Dropping a class is a complete waste of money.
“For students who get three or more tutoring sessions in a certain class their withdrawal rate is sometimes 20 to 40 percent lower than students who didn’t get any tutoring,” said Tracey Williams, Tyler Junior College licensed professional counselor/tutor coordinator and learning specialist.
The students who use the tutoring service normally get better grades. When students make a connection to someone on campus, their success rate is higher. In this case, the tutor could be that connection. All of the tutors are trained in a specific learning style, so they can cater to the different learning styles.
Tutors will usually try to tutor in their own learning style, but it really helps if they are able to learn different forms of teaching because all students do not learn in the same fashion.
Students that learn in only one style will sometimes freeze up with anxiety during a test, but if they learn other ways, they have more of a chance of remembering what they learned while taking the test. The tutors are taught that different methods are sometimes needed.
Tutors can get nationally certified by attending 10 hours of training and completing 25 hours of tutoring. Which, basically, means they are trained and can earn a pay raise.
“A lot of people on campus don’t even know this,” said Williams.
Williams does all the hiring and looks for students with an A average along with interpersonal skills.
“A lot of tutors end up changing their major to education,” said Williams. “Some tutors enjoy tutoring so much and seeing the progression of a student that they will decide to teach.”
TJC has around 150 tutors right now and most of them are actually students themselves, who can tutor a maximum of 18 hours a week. They normally do not work a full 18 hours because of their busy schedules.
All tutoring requires an appointment and is held in the Learning Loft on the third floor in the Rogers Student Center. This is so the staff can keep an eye on everybody making it a safe environment.
“You can’t learn if you don’t feel safe,” said Danna Reed, staff technician at TJC.
Some of the tutors are former TJC students, who have moved on to the University of Texas at Tyler to continue their educations. These students usually tutor the upper level science and math courses.
Getting tutored is not a long-term commitment as some students think.
“It’s not something that’s going to tie you down all semester and you have to be here,” said Williams.
At the Learning Loft, they feel like it’s a success if they see a student a couple of times and don’t see them come back. They have done their job and set the student on the right track.
For more information on tutoring go to the third floor of the Rogers Student Center or call: 903-510-2892.
