Learning Support Center Management

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Definitions

Learning Center (AKA Learning support center, learning assistance center…)

Current NCLCA definition: The National College Learning Center Association (NCLCA) defines a learning center at institutions of higher education as interactive academic spaces which exist to reinforce and extend student learning in physical and/or virtual environments. A variety of comprehensive support services and programs are offered in these environments to enhance student academic success, retention, and graduation through applying the best practices of student learning theory and addressing student-learning needs from multiple pedagogical perspectives. Staffed by professionals, paraprofessionals, faculty, and/or trained student educators, learning centers are designed to reinforce the holistic academic growth of students by fostering critical thinking, metacognitive development, and academic and personal success.

Prior NCLCA definition: National College Learning Center Association defines a learning center as a place where students can be taught to become more efficient and effective learners. Learning Center services may include tutoring, mentoring, supplemental instruction, academic and skill-building labs, computer aided instruction, success seminars/programs, advising and more.

Developmental Education

The former National Association for Developmental Education (now NOSS) defined developmental education as "a comprehensive process that focuses on the intellectual, social, and emotional growth and development of all students. Developmental education includes, but is not limited to, tutoring, personal/career counseling, academic advisement, and coursework." NADE's motto was "Helping underprepared students prepare, prepared students advance, advanced students excel."

David Arendale, CLADEA Fellow, led a team to develop and update an excellent glossary of terms related to learning assistance and developmental education. See especially the following two articles.

Arendale, D. (2005). Terms of endearment: Words that define and guide developmental education (EJ689656). Journal of College Reading and Learning, 38(1), 66-81. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ689656

Arendale, D. (2007). A glossary of developmental education and learning assistance terms. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 35(2), 10-34. https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/200375/Learning%20Assistance%20Glossary.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

Arendale, D. R. (Ed.). (2023). Essential glossary for increasing postsecondary student success: Administrators, faculty,
staff, and policymakers (3rd ed.). A resource prepared for the College Reading and Learning Association. https://hdl.handle.net/11299/256622

To create an antiracism glossary, a team of scholars from Colleagues of Color for Social Justice (CCSJ) identified and defined 48 terms relating to racism and antiracism based on careful review of existing race-related glossaries, scholarly articles, and widely-read books on the topic. This glossary of terms illustrates the daily and pervasive nature of racism that people of color experience and fills a demonstrable gap in resources of this type for college learning assistance centers and programs. The purpose is to recognize and explain terms related to attitudes, behaviors, and policies that impact people’s lives, particularly within academia. The glossary lists the terms in alphabetical order with multiple definitions from various resources and easy to understand examples drawn from personal lives, communities, and professional experiences in educational settings.

Pokhrel, R., Muhammad, M., Jimenez, J., Green, C., Felber, S., Claybourne, C., Atkins, W., & Arendale, D. (2021). Antiracism glossary for education and life. Journal of College Academic Support Programs, 4(1), 75-92. https://doi.org/10.36896/4.1sc1

Academic Coaching

What Is Academic Coaching?

  • NACADA: "Academic Coaching is an advising approach that pushes the student to reflect and act on the range of goals, interests, and passions available in higher education."
  • University of Michigan: "Academic Coaching is a working partnership that focuses on the process of learning. Together with a professional coach, students examine their learning styles, habits of working, and current difficulties or barriers to success. Then together this team (coach and student) works to create and put in place more effective strategies than are the norm. The aim is to heighten awareness of what it takes to achieve academic success and anchor this with new strategies, a supportive relationship, and personal accountability."
  • Georgia Tech: "Academic Coaching provides students with the chance to work individually with professional staff members to enhance their academic skills, gain confidence, discover motivation, and improve performance."

Boylan, Goudas, and Truschel (2024) provide a "critical review of the literature" regarding "research on the outcomes of college academic coaching programs, both those offered by commercial providers and those by in-house coaches." See especially the table on pages 7-8.

Books

Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning
— Brown, Roediger III, & McDaniel

Teach Students How to Learn
— McGuire & McGuire

Handbook of College Reading and Study Strategy Research, 3rd Ed,
— Flippo & Bean, Eds.
— Framework, Reading Strategies,
— Study Strategies, Program Delivery

Articles (Recent)

Alzen, J. L., Burkhardt, A., Diaz-Bilello, E., Elder, E., Sepulveda, A., Blankenheim, A., & Board, L. (2021). Academic coaching and its relationship to student performance, retention, and credit completion. Innovative Higher Education, 46, 539-563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-021-09554-w

Boylan, H. R., Goudas, A. M., & Truschel, J. (2024). The impact of college academic coaching. Research in Learning Assistance and Developmental Education, 3(2), 1–11. https://cladea.info/publications/

Capstick, M. K., Harrell-Williams, L. M., Cockrum, C. D., & West, S. L. (2019). Exploring the effectiveness of academic coaching for academically at-risk college students. Innovative Higher Education, 44(3), 219-231. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10755-019-9459-1

Grabsch, D. K., Peña, R. A., & Parks, K. J. (2021). Expectations of students participating in voluntary peer academic coaching. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 51(2), 95-109. https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2020.1798827

Koke, A. M., Leon, M. B., Guest-Scott, A., Carter, G. M., Clapper, L., & Ancil, G. S. (2022). Learning the whole story: How undergraduate peer coaches help with retention and academic success, Journal of College Reading and Learning, 52(3), 212-226, https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2022.2044934

Leung, L., & Kravits, S. L. (2024). Back on track: Measuring academic resilience of students participating in an academic coaching initiative. The Learning Assistance Review, 28(3), 67–102. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/tlar_issues

