or not, and they MUST sign out each time they leave the academic center for whatever reason (s). Failure to do so will result in their visit being TERMINATED, so they will not get credit towards any study time for that visit. An automated email will be sent to their WKU email address if their visit is terminated for any reason. The following rules apply to the SASC:

NO FOOD is allowed in the computer lab and no drinks except bottle tops/caps
CELL PHONE USAGE- Phones should be set on silent or vibrate when entering SASC
NO sleeping
NO tobacco products
Talking should be at library-like level
Respect all SASC staff members

Student-athletes can check their study hours daily using the following steps:
1. Visit the TutorTrac website
2. Login to TutorTrac with your WKU email address and password (do not include
     @wku.edu)
3. Click on */Go To/* (located at the top of the screen)
4. Click on */View History/*
5. This report will show you every login for the semester in minutes.
6. If you are currently logged into the SASC, those hours will not show up in TutorTrac until
    you log out of the academic center.
7. Contact your SASC academic advisor regarding any errors in the system within 24hrs of the
     visit in question.

Student Athlete Readiness Testing Program (START)

The Student Athlete Success Center in conjunction with the Department of Athletics, Student Accessibility Resource Center (SARC), and the Psychology Department offers this program to student-athletes through a referral process. This program enables the SASC advisement staff to link the appropriate support services to each student-athlete

Tutoring Program

The SASC offers tutorial assistance in various subject areas and is provided at no cost to all student-athletes. Athletic tutors consist of undergraduate and graduate students who have, at least, a 3.0 cumulative GPA. If needed, the advisement staff makes a concerted effort to find tutors in subject areas not offered through SASC or campus learning assistance centers. Student-athletes must contact their SASC academic advisor in order to schedule a tutoring appointment or cancel a tutoring appointment, and student-athletes will receive an appointment reminder via Teamworks. These appointments can either be in-person or via Zoom, and student-athletes are not allowed to cancel any appointments directly with their tutor.

SASC Mentoring Program

Student-athletes with mandatory study hall hours will be assigned an athletic mentor at the discretion of their advisor. Athletic mentors can help facilitate the learning process by:

Assisting with time management
Developing organizational skills
Preparing for tests
Developing good study skills
Serving as an academic resource