In 2001, budget cuts at the U did away with a program which Leslie Giles, current coordinator for the ASUU tutoring center, said that students “needed above and beyond.”
The program-a free tutoring center funded by student affairs-is now available once again to university students, thanks to a grant the Associated Students of the University of Utah tutoring center applied for in the spring of 2005.
The tutoring center joined forces with the Residence Halls, and cost-free tutoring began again Spring Semester 2005 following the three-year hiatus. Last week, on Jan. 16, this drop in the tutoring program, located at the Peterson Heritage Center, re-opened for its fourth semester serving students at the U.
“It’s really well-utilized,” Giles said.
Last fall, 135 different students visited the center, 74 of which possessed one or more “high-risk” indicators, as determined by a survey. Overall, 661.5 hours were spent tutoring.
These numbers are in part results of the wide spectrum of subjects the center covers. Study help in math, physics, biology and economics is currently offered, and it’s Giles’ hope that writing and Spanish will soon be added to the list.
Freshman Kimberly Jorgenson, a nursing major and one of the undergrads utilizing the center, said, “I struggled through biology last semester and the tutoring center helped me understand some of the more advanced concepts. It was really convenient.”
The tutors are undergraduate sudents themselves, usually proficient in one specific area. Funding from student affairs allows the program to pay its tutors, as well as remain a free service to all students.
Tutoring is also offered elsewhere on campus through several other programs. ? The ASUU tutoring center, located in the Student Services Building, serves as a referral center for these locations. Generally, individual sessions cost $6 an hour, and group sessions cost $3 per hour per person.
The center works “really hard at networking with other tutoring programs-we meet once a year to discuss progress and swap ideas,” Giles said. “We want the students to end up where they’ll be best served.”
The drop-in tutoring center at the Heritage Center is open from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and welcomes questions at 581-5153.