Being a student-athlete involves more than just attending practice and taking a few classes here and there.

It is a grueling process of early morning conditioning and late afternoon practices. It involves missing valuable class time and trying to comply with the complicated rules of the NCAA.

Student-athletes have to re-schedule tests that conflict with road trips to games and meets. Virtually every minute of the day is spoken for the minute they wake up in the morning.

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From time to time, student-athletes also have to listen to complaints as some students fight athletic fee increases.

We sometimes have practice three different times a day, senior tennis player Molly Card said. You can’t understand it until you do it yourself. They can have their own opinions, I guess. But I would like to see them try to walk a mile in our shoes.

But through all of the difficulties, SIUC student-athletes do have the support of the school’s academic coordinator’s service. Staff members such as academic coordinator Brian Bartolini assist student-athletes in sorting out what classes to take and who the best teachers are.

The program offers student-athletes services such as tutors, study tables and assistance in time management. The goal of the program is not to make every student an A student. It is to help student-athletes make the most of the opportunities they have.

Grades are not a pressing issue, Bartolini said. When it comes down to it, we don’t assign grades, but we can have control over effort.

The academic coordinators want to set reasonable goals for students that are attainable because not everyone is capable of huge successes in the academic arena.

[Grade point average] is a result not a goal, Bartolini said. Goals are I need to hand in my assignment on time, or I need to ask for help when I need it.’ The analogy I use is when you look at softball or baseball they have as a goal to win the conference championship. But that is the result of doing (specific) things each day.

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Bartolini said some students with 4.0 GPAs use tutors all of the time, while some do not use them at all. The goal of the program is not to force students to use the services, but to offer them every opportunity they can to help them succeed.

We don’t have a whole lot things that are required, Bartolini said. We try to encourage student-athletes to use the services, and I think we can do a better job of selling ourselves.

But many student-athletes do use the services on a daily basis. During the fall, there were more than 3,200 calls and visits to the office.

The services are helpful to student-athletes because they do miss many class periods traveling. In tennis, for example, nearly every tournament and dual meet is on the road. The service gives athletes an edge to help make up for missed classes.

I think we have an advantage, Card said. We always have help on which classes to take and which teachers to take. That is definitely an advantage.

But even with the help, the services do not take the place of lost class time.

Senior tennis player Helen Johnson is an accounting major, and missing class during the fall preseason and the spring season takes its toll on her.

There almost is no substitute for being in class, Johnson said. One of the hardest things for me is missing class. I need to be there. We have a lot of benefits, but that doesn’t take the place of missing class.

Johnson said the one thing that does help her is the competitive edge that comes with being an athlete.

With sports, we have the tenacity to finish out and complete what we started, Johnson said. We are always fighting (on the court), and we do that in academics.

The competitive edge is typical of most athletes because student-athletes have a graduation rate of 62 percent, compared to the 42 percent of the student body.

SIUC Assistant Athletic Director Nancy Bandy said the reason student-athletes have a better graduation rate is because they have more invested in their experience at the University.

I think they do better because when they get here, their team is like an instant family to them, and so they have that relationship and bond immediately, Bandy said. Another is that they want to compete, and so that’s like some people who are interested in different student organizations on campus.

And I think research will tell you that once someone gets involved in an organization that they are truly interested in, that helps the retention rate.

Forty-eight percent of the student-athletes at SIUC are in the 3.0 range in either term or cumulative GPA. It is not just the athletic coordinator’s office that is responsible for that. It also is the effort of students who try to help themselves complete their course work.

Overall, they are excellent students, Bandy said. They’re great time managers. They’re dedicated to academics, and most of them do truly want the degree. Most of them know they are not going to become professionals [athletes] when they leave here.