Student-Athlete Academic Support Services 

“Emphasizing the STUDENT in Student Athlete”

Academics are the highest priority of a Penn State education and of the student-athlete experience at Mont Alto. To ensure the success of our student-athletes, the Academic Support Center (ASC) provides comprehensive resources and support services throughout the year. See below. 

Academic Advocacy

Academic Specialist: The Academic Specialist aims to provide you with academic support so you may identify appropriate tools for success, while also transferring skills to ensure that you are becoming independent toward your personal academic coursework. Specific Areas the Academic Specialist can assist you with:

• Study Strategies
• Understanding Lecture
• Time Management
• Goal Setting
• Academic Stressors
• Problem Solving
• Resource Referral

Peer Academic Advocates: Peer Academic Advocates are available throughout the semester to meet one-on-one with any students needing assistance with their academic and social transitional needs.

Schedule an appointment with an academic specialist by scheduling through Starfish utilizing the Academic Specialist tile in your Success Network.

STEM Tutoring

Whether you are looking to grasp basic concepts, achieve higher exam scores, or combat anxieties towards to course content, our STEM tutors are available to meet your needs. Our math, chemistry, and physics tutors can:

• • Answer questions
  • Hear the material from the lecture again, presented in a different way.
  • Go over more difficult or complex concepts until you understand them.
  • Ask questions about anything you didn't understand in class.
  • Review material for quizzes and tests
  • Provide test preparation and test-taking tips
  • Establish short- and long-term study goals
  • Review exams from previous semesters
  • Help fill gaps in material that does not make sense in class
  • Provide different ways of approaching a problem

Students can gain access to STEM tutors on Starfish through their course resources.

Content Tutoring

The ASC provides content tutoring in courses that have proven to be challenging for students. Students can gain access to content tutors on Starfish through their course resources. If there is a content tutor available, it will appear connected to the course. At times, there are other courses for which students need help. If your course does not have a content tutor connected, meet with an Academic Specialist connected in the Success Network on Starfish.

Writing Center

The Writing Center offers help at all stages of the writing process: brainstorming, introduction paragraphs, rough drafts, revisions, and final edits. We can help with a variety of your writing concerns: grammar, sentence structure, paper organization, and citation formatting. Whether you have a creative paper, research essay, business report, or speech, we can help! Schedule an appointment with a writing consultant by scheduling through Starfish utilizing the Writing Center tile in your Success Network.

Study Groups

Study Groups are a perfect opportunity for students enrolled in the same courses to work together in understanding the course material. The ASC staff will assist students in putting together study groups for courses, but they are not facilitated.

Guided Study Groups (GSG) are facilitated study groups that support students enrolled in specific first-year courses. GSG is not individual tutoring – they are collaborative learning environments where students work together.

Student athlete study groups are also common when many student athletes are enrolled in the same course. Contact the Academic Support Center if you have interest in starting a student athlete study group. 

Online Writing Lab (OWL)

The OWL is designed to provide students with asynchronous, written feedback from an ASC professional writing consultant. Papers are not edited, but professional feedback will be given to help make your writing the best it can be. Utilizing the OWL is perfect when student athletes are busy traveling and finding it difficult to schedule an in-person appointment.  Students may make submission by clicking this LINK.

Workshops & Events

Starting as early as the first week of the semester, Academic Support Center workshops and events provide students with topics that emphasize aspects of academic success and requires students to engage in learning new information that could be key to their academic success. At times, coaches may encourage or require their student athletes to attend specific workshops. Contact the Academic Support Center for the most up to date workshop schedule.

Disability Resources

Student Disability Resources (SDR) is responsible for coordinating support services, reasonable academic accommodations, and promoting disability awareness in the university community. Visit the University SDR Website for more information.

In the unfortunate event a student athlete sustains an injury that may affect their academics, the student will work with the SDR office in coordinating necessary absences and creating an academic recovery plan that is right for them.

Exam Proctoring

In the event a student misses an exam due to an athletic competition, they can be rescheduled directly with their faculty instructor or be taken at the Exam Proctoring Center within the ASC. Proctored exams may be scheduled Monday through Thursday between the hours of 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Students needing an exam proctored at a time beyond 4 p.m. must contact the Exam Proctoring Coordinator directly to discuss alternative testing times at maexamproctor@psu.edu.

Academic Support Center Location & Team

The Academic Support Center is located on the 1^st floor of the General Studies Building. During the academic year, the Academic Support Center is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Fridays from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. In addition to the services mentioned here, the ASC also has a great space for students to utilize campus computers and printers, have a place to study or hang out between classes, and ask quick questions to any of the available staff. Click here for a listing and contact information of the ASC professional staff.

For additional questions about any of the Academic Support Center services for student athletes, contact the ASC Director, Kendra Wolgast at kmw24@psu.edu.