The University of Missouri Athletic Department is committed to the success of student-athletes both on and off the field. Since 1986, Missouri has had the Total Person Program in place, which focuses on the total development of the student-athlete. The program has been so successful that other universities have created similar programs, using Mizzou as a model.

There are several services that are offered as part of the program, including academic counseling and assistance, academic progress monitoring, and substance abuse and psychological counseling.

The program focuses heavily on the freshman year in order to provide student-athletes with greater opportunity for academic success. To further enrich the freshman experience, the Total Person Program teaches a series of classes that focus on time management skills, textbook reading, course organization, note-taking, instructor relations, writing papers, memory and life skills.

As part of the $16 million expansion project, the Shelden Academic Resource Center will expand to 11,000 square feet of space, up from the previous total of 6,891 square feet. The growth will allow for a new technology/multi-media room to aid academic support services, as well as up to seven new offices to accommodate a growing academic support staff.

COMPUTER LAB

The newly-expanded Shelden Academic Resource Center includes a 50-workstation computer lab, more than 20 group and individual tutor rooms, staff offices and meeting rooms, as well as a large study area, giving Tiger student-athletes virtually every resource they need to be successful in the classroom.

The new center will also feature state-of-the-art wireless Internet capabilities for all Tiger student-athletes to use.

The success is quite evident; as Missouri has led the Big 12 Conference in graduation rates twice in the last several years. Additionally, Tiger student-athletes recorded the highest-ever grade point averages in school history during the 2005-06 academic year.

Thirty-one Tiger football student-athletes earned a 3.0 or better in the fall 2005 semester. Overall, Mizzou ranked 1st in the Big 12 Conference in Academic Progress Rate (APR).