Academics is the cornerstone of the University of Vermont Athletic Department. UVM student-athletes maintain a higher cumulative grade-point average than the overall student body.
UVM student-athletes have posted a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher for 16 straight semesters, including a department-best semester average of 3.22 during the spring semester of 2010.
America East Academic Cup Champions
The University of Vermont won the America East Academic Cup for an unprecedented sixth consecutive year in 2010. UVM student-athletes achieved a 3.19 cumulative grade-point average during the 2009-10 season, marking the highest grade-point average in the 15-year history of the award.
The Catamounts shattered their own previous record of a 3.14 GPA that was set during the 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2007-08 academic years. Vermont is the only school in America East history to have won the Academic Cup six straight years (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) and has a total of seven Academic Cups after winning the inaugural award in 1996.
Additionally, several UVM student-athletes have also been named Academic All-Americans, America East Scholar-Athletes and earned a spot on conference academic honor rolls, further illustrating UVM's dual emphasis on the pursuit of excellence both on and off the playing field.
Academic Support
UVM student-athletes are supported by a comprehensive academic support program that consists of academic coaching, progress monitoring and reporting, study hall and tutoring options.
Academic Coaching: Each athletic team is assigned to one of three full-time staff members in Student-Athlete Services. Each staff member serves as an academic counselor for the student-athletes on the respective team. The staff member acts as a liaison between the student-athletes and their coaches to the various campus support services, including the Learning Cooperative, the ACCESS Office, and the Writing Center, as well as the dean's offices in the various academic units.Â
Student-Athlete Services staff members are considered academic counselors and not academic advisors. The primary academic advising role resides with the faculty. Each student at the University is assigned an advisor once the student has enrolled at the University. Student-Athlete Services staff members meet with student-athletes on a regular basis to discuss academic goals, assess progress, work on time management and organization skills, coordinate subject area tutoring and provide information on any academic questions or concerns that a student-athlete might have.
Academic Progress Monitoring & Reporting: Academic Progress Reports are conducted at intervals throughout the academic year. These progress reports inquire about performance indicators such as attendance, participation, assignment completion and current grades. Student-Athlete Services staff members then meet with student-athletes and their coaches to discuss the progress reports and make referrals to campus Academic Support Programs where appropriate.
Study Hall: All first-year student-athletes and returning student-athletes whose cumulative GPA does not meet their team's minimum GPA goal, or who are otherwise considered to be at-risk academically, are required to attend weekly study table. The requiremens depend on the individual athletic team and vary between 2-6 hours per week. All study table hours are completed in the Student-Athlete Success Center in Patrick Gymnasium.
Tutoring: The athletic department utilizes subject-area tutors for student-athletes through the University's Learning Cooperative Office. In certain subjects in which there are a large number of students seeking tutors (e.g. math), the academic support staff may arrange for Learning Cooperative tutors to provide these services to groups of students at the Student-Athlete Success Center. Currently, the Student-Athlete Services staff has access to an online in-take tutor system, provided through the Learning Co-op, through which students can make appointments online with subject-area, learning skills, or group tutors.
Life Skills Program
The Life Skills Program began as an NCAA sponsored initiative and consists of programming in five focus areas: athletic excellence, academic excellence, personal development, community service and career development. The goal of this program is to enhance the student-athlete experience and prepare them for life after college sports.Â
In addition to a mandatory one credit course for all first-year student-athletes, the Life Skills Program at the University of Vermont offers various speakers, presentations, group training and workshops through the fall and spring semesters. Student-athletes are encouraged to explore these opportunities as a means of developing their total student potential.
Life Skills for Student-Athletes (EDPE 024): This one-credit orientation course is required for all first-year student-athletes. With several sections offered each fall and spring semester, classes are designed to invoke thoughtful, reflective discussion from student-athletes as a means of leading them towards greater understanding of how they might achieve their academic goals, meet college challenges and make healthy decisions.Â
The first several weeks prepare student-athletes to balance their rigorous training and academic obligations. Topics include time management, learning styles, nutrition, sports psychology, and college health. The second half of the course is framed around personal leadership, social climate and inclusion, and bystander intervention skills.
