University of Tennessee Athletics
SouthEast Bank RAC Program
What is the SouthEast Bank RAC Program?
UT’s SouthEast Bank Renewing Academic Commitment (RAC) program supports The University of Tennessee’s former student-athletes in their degree completion. The RAC program gladly invests time, energy, and funding in these returning student-athletes, and, in concert with the broader Athletics Department and the entire University, takes great pride in their degree completion. We expect that RAC students will invest in their own success as well; returning to school is not an easy task, and RAC students must be prepared to defer to the expertise of the Thornton Center academic counselors and RAC Coordinator in setting a level of hands-on care and monitoring that will support that transition. Successful RAC students maintain close communication with an academic counselor and/or RAC Coordinator and participate in the academic support plans created for those returning students; in fact, doing so is a necessary factor in receiving RAC aid. Students want to succeed, and the RAC program, Athletics Department, and University administrators are committed to their success. As good stewards of the donated funds that support the RAC program, the RAC committee necessarily requires students’ adherence to the responsibilities presented below.
RAC Student Responsibilities
RAC Program participants are expected to:
- Regularly attend classes and alert instructors of anticipated absences;
- Communicate potential tutor needs/requests to the RAC Coordinator and/or applicable Thornton Center academic counselor;
- Attend required tutoring sessions as directed by the RAC Coordinator and/or applicable Thornton Center academic counselor;
- Attend required mentoring sessions as directed by the RAC Coordinator and/or applicable Thornton Center academic counselor;
- Immediately alert the RAC Coordinator and/or applicable Thornton Center academic counselor to any circumstances that require extended absences or withdrawal from classes;
- Communicate with and fulfill the requests of the RAC Coordinator and/or applicable Thornton Center academic counselor related to grade reports and all other issues related to coursework;
- Complete an application for the NCAA Degree-completion Scholarship as directed by the RAC Coordinator and/or applicable Thornton Center academic counselor. RAC funding for the final 30 hours of tuition/fees/books is contingent upon that application having been submitted.
Qualifications:
- RAC Program funding is awarded on a renewable semester-by-semester basis contingent on the former student-athlete’s adherence to Program requirements/expectations and satisfactory progress toward his or her degree. Participants who fail a course(s) and – at the discretion of the RAC Coordinator and/or applicable Thornton Center academic counselor – have not satisfied Program requirements may be required to reimburse UT the cost of the RAC Program funding.
