academic assistance offered by colleges

Great that you discovered an aspect that will fit your son well.  This speaks to the value of going on many visits, as it helps narrow down what is the best overall college experience for the individual.   I appreciate your post, as this is something that would likely help my kid as well, and isn't something I had thought of.

I'll be interested in the responses you get.

Sounds exactly like what we were told on my son's visit to the school he is now attending.  They did a great job his freshman year of keeping him up on classes, study time, missed classes, etc.  I would assume most schools handle it pretty much the same way

One interesting angle I have discovered is that academic support is often made available to the entire student population (think free tutors), but for the athlete this is often made easier to access and can be "pushed" out to them as necessary.  The support really begins with course planning (don't want Friday afternoon labs during the spring) and can escalate all the way up to having missed classes "taught" by a tutor while on the road (think Power 5 type programs).  The mandatory freshman study halls were something I was looking forward to for my 2017 but have heard they were cancelled as the team has generally not had any issues - coach can make still make this mandatory for individuals.  I am under the impression that it is during these study halls that much of the "hands on" assistance would be provided.  I will not be heartbroken if he gets assigned to study hall early and often.

My wife was told at general orientation that the students need to have a planner and they need to use it.  If regular students need a planner, then I assume student-athletes need a super planner.  My 2017 is not real keen on pencil/paper type stuff but we are hoping to push him towards a hard copy planner and maybe have that available when speaking with the academic support staff.  I do not know the exact details, but I would love it if the support team required them to provide a syllabus for each class and maybe help coach the student in regards to proper planning.  I suspect this will come into play a little more during the spring when schedules start getting erratic.

I too am looking forward to some real life observations as we are weeks away from starting this journey.

Great info and a must ask question during visits.  If you don't mind sharing, what is the size of the school and division?

You should look at this from a few different angles.  There are the guidelines that the baseball program sets forward and the resources and accessibility that the school offers.  

With the baseball program, many have, at least, mandatory study hall.  Although, some only require it for those that are not meeting certain benchmarks.  The scenario you describe certainly seems on the "heavily involved" side if they follow down to the specific assignment level and have someone travel with the team as needed.  Typically, coaches are, at least, very aware of a player's academic standing and will address if eligibility is in question.

Just as important, IMO, are the school resources outside of baseball.  Typically, smaller privates afford better resources, they are more easily accessible and tend to take a more personal interest.  They also, on average, have professors who are willing to take the extra time to help their students.  The smaller classes figure in heavily as well.

This can be one of the big negatives with the big State U's, particularly those that don't put a significant amount of resources into their baseball programs.  This is what we have experienced.  I imagine it would be better at those big State U's that have thriving baseball programs.

Definitely something that you want to ask about. I think you'll find that most schools have something in place, particularly for freshman. I do get the impression that the follow-through varies greatly from school to school. In my experience, you'll get the most objective information about this type of thing from current and former players.

School is a D1, mid-major enrollment a shade over 20,000.

A couple of examples for Ryan.  His JC Required Sunday & Tuesday Night Study Hall for all players their first semester.  If they were above a certain GPA, after the first Semester, then they only had to go on Sunday Nights.  I think it was 2 hours each night.

At Purdue, he is taking summer classes, and I think he has to go to daily study hall, and he also goes to a tutor daily for his Calculus Class.  I am sure that will change in the fall, but it has made for a busy summer.

Like everything else, the amount of attention given to academic assistance will vary from school to school.  At my college (Mid 1980's) there was a lot of attention given to the frosh athletes.  We had a weekly study table, weekly meeting with our advisor, etc.  As you progressed the requirements changed.  My grades were good and I had good study habits so I was released from oversight during my second semester frosh year.  I still needed to run my schedule by the advisor when scheduling for the next semester, but that was about it.  On the other hand, my roommate was not a great student.  He was kept under supervision his entire 5 years.  Weekly meetings, study tables, tutors, etc.  To the point that his advisor pretty much picked his schedule for him every semester as well.  

Great question.   In our experience, academic support and who initiates that academic support request varied greatly from program to program.   There were a number of schools that required study hall no matter the circumstances mostly for freshmen or those that were struggling.   There were a few programs that strongly encouraged academic support especially for freshmen and then there were a handful of programs where academic support was provided but it was 100% up to the student to initiate the request through the coach.   This is why it is important to visit the schools and ask these questions IMHO.

All in all, academic support was provided at each school we visited.  Some schools we visited actually go out of their way to create a firewall between academics and athletics.  In these situations, it is 100% up to the student to make the request and follow through with it.   I remember my son telling me that his coach would get with every player on a Friday to review academic performance and standing.  If the coach thought there was going to be a problem he would suggest the player take care of it....which meant get with a academic tutor.  If you proved to him that you were on top of your school work, you would only have to get with him monthly to check in.

Clemson does an outstanding job managing the Freshmen and their academics. There is mandatory tutoring appointments for them during that first year. Depending on their performance in the classroom, they can opt out the next year or stay in it if they need/want it. They have a coordinator who sends reminders and also sends academic update forms that the players have to complete for submission to the coaches if they aren't in tutoring. She is the liaison between the coaches, professors and players. She also sends them the schedule for baseball with the blocks available for them to schedule their classes around baseball. This support program helped my son. He is smart but certainly needed to have this management his freshman year. He opted out this past season and held a B. Ideally the kids figure everything out and require less and less support as they move through the school and learn to manage everything on their own.

I saw her at a game this past season and thanked her for her support. 

rynoattack posted:

A couple of examples for Ryan.  His JC Required Sunday & Tuesday Night Study Hall for all players their first semester.  If they were above a certain GPA, after the first Semester, then they only had to go on Sunday Nights.  I think it was 2 hours each night.

This is what many of the schools we've visited have outlined. Maybe different days, or every night for first semester, but this basic outline.