SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine—At the conclusion of the semester, Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) Director of Athletics Matt Richards published the findings of the semi-annual Fall 2020 Athletics Engagement and Academic Report. The report shows student-athlete GPAs and retention rates based on United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) normal progress rules for athletic participation eligibility—a higher threshold than those standards of the College.
Fall 2020
- Total student-athletes: 110 (eight fewer than fall 2019)
- Overall student-athlete GPA: 2.69 (.10 points less than fall 2019, equal to spring 2020)
- Fall 2020-spring 2021 USCAA retention rate: 86% (5.5% less than fall 2019)
- Student-athletes earning a 3.0 GPA or better: 39 (35% of all student-athletes)
In strategic review of the data, Richards stated, “The department staff is proud of the efforts made by student-athletes who continued to make progress toward their academic degree program using the online learning method. The benefit of athletics for those students recruited to the College is a unique face-to-face mentorship program that has its success in the classroom. Without seasons this fall and limited training due to COVID-19 precautions, our athletics staff met the challenge by employing creative and remote initiatives to help lessen the severity of the impacts. These initiatives included remote study halls, progress report sheets, and one-on-one advising. I look forward to another successful semester in the spring!”
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