Learning Center Teams with Multicultural Center to Make Tutoring More Accessible

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Students taking required tutoring sessions, or who need extra tutoring or academic support now have more times and places to find the services they need. This semester the Enhanced Learning Center has begun collaborating with the Center for Multicultural and Diversity Education to provide more evening and weekend services in an effort to make their services more accessible to students.

The Enhanced Learning Center provides tutoring for students, particularly freshmen and sophomores, taking courses in the sciences, mathematics, social sciences and world languages.  The center’s tutors are students who have excelled in the coursework for which they tutor and have the recommendation of faculty in their areas of expertise. The center also offers supplemental instruction, weekly review sessions for students taking historically difficult courses. These sessions assist students who want to improve their understanding of course material and their grades and are frequently required by faculty teaching the courses. The Enhanced Learning Center also supports the Office of Academic Success’ Learning Coaches for students having difficulty with a course, experiencing test anxiety, or seeking help in balancing their academic and social calendars.

“The great thing about this partnership is that it allows us to provide expanded services to those students who need our services when they can take advantage of them,” said Charlotte Lee, director of the Enhanced Learning Center. “Students are familiar with the Arkansas Union and the Multicultural Center has excellent facilities, both of which are open evenings and weekends. At the same time we see this as a way to introduce ourselves and our services to the students who regularly use the Multicultural Center.”

“This partnership will allow us to expand our academic support services while maximizing the resources at the disposal of both units,” said John Jones, director of the Multicultural Center. “It is our hope that partnerships such as this will create the foundation for increased retention and graduation rates, as well as overall engagement of underrepresented students.”

The demand for the Enhanced Learning Center’s services has grown steadily in recent years, topping 111,000 student contact hours last year. The collaboration with the Multicultural Center is intended to continue meeting that growing demand – while making even more students aware of the tutoring and support services available to them.

“Students from under represented populations are often unaware of the support services available to them, or are reluctant to seek them out,” said Jones. “This partnership is a way of emphasizing the U of A’s focus on academic success for all students.”

“Both of our organizations have the goal of retaining students at the university and enabling them to complete their degrees and graduate,” said Lee. “It makes perfect sense for us to work together this way.”

The Enhanced Learning Center will now be able to offer more than 30 additional tutoring sessions, mostly during evenings and on Sundays, at the Multicultural Center. There are also nearly 20 supplemental instruction classes scheduled from Sunday through Friday in room 403 of the Multicultural Center. In addition,  learning coaches will have regular office hours in the Multicultural Center on Mondays from 1 – 3 p.m. and Tuesdays from 10 a.m. – noon.

Students can schedule an appointment with a tutor or learning coach by visiting elc.uark.edu.