OSAS Team Presented N4A Model Practice Award
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Arkansas Office of Student-Athlete Success (OSAS) was recently presented the prestigious Model Practice Award by the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A) at its annual convention in Orlando.
The N4A Model Practice Award is an award given annually to the university or college that displays best practices in their academic and/or student-athlete development programming for student-athletes (this includes, but is not limited to academic advising, academic integrity, disability services, target populations, learning specialists, tutoring, study hall/table, student – athlete affairs, life skills, career preparation, etc.).
Arkansas’ OSAS team was recognized for its Mobile Advising Program proposal. The Mobile Advising Program is a key component to the enrollment process for University of Arkansas student-athletes. Each semester, on-campus advisors from the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education and Health Professions come to the OSAS to advise student-athletes enrolled in those colleges.
One of the major benefits of Mobile Advising is the increased communication between student-athletes and their on-campus advisors, as well as with on-campus advisors and OSAS counselors. Student-athletes have a better understanding of the classes they need to take, the times the classes are available, and the instructors teaching the courses. In addition, student-athletes who participate in the university advising process have their advising hold removed which can often be a hindrance when utilizing priority registration. This program paired with priority registration helps put student-athletes in the best position to be successful.
Mobile Advising has helped play a role in the success Arkansas student-athletes have had in the classroom. This past spring, Arkansas student-athletes achieved a department GPA over 3.0 for the 15th consecutive semester while raising the cumulative GPA to a record-breaking 3.25. A staggering 298 student-athletes earned a spot on the honor roll with a spring GPA of 3.0 or higher while the number of graduates will reach 100 for the year once all summer session requirements are complete.
Arkansas academic counselors, Britta DeLay and Jacob Hoops presented on the Mobile Advising Program at the N4A (National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics) national conference from June 8-10 in Orlando, Fla.
