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Free Tutorial Services Prove Successful
When classes get tough, Northeast Alabama Community College
students know where to find helpful resources. They participate
in the free tutorial service provided to overcome academic
obstacles that might hinder their educational pursuits. “They
know that education changes the future,” commented Shirley
Buttram, Coordinator of Developmental Studies at Northeast.
“All students who enroll at Northeast now have the privilege of
seeking tutorial assistance when they experience difficulty
within a particular course of study. Sometimes, students who
enrolled in one or more developmental courses experienced
difficulties within these courses. Therefore, the faculty and
staff had concern for these students; they knew that a tutorial
program would benefit all the students at NACC,” continued
Buttram.
Not only do students experiencing difficulty make use of tutors,
those students who want to improve a grade, such as an “A”
instead of a “B” for example, do so as well. “Northeast wants to
provide all students, not just developmental or struggling
students, with the absolute best academic foundation that we can
provide. Tutors help us achieve this,” explained Buttram.
To provide assistance to students, a decentralized tutorial
program was implemented under the Developmental Studies Program
at NACC in Fall 2005 to provide academic support. This program
provided several tutorial sites across NACC’s campus, and
presently, there are seven decentralized sites that compose the
tutorial program called the Center for College Success:
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Center for College Success is staffed
by tutors who can tutor in any discipline.
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Beta lab has tutors that provide
assistance to students who experience difficulty in the
developmental math courses.
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The Writing Center has two tutors who
help students with composition and literature projects.
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CIS (Computer Instruction) has one
tutor who assists students experiencing difficulty with
computer classes.
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COMPASS lab provides technological
assistance with programs such as PassKeys and COMPASS
diagnostics.
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Accounting Center has tutors who
assist students with business courses such as accounting I
and II.
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Adult Education/English as a Second
Language provides tutorial assistance to students who are
experiencing difficulties in developmental classes as well
as foreign students who experience difficulty with English
as a second language.
Also, the Developmental Studies Program
provides advisement, counseling, career development, and study
skills as well as test preparation for the placement tests
(COMPASS, CLEP, and others).
“Fall 2005 found 599 students participating in 2,786 sessions,
and then in Fall 2006, 1,018 students were actively engaged in
NACC’s free tutorial service, participating in 5,181 tutorial
sessions,” said Buttram. “Tutoring has affected many of these
students’ ability to stay in school, or to make a higher grade
in a class, and each semester more and more students are taking
full advantage of these free services provided by this college.”
Currently, students are readily seeking free assistance from
tutors all across campus; their efforts and persistence are
beginning to be realized. Retention in classes each semester is
increasing while instructors and students alike are seeing the
academic results of participation in this program.
On student surveys, students are given the opportunity to voice
their opinion about the program, such as in these typical
comments:
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“Without the help of the Beta lab
tutors, I wouldn’t have been able to get through some of the
[math] lessons. They are extremely helpful and
understanding.”
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"The tutors have been very, very
helpful to me in math class and math lab. Please keep the
tutoring program going.”
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“Tutors are a great benefit to NACC
students.”
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“The tutoring program is very good.”
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“Without the tutors, I would have been
lost. They really helped me a lot. I could not have
motivated myself without them.”
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“I appreciate everything the tutors
have done for me.”
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“Thank God for the tutors.”
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“The tutors at NACC are excellent.
They are there when you need them and could not be more
helpful.”
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“Tutors have been very knowledgeable
and helpful about all the topics covered. I give them all an
A+.”
When the surveys asked students to rate
the overall Developmental Studies Program, the results were
overwhelmingly positive:
“The above comments and overall program
percentages show that this program has been much appreciated and
very beneficial to NACC’s students,” added Buttram.
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For more information on the NACC
Center for College Success, call Shirley Buttram at
638-4418 or 228-6001, ext. 378, or e-mail
buttrams@nacc.edu,
or go to the
CCS webpage.
In one of the NACC math labs, (left
to right) Gail Walker of Fort Payne, student majoring in
Secondary Education, and Sonya Spears of Hollywood,
student majoring in Elementary Education, receive help
from tutor, Candice Lynch, while Shirley Buttram,
Coordinator of Developmental Studies, looks on. Lynch
has been a tutor for one year and is a
physics/mathematics major at NACC. |
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