The Academic Support Services for Student Athlete (ASSSA) program has been in existence since 1972 and is housed under the Office of the Provost. ASSSA is designed to assist student-athletes with reaching their fullest academic potential and personal development while at the University of Pittsburgh. The University, Department of Athletics, and ASSSA are committed to promoting both academic and athletic achievement of its student-athletes, while upholding the academic integrity of the institution. Along with a director, the ASSSA staff includes 7 academic counselors, systems administrator, tutor specialist, and an administrative assistant. The ASSSA staff works closely with coaches, faculty, and university staff to help student-athletes balance the demands of their academic responsibilities and participation in intercollegiate athletics.
Services
ASSSA Academic Counselors work closely with all student-athletes on a regular basis and provide support and guidance for students from the time they set foot on campus until graduation. Our Academic Counselors follow the “total person” approach, which provides support for a variety of areas that impact the complete academic, personal, and career development of student-athletes. While many activities center on issues related to the successful academic adjustment to the student-athlete experience, counselors are also involved in their social, cultural, and personal acclimations. Academic Counselors serve as a liaison with a student-athlete’s coaching staff, Academic Advisor, University Registrar, Compliance, and Life Skills to ensure that they are meeting the standards, policies, mission statements and goals of the NCAA and the ACC Conference, as well as Pitt’s academic eligibility requirements.
ASSSA organizes and provides one-on-one and focused (group) tutoring appointments and walk-in tutor support for student-athletes at the Willis Academic Center (Petersen Events Center) and the Duratz Athletic Complex (Football). Each student-athlete who is recognized as a formal member of a sports roster is offered access to these services free of charge.
Tutors with a variety of backgrounds are assigned upon request of the student-athlete or as recommended by ASSSA or a member of the coaching staff. The use of tutors is also suggested to student-athletes when monitoring reports submitted by professors indicate that they may be experiencing difficulty with a course. During sessions, tutors provide instruction in skills and strategies essential to learning course content, preparing for examinations, and completing assignments.
Balancing the multiple roles of a student-athlete while prioritizing academics can be challenging, especially during the transition to college as a freshman. Students can expect to spend two hours of outside study time for each hour of direct class instruction, so learning how to study more efficiently and practice effective time management will be critical to success as a Pitt student-athlete.
ASSSA and the University offer a variety of resources to help students develop effective study skills. These skills are honed during meetings with the Academic Counselor, peer tutors, or a learning specialist. ASSSA also periodically conducts course-specific study skills sessions throughout the semester.
Located inside the Willis Academic Center, the Writing Lab is designated for student-athlete use during the center’s open hours of operation, and is staffed by graduate students in the field. The Writing Lab tutors all English courses (including composition, literature, and poetry) and any other course that is writing-intensive. The Lab assists with reading comprehension, brainstorming, outlining, the step-by-step writing process, and also teaches writers to proofread their own completed work.
The Writing Lab staff is trained to assist students’ understanding of the university’s academic integrity policies, as well as offering proactive strategies to engage in its academic settings.
The advising efforts of ASSSA’s Academic Counselors serve to complement the regular program advising experience in which all Pitt students are required to participate. The Academic Counselor serves as a liaison for their specific varsity sport and as each student’s primary academic program advisor. The University is grouped into several academic “colleges” or “schools” where different specific majors reside. First year student-athletes primarily enter Pitt in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences or the College of Business Administration. Prior to enrolling in classes each semester, all students are required to meet with their program advisor inside of one of these schools. The ASSSA Counselor will help students implement the recommendations for degree and schedule planning, in addition to helping to accommodate athletic practice and competition schedules.
The University of Pittsburgh offers over 100 majors and minors throughout its various schools and programs. View a full list of undergraduate majors. Pitt encourages students to start their undergraduate degree as an undeclared student in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, enrolling in prerequisite courses and fulfilling general education requirements prior to declaring a major. This allows the student-athlete time to explore the variety of majors offered at the university; both the university and the NCAA require that student-athletes declare a major prior to the start of junior year. With collaboration from the ASSSA Academic Counselor, the program Advisor, and our award-winning Life Skills staff that houses a career consultant, student-athletes have the time and resources to explore a major that fits their career goals. With careful planning, most majors are manageable alongside athletic schedules.
