This semester’s Tutoring Services staff, gathering for a training session.
Student-to-student.
That’s the winning formula behind Tutoring Services, which opened its 40th year of serving students in nearly all academic disciplines.
“I think students are generally very anxious about asking for help. I think one of the great things about our program is students working with their peers,” said Adam Hino, Tutoring Services coordinator. “It’s easier for a student to ask for help from another student.”
All 41 tutors on the fall semester roster are students, and 17 of them have two or more years of tutoring experience. They’re joined by newly-minted tutors who received special training so they, too, are ready to begin assisting students.
Tutoring Services is comfortably tucked away on the fourth floor of the Carnahan Jackson Center for Learning and Scholarship, adjacent to Reed Library. Tutoring in music courses is held in Mason Hall Room 2020. Tutoring services are free and confidential.
“One of the reasons why we have kept tutoring confidential is because we want students to come to tutoring because they want to get help and they want to do better in their classes,” Hino said.
“We offer an environment where students can feel comfortable trying new things, making mistakes and learning from that and become more confident and develop skills to help them become successful students,” Mr. Hino added.
Tutoring Services serves students of all abilities. “We’re not just for students who are struggling academically, but also for students who want to turn a “B” into an “A” or learn new study skills,” Hino noted.
Tutoring Services is not is a remedial center or a place for students who have “blown off” classes and need to catch up quickly. Students are encouraged to visit Tutoring Services before becoming buried in material they don’t understand. They may visit Tutoring Service as often as they wish.
It couldn’t be easier to utilize Tutoring Services, too. It’s all “drop-in.” There are no appointments. Students simply consult the weekly “drop-in’ schedule to see the days and hours when tutors in specific subject areas are on duty. The schedule is posted on the Tutoring Services website.
Tutoring Services is open Sunday, 6 to 9 p.m.; Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 1 to 9 p.m.; and Tuesday, 1 to 10 p.m. Overall, tutors offer more than 160 hours of assistance every week.
“I think tutoring is all about giving students the support and encouragement they need to help them understand the material and become independent learners,” Hino said.
Now also available to Fredonia students is access to an online tutoring service, STAR-NY. The SUNY service, accessible online, operates Sunday through Thursday, 7 p.m. to midnight.
