“Excellence Unveiled at UNC with Chancellor Lee Roberts” is a series on 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Each episode shines a light on members of the Carolina community and the outstanding work they do. Listen to the full episode below, or read the complete transcript.

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In the fifth installment of Excellence Unveiled, listen to Michelle Brown, assistant provost and director of the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes, talk about how she and her team support our student-athletes in their pursuit of extraordinary academic and athletic achievements.

Dr. Michelle Brown, Director the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes (image via UNC)

“The Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes is a unit that falls under the provost’s office. We guide and support Carolina student-athletes with their academic needs throughout their college experience as they pursue their educational goals alongside their athletic pursuits. We begin working with them as recruits and prospect students, and then even past graduation. The path can work and be very different for each one, and it’s all very individualized.

We complement and supplement the services from campus, so a lot of what we do is connect the students with the resources that are already there, help work with faculty members, for example, when they travel. We work with the University-approved absence office to make sure that they have recorded their absences as University-approved when they’re traveling for competition. And then we might provide support if an instructor asked for that to help with proctoring or helping them make sure that they’ve got a proctor situation set up to where they are traveling so they can make up an exam.

The Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes is made up of a team of individuals that are either academic counselors or learning specialists. And they’re all educators, either in their experience or their background that they have, and they come and support the student athletes as they make their way through the collegiate experience or their academics as they’re balancing that with their athletic pursuits.

We also have a team of undergraduate or graduate or even community individuals that provide some tutoring to the students. With those services, in addition to other demands that are on the student-athletes, for example, NCAA rules and legislation, we help the students figure out their paths as Carolina students, but then also what they need to fulfill and what they have to complete and do as NCAA athletes. So, we’re really surrounding them with helping them focus on their time management, keeping their priorities, what is due next, and staying connected with faculty and other resources on campus to help them be successful.

I’m very proud of our student-athletes. Not only are they navigating the college experience at Carolina, but they are figuring out how to be student-athletes, which adds to their experience. Being a student-athlete in itself at a D1 institution is challenging. They’ve been able to learn in the classroom and then also use their experience in the sport where it’s putting leadership skills and teamwork into practice or where they are demonstrating resilience and hard work.

In the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes, we have a great team. I’m particularly proud of the group that we have working with the student-athletes. And they are behind the scenes working with the students, and they are the first ones to say that it is the student-athletes who have accomplished all the work that they have done. And we’re there to be able to just provide support and guidance, but it all comes down to the great student-athletes, and we have a great team that’s there to support them. We all enjoy what we do very much, and we care about the students.”

(featured photo: Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Click here to learn more about the UNC Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes

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