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Students View Drop-In Lab as
Easier to use than "By Appointment"
Background
/ The Challenge /
How Lab Works / Hiring Tutors /
Training Tutors / Evaluation / Student's
Story /
Certification,
Templates & Resources
The
challenge - tutoring at a "drop in" lab
Lewis-Clark State College is a
century-old four-year college located in an idyllic park-like campus
between the Clearwater and Snake Rivers of explorer Lewis & Clark
Expedition fame in northern Idaho. Of the 3,100 students, most are
commuters, and 80 percent of those are eligible for Student Support
Services.
Federal
government funds support about 135 students, but the program usually
stretches to accommodate up to 150, with more than 100 others waitlisted.
To be included, students fill out an application to determine eligibility
(first generation, low income, or students with disabilities) then
students must show an interest by having at least 10 contact hours with
SSS programs (advising, mentoring, classes, workshops,
career exploration, or tutoring components).
Lab
offers structure and "sanity"
The
current tutoring program was developed to fit the needs of the students
better and to provide structure and sanity for the tutor coordinator.
"We first tried a tutoring program by appointment," says the
program's retention specialist Margie McLaughlin, who has run the program
for the past nine years. "But we didn't have a suitable place for
students and tutors to meet, and we suffered so much confusion over
no-shows and misunderstandings. 'I'm here, Where's the tutor? or Where's
the student?'"
Lab
runs weekdays 8 to 5
Now LCSC runs
a dedicated lab, open weekdays 8 to 5. The size of a standard classroom,
it has large windows with plants and posters to make the environment
inviting. Five computers with Internet connections and a printer line one
wall; tables lined with chairs to accommodate up to 30 or 40 students at
one time fill the room. Bulletin boards post times when tutors will be
present, as well as other school information of interest to students.
Coffee or tea brews as the students wish. Often they also bring snacks to
share.
Tutors spend 4
to 20 hours a week in the lab, and are
available for drop-in individual tutoring. Two tutors are specialists with
degrees; the others are program veterans of one or more years, who earned
at least a "B" in all core topics; many
upper division tutors have specialties such as math, physics, Spanish,
chemistry and anatomy/physiology.
The following sections include program details and tips about what makes
this program so successful.
Previous
/ Next: How Lab Works
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80% of LCSC's students are eligible for SSS funded
support
Two tutors are specialists; the rest are program
veterans of one or more years
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