Leadership Development: The athletic department continues to place a strong emphasis on individual leadership development as a means of supporting our teams' athletic success as well as our student-athletes' personal growth. The Student-Athlete Services staff works with various campus professionals and department coaches to share in components of the leaderships series which services two groups - Emerging Leaders Training and Advanced Leadership Training (see more about each group below). Students benefit from specific skill development but also from participating in directed dialogue with their peers.
Emerging Leaders Training: This is a four-part series available to underclassmen that have been identified by their coaches as emerging team leaders. Intended to provide a foundational base of general leadership skills, early sessions emphasize effective listening and communications as essential groundwork for creating safe environments within our teams, in our department and on our campus. In addition, a strong component of the series is bystander/pro-social decision-making (based on the Step Up! program), which teaches college students early intervention skills when they encounter common campus issues such as alcohol abuse, hazing, dating/relationship violence, sexual assault, discrimination, depression, or eating disorders. Students have a chance to explore their leadership potential through discussion on their individual strengths, where they can improve and how they might strive to be a multi-faceted leader who has a positive impact on their team.
Advanced Leadership Training: This series is for upperclassmen that currently hold positions of leadership on their respective teams. Intended to be sport specific, this series strives to illustrate how current leaders can have a proactive role in the direction of their teams and the success of their seasons. Through the use of movie clips, video, and case studies, these sessions explore the role of the team leader and identify how to create safe, inclusive environments within a team. Students discuss how to identify team values, set team goals, and establish and maintain team unity. Leaders also consider how to address potential team conflict by learning communication skills and conflict resolution techniques that will help them manage difficult conversations. Participants gain insight from an hour spent with several department coaches who focus on what makes an effective team leader, how to best collaborate with a coach and what challenges team leaders typically face.
Vermont's NCAA Leadership Conference Participants
- 2001 Elaina Coutrayer, track & field
- 2002 John Cooper, tennis
- 2003 Kristal Kostiew, track & field
- 2004 Kami Cote, women's hockey
- 2005 Martin Klimes, men's basketball
- 2006 Channel Hamilton, track & field
- 2007 Christa Sherburne, women's swimming & diving
- 2008 Jake McFadden, men's soccer
- 2009 Megan Maynard, field hockey
Career Development: Through the Life Skills Program, student-athletes are encouraged to begin planning for their careers beyond college athletics. Within the Life Skills class, students will begin putting their resumes together and learn the importance of networking, communicating and marketing the transferable skills aquired through participating in athletics. Resume and interviewing workshops are offered throughout the academic year and students are encouraged to participate in the annual "Catamount Connections" program, where student-athlete alumni panelists share their professional knowledge, job insights and career advice with current student-athletes.Â
In addition, UVM Athletics has partnered with Career Athletes, a nationally recognized student-athlete network that allows the UVM student-athletes to enroll and gain access to alumni mentors while also providing a service to our student-athlete alumni base who can join and search for job, connect with other professionals and stay in touch with news from the athletic department.
Community Service
Committed to service, UVM's varsity teams continue to foster a long tradition of giving back to the surrounding community. Whether an environmental effort, work with children or care for those less fortunate, UVM student-athletes participate in a number of community service events each year. Coaches frequently organize community service projects for their respective teams each semester, such as wrapping holiday gifts for local children, reading in local elementary schools or holding fundraisers for a worthy cause. UVM's Student-Athlete Advisory Council also organizes the student-athletes to assist in larger scale community service and have been instrumental in two America East sponsored programs: S.T.A.R.S. (STudent-Athletes Respecting Sportsmanship) and CFES (College For Every Student), through which UVM Athletics has partnered with Burlington's Integrated Arts Academy (formerly H.O. Wheeler School) to provide mentoring opportunities and exposure to higher education.
Staff Directory
| Joe Gervais |
Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Services |
joseph.gervais@uvm.edu |
802-656-7887 |
| Gary Bruening |
Assistant |
gary.bruening@uvm.edu |
802-656-7691 |
| Cathy Rahill |
Assistant |
cathleen.rahill@uvm.edu |
802-656-7712 |
| Tacy Lincoln |
Compliance Coordinator |
tacy.lincoln@uvm.edu |
802-656-3079 |
