University Southern California Trojans
Student-Athletes Adapt To Online Learning
April 14, 2020 | Student-Athlete Academic Services, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
On Friday, March 6, USC announced that it would test its online classes during the three days before spring break as a proactive measure to prepare for the effects of COVID-19.
Little did Trojan student-athletes know, that test run wouldn't end.
USC would later announce that all classes for the remainder of the spring semester would be conducted online because the government has encouraged people to stay home and practice physical distancing.
After that announcement, USC's student-athletes and student-athlete academic services team were forced to adapt to the new normal.
USC's student-athlete academic services team (SAAS) includes seven learning specialists, 12 assistant learning specialists and approximately 75 tutors. That group typically spends over 1,000 hours a week with USC's student-athletes. A typical freshman, who gets the most help from SAAS, might have 10-12 hours of tutoring per week. SAAS helps the student-athletes with executive functioning skills like planning and time management in addition to tutoring them on their class subjects.
Helping USC's 566 student-athletes transition to online classes was no small feat for SAAS.
They had to learn how to conduct appointments via Zoom and check with every student-athlete to see if the same time slot worked for those appointments, since some Trojans went home to their native countries up to nine hours ahead of LA time. They also had to ensure that academic integrity guidelines were still met with appointments happening virtually, and outside of the supervised academic center on campus.
Mimi Butler, who's been a learning specialist at USC for 16 years, said that the biggest key to the student-athletes' success during this time has been maintaining consistency, structure and connection, so that they still felt like part of the USC community. SAAS is encouraging students to tune in to their lectures at the same time they would normally show up in person, even if the lecture is recorded and can be watched at any time. They're also asking the student-athletes to get out of bed and get properly dressed for class and for appointments.
Hope Anhut, a senior on the women's lacrosse team, acknowledged that the most difficult part of the transition to at-home learning has been the lack of structure in her day.
"At school with lacrosse, all my days were so jam packed, I really didn't have a free minute to mess around," said Anhut, who's also the president of the Trojan Athletic Senate. "Everything is so scheduled that, as hectic as it was, it was really good for me. My schedule was just second nature to me. It was like clockwork. I had a whole system down on where and when to study and where I knew I could focus."
Because USC asked students to vacate their dorms and apartments, Anhut is currently living at home in New Jersey with her parents and two younger siblings. She's enrolled in five courses — a much heavier load than most second-semester seniors — so with all the distractions at home, she's struggling to carve out time to get schoolwork done. But she's using exercise as a way to add structure back into her day.
"That's a piece of my old schedule that I'm trying to make sure I don't lose," she said. "I'm trying to keep that in there so I'm not just sitting there all day. I've been doing a pretty tough workout just to gas myself and then come home, shower and sit down for class. I think it's helped me."
Butler said that whatever methods student-athletes are using to keep themselves focused on schoolwork at home seem to be working.
"The thing that to me is the silver lining, the bright spot, the unexpected joy, is how well the student-athletes are adapting," Butler said. "I haven't had a single no-show. They're becoming more accountable. They're learning how to become more self-regulated because they don't have that external structure enforced upon them anymore. They have to do it themselves. The whole goal of our program is to develop self-regulated learners that don't rely on people. They're not using us as a crutch. We're just their guide and coach. Now they have to be on their own more because we're not there right next to them."
Anhut, who will graduate with a degree in international relations (global business) next month, has also found a few positive takeaways from the situation.
"In my major there are a lot of really, really, really smart people and a lot of times you don't see the sensitive or personal side to them," she said. "What's been really nice is having my professors alter the schedule and spend half the class talking to us about how we're doing and just being really accommodating and concerned about us. Usually, you don't feel like that with a professor. But it's been really nice, and I feel like I've got some great professors that are really nice people. I've become more aware of that."
Anhut also praised USC President Carol Folt's leadership during the COVID-19 crisis.
"For her to listen to the student body about making classes pass/fail, allowing major classes to be like that, and just being really accommodating and doing what's best for all the students has really impressed me," Anhut said. "It really speaks to her as a leader and a person that she would go to these lengths to make sure that we were all heard. It makes me really confident about the hands that we're all in."
