'Boot camp' helps student-athletes succeed
Miami's Summer Bridge program, sometimes known as the Academic Boot Camp, was started 10 years ago by Professor Rodney Coates and Craig Bennett, then the assistant athletic director for academic services. The program provides a basic course on academic skills wedded to a strenuous academic foundation course.
Boot Camp students must submit answers daily to critical reflective questions based on assigned readings, and they write a reflective essay every week, an assignment that grows from three to five paragraphs to three to five pages. Later, they conduct online research and write 50-word abstracts on the daily questions, producing a total of 60 pages of writing during the course.
The Academic Boot Camp succeeds through a team effort. Coaches set up and monitor study tables, ensuring that athletes have two hours for each hour in class. Graduates of the Boot Camp achieve greater academic success, as measured through retention, GPA and graduation rates.