Student-Athlete Academic Services (SAAS) at USC is seeking graduate students interested in gaining experience and training in student-athlete academic coaching and support. This is a paid hourly position and the preferred commitment is a minimum of 15 hours per week (maximum 20 hours).

Program Goal: The main goal of Directed Studies (DS) is to support, develop, and prepare
student-athletes to become self-regulated learners and to facilitate continued academic success during their career at USC. As a crucial component to the DS staff, Assistant Learning Specialists (ALS) primarily work with student-athletes with learning differences or other academically related needs.

Position Description: ALS’s will be involved in providing individualized instruction and educationalcoaching for student-athletes. Each ALS will:
● Be assigned a caseload of up to 10 students from diverse educational backgrounds and meet with
those students once or twice every week for the semester
● Teach students new skills through the content of their classes, such as (but not limited to) time
management, organization, note taking, study skills, writing, reading, etc.
● Collaborate with Academic Advisors, Learning Specialists, and the Tutorial Coordinator to
ensure each student receives the academic support they need to be successful at USC
● Communicate students’ academic progress with their Academic Advisor and Learning Specialist
● Attend bi-weekly training sessions run by the full-time staff in academics and other areas of
Athletics to gain new insight and experiences (ex. Diversity, equity and inclusion, learning
differences and strategies, advising and NCAA eligibility, personal development, career
development, sports psychology, etc.)
● Attend bi-weekly supervision meetings with full-time Learning Specialists to discuss caseload
concerns, areas of improvement, other aspects of the job, and your own career goals
● Offered the opportunity to supervise Sunday structured study hall in the fall semester or work
evening writing support throughout the year to accrue additional hours

Assistant Learning Specialists must meet the following requirements:
1. Enrollment in a USC graduate program
2. Attendance at monthly Directed Studies staff meetings
3. Attendance at regularly scheduled training and supervision meetings
4. Available for at least 15 hours per week (including 1-2 evenings) for individual appointments
(ALS staff work with students in person at the John McKay Center (JMC), Monday-Friday from
8:00am-5:00pm and on Zoom OR in person in the evenings, Monday-Thursday from
5:00pm-9:00pm)

Application Process:

Submit a cover letter, resume, unofficial academic transcripts, writing sample, and
one letter of reference (Review of applications is ongoing).Questions and/or materials should be sent to: Marisa Samaniego
Email: msamanie@usc.edu