The University of Wolverhampton is leading the way with supporting talented athletes in education after being accredited by a new initiative.
The Sport England-backed ‘Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS)’ programme supports young sportspeople to have the opportunity to gain qualifications alongside their sporting pursuits.
Bess Evans, Head of WLV Sport at the University, said: “We’re delighted to have been awarded TASS Dual Career Accreditation, and although the University has always encouraged and supported flexible learning for our elite athletes, the accreditation goes further to endorse our ambitions to create sporting hubs within the learning environment.
“Our reputation has grown in regards to the delivery of high performance sport, with an emphasis on ensuring it is underpinned by a strong foundation of growing our own talent. We are also very focused on managing expectations – there is no guarantee of success – so student athletes need to back up their sporting potential with a balance of education and qualifications.”
For student athletes, the academic flexibility policies may mean they have the opportunity to access online notes or resources, are able to arrange catch up sessions with lecturers, or even reschedule deadlines or exam dates in exceptional circumstances.
Meanwhile for the University of Wolverhampton, the recognition of becoming a TASS Dual Career Accredited Site is expected to be beneficial by attracting a greater number of talented athletes and building connections with other local sporting institutions.
As a Dual Career Accredited Site, University of Wolverhampton will be an important extension of the network of universities that already partner with TASS, delivering core support services to more than 600 student athletes each year.
All Dual Career Accredited Sites receive training and a toolkit of resources to equip them with practical dual career support and bring together all parties who work with the athlete.
TASS National Director, Guy Taylor, said: “We’re delighted to be awarding TASS Dual Career Accreditation to colleges and universities across England.
“Dual career support is at the forefront of what TASS does and that’s why the Accreditation Scheme is so important for us in recognising those institutions who place precedence on their athletes’ education too.
“We hope that the academic flexibility policies put into place for the accreditation will begin to develop an effective and lasting dual career structure within each institution.
“Congratulations to the successful institutions and we look forward to working alongside many more outstanding colleges and universities in the near future.”