Little did Trojan student-athletes know, that test run wouldn't end.
USC would later announce that all classes for the remainder of the spring semester would be conducted online because the government has encouraged people to stay home and practice physical distancing.
After that announcement, USC's student-athletes and student-athlete academic services team were forced to adapt to the new normal.
USC's student-athlete academic services team (SAAS) includes seven learning specialists, 12 assistant learning specialists and approximately 75 tutors. That group typically spends over 1,000 hours a week with USC's student-athletes. A typical freshman, who gets the most help from SAAS, might have 10-12 hours of tutoring per week. SAAS helps the student-athletes with executive functioning skills like planning and time management in addition to tutoring them on their class subjects.
Helping USC's 566 student-athletes transition to online classes was no small feat for SAAS.
They had to learn how to conduct appointments via Zoom and check with every student-athlete to see if the same time slot worked for those appointments, since some Trojans went home to their native countries up to nine hours ahead of LA time. They also had to ensure that academic integrity guidelines were still met with appointments happening virtually, and outside of the supervised academic center on campus.
Mimi Butler, who's been a learning specialist at USC for 16 years, said that the biggest key to the student-athletes' success during this time has been maintaining consistency, structure and connection, so that they still felt like part of the USC community. SAAS is encouraging students to tune in to their lectures at the same time they would normally show up in person, even if the lecture is recorded and can be watched at any time. They're also asking the student-athletes to get out of bed and get properly dressed for class and for appointments.
Hope Anhut, a senior on the women's lacrosse team, acknowledged that the most difficult part of the transition to at-home learning has been the lack of structure in her day.
"At school with lacrosse, all my days were so jam packed, I really didn't have a free minute to mess around," said Anhut, who's also the president of the Trojan Athletic Senate. "Everything is so scheduled that, as hectic as it was, it was really good for me. My schedule was just second nature to me. It was like clockwork. I had a whole system down on where and when to study and where I knew I could focus."
Because USC asked students to vacate their dorms and apartments, Anhut is currently living at home in New Jersey with her parents and two younger siblings. She's enrolled in five courses — a much heavier load than most second-semester seniors — so with all the distractions at home, she's struggling to carve out time to get schoolwork done. But she's using exercise as a way to add structure back into her day.
"That's a piece of my old schedule that I'm trying to make sure I don't lose," she said. "I'm trying to keep that in there so I'm not just sitting there all day. I've been doing a pretty tough workout just to gas myself and then come home, shower and sit down for class. I think it's helped me."
Butler said that whatever methods student-athletes are using to keep themselves focused on schoolwork at home seem to be working.
"The thing that to me is the silver lining, the bright spot, the unexpected joy, is how well the student-athletes are adapting," Butler said. "I haven't had a single no-show. They're becoming more accountable. They're learning how to become more self-regulated because they don't have that external structure enforced upon them anymore. They have to do it themselves. The whole goal of our program is to develop self-regulated learners that don't rely on people. They're not using us as a crutch. We're just their guide and coach. Now they have to be on their own more because we're not there right next to them."
Anhut, who will graduate with a degree in international relations (global business) next month, has also found a few positive takeaways from the situation.
"In my major there are a lot of really, really, really smart people and a lot of times you don't see the sensitive or personal side to them," she said. "What's been really nice is having my professors alter the schedule and spend half the class talking to us about how we're doing and just being really accommodating and concerned about us. Usually, you don't feel like that with a professor. But it's been really nice, and I feel like I've got some great professors that are really nice people. I've become more aware of that."
Anhut also praised USC President Carol Folt's leadership during the COVID-19 crisis.
"For her to listen to the student body about making classes pass/fail, allowing major classes to be like that, and just being really accommodating and doing what's best for all the students has really impressed me," Anhut said. "It really speaks to her as a leader and a person that she would go to these lengths to make sure that we were all heard. It makes me really confident about the hands that we're all in."
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