The Academic Success Center, located in D-204, is a resource to all students who are looking to get ahead, stay afloat or are struggling in their classes.
Students are free to drop in to find tutors that can help them with their questions, concepts that they don’t understand and to study for upcoming tests.
The ASC is broken up into three main labs: math, writing and reading. While the writing and reading labs are used and busy on a daily basis, the math lab is usually the busiest of the three.
According to Carol Grant, the director of ASC, some days in the math lab there is standing room only, with a line forming out the door. The tutors in math lab focus on guiding struggling students through material, while avoiding doing it for them.
Cameron Brandy, a student who tutors Spanish two hours a week, said, “We give them the tools to help them do an assignment.”
Writing lab tutors sit one-on-one with students and go over papers they have written; essays, articles, anything.
The tutors will focus on certain aspects of the paper, such as punctuation, grammar or leads, and work with the student to improve them.
The reading lab is a class, so to speak. “Our objective is to help you sharpen reading skills, particularly reading comprehension, speed, and vocabulary,” says the reading lab website.
To participate in any of the labs you need to be enrolled in a course that relates to it. For example, if you want to go to math lab you need to be in a math class.
The faculty heads are Suzy Lepeintre, the faculty lab chair of the writing and reading labs, and Andria Villines, the faculty lab chair of the math lab.
There is individualized tutoring for anyone struggling in a class. If you have “C” or below in a certain class, and the instructor’s permission, you can set up one-on-one tutoring to help guide you two hours per week.
The individual tutoring isn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card, however. If the reason you’ve been struggling a class is the fact that you just didn’t show up, the instructor can deny you permission.
The ASC isn’t just for students who are struggling. Grant explained that they also have a large number of students who are going strong, or that have all A’s. They come to the ASC so they can remain competitive and to retain the information for the future.
Besides D-204, there are a number of places students can go to receive help.
In the A Building, there is the Business Technology systems that are a computer lab. On the evenings and weekends tutors are in S114, the Science Study Center.
There is also drop-in math and English help in the Student Programs Office and the Disability Center.
ASC is funded through state money and student fees that are paid for tuition. Grant also explained that nearly all tutors are students themselves. She said that around 85% of the payroll is students.
The ASC is open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Friday opens at 8 a.m., but closes at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday are busy enough to stay open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.