Two years ago Yvonne Nkwen-Tamo needed help with math assignments constituting 25 percent of her grade. After trying the math lab, she decided to find help through the Tutoring Center instead. She still uses the center to help her in her math major classes.
“It’s really helped me,” Nkwen-Tamo said.
The Tutoring Center provides instruction for 700 students each year, and referrals for many other students seeking help with their studies. Math and science are the most frequently tutored subjects.
This year, the center received $24,000 from the Associated Students of the University of Utah, but only $12,000 was originally budgeted for the center. Legislation later added the other $12,000. ASUU leaders hope to pass legislation this month adding a provision to Redbook, the ASUU policy manual, that will guarantee the Tutoring Center at least 3 percent of the ASUU budget, which would mean $36,000 next year.
ASUU hopes that by adding to the Tutoring Center’s budget, it will increase the level of service it provides. The center hopes to tutor 200 more students per year and improve its services with the money.
“This is a service that directly benefits students,” said Ben Lowe, ASUU president. “A lot of students do have difficulties with their classes.”
Student leaders also want to change the name of the center to the ASUU Tutoring Center?an important change, according to Lowe.
“The ASUU name lets [students] know where their fees are being used,” Lowe said. “Students have a right to know where their funds are going.”
Lowe also hopes that by changing the name, ASUU can increase the accountability of the center by forming an advisory committee to oversee the tutoring center’s operation, similar to the committees that oversee the ASUU Child Care Center and the Presenter’s Office.
A stronger link between ASUU and the Tutoring Center will also allow student leadership to promote the center, according to Lowe.
“Their association will help us get the word out to students,” he said. “It’s a good thing all the way around.”
Center officials currently do not advertise much because they are afraid of attracting more students than they can serve.
The center also hopes to improve the services it offers with increased training of the tutors and office staff. The training will cost the center $5,500 next year, according to its projected budget, and will provide training specific to the subjects taught.
Fifteen to 20 students come in for help daily. The center refers students to student tutors and subsidizes the instruction fee. Students pay $6 an hour, but the student tutors earn $7 or $7.50, if they’re graduate students. The center has a list of 150 tutors, specializing in subjects ranging from math to Hebrew. Students can also use tutors from the center to help them prepare for the graduate school entrance exams or proofread a paper.
“It’s a pretty fascinating job,” said Denise de la Cruz, a tutor who helps international students in English and philosophy. “The students are well satisfied.”