This course will review the various transitions that may occur within the NCAA Athlete experience such as the transition from high school to college, the transition into eligibility requirements and the transition for international student-athletes. The course will also provide an introduction to NCAA initial and continuing eligibility requirements as well as an overview of Academic Progress Rate (APR) and NCAA bylaws that would impact academic advisors. Finally, it will allow participants the opportunity to share their views of working with student-athletes and gain a better understanding of how to support them.

Course Objectives

As a part of this course, participants will:

• Recognize the various transitions of collegiate student-athletes
• Identify strategies to further support the collegiate student-athlete
• Describe key components of NCAA initial and continuing eligibility
• Describe and evaluate Academic Progress Rate (APR).

Required Text: Course materials will be provided.

Amy Densevich currently serves as the Associate Athletic Director at Kent State University and has dual roles as a sport administrator and academic advisor. Within the academic advising role she is responsible for education and tracking of NCAA continuing eligibility policies, as well as academic mentoring for student-athletes across six teams. She is also the advisor of the International Student-Athlete program and the graduate academic intern program. Amy is a member of the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A) and in June 2015 completed N4A’s Professional Development Institute (PDI).

Prior to her return to Kent State and higher education, Amy taught special education in a K-12 setting for the Hudson City School District for seven years while also serving as the head softball coach. A former softball student-athlete, Amy returned to Kent State as an assistant softball coach after her teaching career. Amy earned both her Bachelor of Science in Education and Master of Education degrees from Kent State University.

Registration Deadline: March 25, 2022
Course Capacity: 35 registrants 
Fee: $425

Transfer students are a significant and growing undergraduate population on campuses across the U.S. Promoting transfer student success requires institutional agents to understand and support students’ navigation of the transfer process and their acclimatation to new institutions. As such, this course will provide foundational information about transfer, including national trends in transfer. Participants will also explore characteristics of transfer students, assets they bring with them to their institutions, and institutional barriers that impact their success. Participants will engage in learning activities and create equity-minded actionable plans that reinforce support for transfers.

Course Objectives

As a part of this course, participants will:

• Understand national trends, literature, and data associated with student transfer
• Examine and understand the characteristics and assets of transfer and transfer-intending students
• Explore common tools and practices institutions use to meet transfer students needs
• Evaluate the ways in which programs or initiatives may or may not support transfer students’ transitions, engagement, and success during the transfer process
• Develop equity-minded strategies for promoting transfer student success within and across institutions, including through pathways, initiatives, and policies.

Catherine Hartman, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Research Associate, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, University of South Carolina

Dr. Catherine Hartman is a postdoctoral research associate at the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. Catherine works with Center staff to carry out projects related to the Center’s original research agenda and grant-seeking activities. Prior to joining the National Resource Center, Catherine served as a graduate research assistant at the Center for Community College Student Engagement and at the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Catherine’s research focuses on community college student persistence and engagement (particularly among racially and linguistically minoritized students), student transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions, and community college leadership.

Registration Deadline: May 16, 2022
Course Capacity: 35 registrants 
Fee: $425

Expanding access.  Enhancing preparation.  Streamlining transfer and student transitions.  Bridge programs do all this and more. The need for post-secondary education has never been greater, and neither has the necessity of effective partnerships to take students from point A to point B in their progression toward degree.  In this online course, students will be introduced to three primary bridge possibilities:  residential bridge; non-residential bridge; and summer/transition bridge programs.  Through literary review, exploration of best practices, and dialogue with practitioners in the field, students will develop a bridge program action plan and guiding documents that could be furthered at their institutions while proactively determining how the programs can be assessed.

Course Objectives

As a part of this course, participants will:

• Understand the literature and best practices behind residential bridge partnerships between institutions
• Understand the literature and best practices behind non-residential bridge partnerships/articulation agreements between institutions
• Understand the literature and best practices behind summer bridge programs 
• Engage in dialogue with practitioners engaged all the respective bridge programs
• Develop the framework for an institution-specific residential, non-residential, or summer bridge program using research and best practices explored
• Create tools and metrics to assess the effectiveness of bridge programs

Andrew (Drew) Newton currently serves as the Director of Academic and Career Advising at Midlands Technical College (MTC), the community/technical college serving over 10,000 students in the Central Midlands of South Carolina.  In his role, Drew serves as the founding director of the college’s centralized advising center.  He also serves as a primary lead with the Gamecock Gateway residential bridge partnership and other non-residential transfer articulations between MTC and the University of South Carolina-Columbia.  Prior to joining MTC, Drew served as the Associate Director of First-Year Academic Advising at UofSC-Columbia.  His understanding of bridge programs is grounded in his service as founding director of the university's residential bridge program with Midlands Technical College known as Gamecock GatewayBeyond higher education, Drew has also served as a middle school teacher and K-12 department chair.  A native of Farmville, Virginia, Drew completed his Bachelor of Arts in English and Secondary Education from James Madison University and his Master of Education in Higher Education/Student Affairs from the University of South Carolina.

Registration Deadline: June 22, 2022
Course Capacity: 35 registrants 
Fee: $425