Array of tutoring services is available on campus

As the classes get tough and deadlines loom, most students can use a little help from somebody who has been through it all before.

To fill this need, tutoring services on campus are available to all students, and cover a wide array of subjects.

"It's very necessary," said John McNeill, interim coordinator for Minority Student Services. "Tutoring is for everybody. It is an opportunity to talk with someone else in that same subject area."

McNeill said MSS, located in room five of the NugentA Building, 1212 E. University Blvd., offers tutoring throughout the semester, both with drop-in tutoring and group tutoring.

The MSS tutoring is open to any minority students, as well as those who qualify for need-based financial aid.

The group tutoring program is course specific and hold sessions once a week with three to eight students. Most groups are for science and math courses.

"I don't know any programs on campus that do group tutoring quite like we do," McNeill said.

The group tutoring registration is in the beginning of the semester, and gives a lot of students an opportunity to study for some of the larger general education classes.

"We have a wide spectrum of subjects," McNeill said. The drop-in tutoring covers business, languages, social sciences, math and sciences.

McNeill said the MSS has in-house computers students can use, as well as a small library of textbooks.

McNeill said he expects more students to come in for tutoring this upcoming year, and he is trying to hire more tutors. All tutors are students, usually juniors or seniors who have taken a wealth of classes.

"It is just really helpful," he said. "Students can get a lot out of it and gain new skills."

The University Learning Center, located in Old Main, 1200 E. University Blvd., also offers free drop-in tutoring and sponsors tutoring in residence halls.

"Students can just come in, do their work, and ask questions," said Socorro Vasquez, assistant director of the University Learning Center. "Students feel more comfortable asking questions to tutors than professors."

The Freshman Year Center, in Bear Down Gym, 1428 E. University Blvd., provides free drop-in tutoring for most 100-level classes.

Vasquez said the tutoring is based on student need, and generally students need more assistance in the math and science classes. Tutors are also available for many of the larger general education classes as well as Spanish.

"It is critical to be able to have some support system for all students, particularly for freshmen," Vasquez said.

The FYC Student Study Center also does weeknight tutoring from Sunday through Thursday, 5 to 8 p.m., at the Park Student Union, 615 N. Park Ave.