Athletics
Student program modeled at national conference
Professor Sandra Schroer, Chair of the Muskingum University Department of Sociology & Anthropology and Director of The Athletes & Scholar’s Program (TASP), presented Muskingum’s initiative for supporting the academic success of first-year fall-sport student-athletes to the national conference of the Yes We Must Coalition in Austin, Texas. The Yes We Must Coalition is a group of independent colleges and universities dedicated to increasing degree attainment and college success for all students.
The purpose of Muskingum’s TASP initiative is to increase the academic success of first-year fall-sport student-athletes and encourage their persistence to graduation, by helping them experience a smooth transition to academic life. The program begins in August, allowing students to become well-acquainted with their peers, faculty, staff and campus facilities and resources before the start of classes. At the same time, TASP brings together faculty, Student Affairs staff members and athletic coaches into a cohesive team to support fall-sport student-athletes’ success.
TASP includes a series of five sessions taught by volunteer instructors from across campus, covering a variety of strategies for successfully navigating curricular and co-curricular expectations and opportunities. The sixth session features an alumni panel of scholar-athletes and a pizza party with Muskingum President Susan Hasseler and Provost Nancy Evangelista to celebrate the students’ completion of the program.
Muskingum’s TASP program was piloted in 2017 with first-year members of the Fighting Muskies football team and was expanded in 2018 to include all first-year fall-sport men and women student-athletes.
