BATON ROUGE — The Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes earned certification from the prestigious College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) based out of Cleveland, Ohio. Certification lasts for five years. The Center was originally certified by the CRLA in 2001.
“We invest our resources in programming that will enable our student-athletes to be successful,” executive director Kenneth Miles said. “Receiving the CRLA’s International Tutor Program Certification is just one example of us teaching effectively and contributing to LSU’s flagship agenda.”
“Because of academic integrity it is extremely important that all of our tutors and mentors, are certified and trained in accordance with the University, NCAA and SEC guidelines,” director of student affairs Mike Mallet said. “This will ensure quality service as well as establish known guidelines that must not be crossed when servicing our student athletes.”
The CRLA’s review commented that LSU’s program was described as a well-designed, well-supported program in a good facility that provides the needed support to the student-athlete population.
“The Student Learning Program at the Academic Center for Student-Athletes employs quality tutors and mentors who excel in their respective subject areas,” associate director of student learning Jennifer Timmer said. “The CRLA training curriculum further develops their teaching skills and provides instructional strategies covering a variety of topics leading to more effective instruction.
“The CRLA’s mission of teaching with integrity and responsibility for the student-athletes’ best interest closely aligns with the Student Learning Program’s goal of developing a unit of well-trained academic support workers for student-athletes at LSU,” learning specialist Leah Saal said. “Providing Tutors/Mentors with research based techniques that permit learners to construct new ideas based on prior knowledge is the backbone of curriculum. With this accreditation, CRLA had affirmed our commitment to creating independent learners through strategy instruction.”
The CRLA singled out LSU’s excellent training program that exceeded CRLA guideless at both levels one and two. The board also credited the Center’s strong documentation of all of its programs.