The UCLA Athletics Department maintains a full staff of coaches,
trainers, assistants and team managers to help make sure the
“athlete” component of UCLA’s student-athlete
gets every opportunity to grow and improve.
As for the “student” side? That’s where the
Athletic Tutorial Unit comes in. Established in the early
’80s, the goal of the unit, according to its own program
description, is to help turn student-athletes into “effective
and self-reliant learners.”
Specifically, it offers student-athletes a weekly chance to go
over the major concepts being covered in their classes, and ask
their tutors questions in a small group setting.
“We stress the Socratic Method, and (try to create) a very
interactive mode of learning,” tutorial coordinator Tamrat
Beyene said. “It’s all about questions and answers,
challenging ideas, even trying to contradict course
ideas.”
Beyene helped create the unit as it exists today, and has served
as its full-time coordinator since 1984. He oversees its day-to-day
operations, manages a staff of over 60 tutors, and maintains a
constant flow of information between his program and the athletic
department. More that 500 student-athletes are affiliated with the
tutoring unit.
Most importantly, however, he makes sure his tutors are working
effectively with student-athletes but not overstepping their
bounds.
“It’s a lot of discussion, because we’re not
really teaching ““ we’re tutoring,” said Ariella
Diamond, a fourth-year psychology student currently tutoring
student-athletes in introductory psychology and philosophy classes.
“So it’s mostly getting the (student-athletes) to go
over the information and really making sure that they understand
the major concepts. You ask questions, and you make them ask
questions.”
While they serve as what Beyene calls
“facilitators,” tutors must walk a thin line: They try
to enable group learning without giving their student-athletes an
unfair advantage.
Direct help on homework problems is forbidden, and the Athletic
Tutorial Training Manual contains a list of over 60
“dos” and “don’ts” regarding issues
ranging from academic integrity to the formation of personal
relationships between tutors and student-athletes.
“We have to remember that (the tutors) are students too,
and they may be excited about tutoring a famous quarterback or a
famous basketball player,” Beyene said. “But I make it
crystal-clear to them that they have to abide by a code of
ethics.”
The tutoring unit is technically part of the College of Letters
and Sciences, which means the program’s responsibilities are
academic first and athletic second. Consequently, dealings between
the athletic department and the tutors themselves are minimal and
potential conflicts of interest are avoided.
Beyene thinks of the program’s inclusion in the College of
Letters and Sciences as a “firewall.”
Still, many criticize the tutoring program for giving
student-athletes an unfair amount of help. Those within the unit,
however, dismiss rumors of academic dishonesty.
“A lot of people think that we give (the student-athletes)
the answers,” Diamond said. “I’ve had people tell
that we get the tests for them, or that we help them take the test.
It’s just ridiculous. There’s just no way that we would
do that.”
Beyene hopes the personal environment will help make questions
of academic integrity moot. Many tutors develop strong friendships
with the athletes they tutor. Beyene believes this gives the tutor
additional interest in the student-athlete’s academic
success, which should prevent any impropriety.
“What I tell them is, “˜If you really like someone
would you do the homework for them? No. Why? Because our goal is to
create independent, motivated learners. If you really like someone
you teach him how to fish. You don’t give him a
fish.'”