Jack HaslettSanta Ana College student athletes will have their own place to study and get academic help starting Fall 2023. The Student Athlete Success Center will help Dons maintain the minimum GPA of at least 2.0 required for eligibility.
“[The goal of the center is] to improve outcomes for retention, success, completion of classes, and transfer – all these things that we know as a campus we could improve,” said Interim Dean of Kinesiology Courtney Doussett.
Renovations began earlier this year on rooms G-106 and G-107 to transform them into a study room where student athletes can connect with tutors to assist them with their classes, and academic counselors that help ease the transferring process.
About $200,000 in one-time funding was approved last year to pay for the remodeling and the Santa Ana College Foundation donated $40,000 for the purchase of furniture.
The center will provide resources and wraparound services specifically catered to students who play a sport.
Dons will be able to connect with financial advisors to assist them with scholarship and financial aid applications. Advisors will also help student athletes improve their financial literacy and money-management skills.
“There are lots of different ideas that will come through to provide value for students,” Doussett said.
The center will also work with current counselors who are experts on maintaining sports eligibility. Counselors will help with registration, transfer and will make time for students to do academic check-ins to maintain eligibility and plan for the future.
Peer tutors will be hired to assist Dons in their studies, either individually or in small groups.
Doussett said that all services will be available on a drop-in or scheduled basis.
“It’s important work that’s been discussed for, really, a good decade to create an opportunity to improve our outcomes for student athletes,” said Doussett.