Mingo, S. R., Fitch, O., Tierney, L., & Nesbitt, D. (2024). Promoting academic success in nursing education through academic coaching: A scoping review. Journal of Nursing Education, 63(8), 515–524. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20240501-02

Mitchell, J. J., & Gansemer-Topf, A. M. (2016). Academic coaching and self-regulation: Promoting the success of students with disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 29(3), 249–256. http://www.ahead-archive.org/uploads/publications/JPED/jped_29_3/JPED%2029_3_Final%20Doc.pdf

Robinson, C. E. (2015). Academic/success coaching: A description of an emerging field in higher education. (Doctoral dissertation, University of South Carolina - Columbia). Retrieved from http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/3148

Rodriguez Ott, N., Staklis, S., & Boyette, J. (2020). The effectiveness of student coaching in community colleges. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 44(8), 549-562. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2019.1621786

Sepulveda, A., Birnbaum, M., Finley, J. B., & Frye, S. (2020). Coaching college students who have expressed an interest in leaving: A pilot study. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice, 13(1), 8-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/17521882.2019.1574847

Singhani, S., McLaren-Poole, K., & Bernier, R. A. (2022). Evaluating the effectiveness of academic coaching for college students. The Learning Assistance Review, 27(1), 219-250. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/tlar_issues

Usdansky, M. L., McDaniel, M. A., Razza, R., Lopoo, L. M., Tillotson, J. W., & Granato, R. (2024). Coaching to learn: Motivating students to adopt and adapt effective learning strategies. The Learning Assistance Review, 28(3), 223–255. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/tlar_issues

Vanacore, S. M., & Dahan, T. A. (2021). Assessing the effectiveness of a coaching intervention for students on academic probation. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 51(1), 3-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2019.1684855

Conferences and Institutes


LISTSERV

Organizations
  • Association for the Coaching & Tutoring Profession offers multiple academic coaching certifications. Mission: To provide a platform linking academic coaches, coaching supervisors, tutors, tutor coordinators, and administrators who are committed to the development of a successful learner.
  • NACADA provides a great number of academic coaching resources.

LASSI for Learning Online (LLO)

Sample of university academic coaching programs/policies

A few interesting sites related to academic coaching

Learning myths

Commercial Coaching Training

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InsideTrack conducts collegiate coach training for colleges to "improve enrollment, persistence and completion through student-centered support that adapts and scales to meet the changing needs of your institution."

Bettinger, E. P., & Baker, R. (2011). The effects of student coaching in college: An evaluation of a randomized experiment in student mentoring. Retrieved from https://ed.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/bettinger_baker_030711.pdf

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"LifeBound’s evidence-based academic and professional coaching, consulting, and certification programs provide a powerful framework within which institutions and organizations can develop a campus-wide culture of coaching to increase student success, completion, and career readiness."

Advisory Boards

A learning center advisory board is a group of faculty, staff, administrators, and students who provide advice and counsel to the leadership of a learning center. The advisory board can be formal or informal. Some purposes and characteristics of an advisory board include the following:

  • Provide advice and counsel
  • Promote the learning center
  • Prioritize initiatives, budget
  • Review learning center status
  • Meet 2 – 4 times per academic year
  • Members: important or influential department chairs, faculty, administrators, staff, advisors, students, veterans affairs, athletics

The following article is a must read regarding learning center advisory boards. The article is freely available at the link provided. See especially Appendix B: Recommendations Worksheet for Starting and Operating a Learning Center Advisory Board on pp. 111-114.

Craig, A., Richardson, E., & Harris, J. (2018). Learning center advisory boards: Results of an online exploratory survey. The Learning Assistance Review, 23(2), 87-114. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/23_2.pdf

Annual Reports and Assessment Plans

Documenting and reporting how a learning assistance program positively impacts student learning and success is important. Traditionally, annual reports included accomplishments like “providing services” or “providing access to services.”

Though assessment can be complex, higher education accrediting agencies now expect programs to identify how their mission and goals align with the institution’s mission and goals. Agencies also ask programs to identify SLOs (Student Learning Outcomes) and how they measure success (Norton & Agee, 2014). An annual report that demonstrates that a program’s services improve student learning and success can accomplish the following:

  • build and support program credibility
  • establish program benchmarks for continued support and growth
  • contribute to a culture of assessment focused on students’ experiences
  • provide feedback loops for continued research and discovery to better identify and measure student learning outcomes
  • meet current accreditation criteria for higher education programs

A white paper, "Assessment of Learning Assistance Programs: Supporting Professionals in the Field", commissioned by the College Reading and Learning Association (a CLADEA member organization), is available online through CRLA and linked below. The white paper provides practical tips for developing assessment including current strategies, best practices, and references. It also identifies many assessment concerns and issues facing learning assistance professionals and provides suggestions for including quantitative, qualitative, and criterion-referenced assessments.

Norton, J., & Agee, K. S. (2014). Assessment of learning assistance programs: Supporting professionals in the field. CRLA. Retrieved from https://crla.net/images/whitepaper/CRLA_2014_WhitePaper_LAP.pdf

Annual Reports/Assessments/Program Reviews

Below are some samples of LAC and related annual reports and assessment plans:

Artificial Intelligence

Vendor

QuadC — "QuadC software improves student success and retention by delivering academic support services in-person or online, helping you schedule, connect, and measure progress using critical data analytics."

Articles

Banihashem, S. K., Kerman, N. T., Noroozi, O., Moon, J., & Drachsler, H. (2024). Feedback sources in essay writing: Peer-generated or AI-generated feedback? International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 21(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-024-00455-4

Bobula, M. (2024). Generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education: A comprehensive review of challenges, opportunities, and implications. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (30), 1–27. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi30.1137

Ding, L., Li, T., Jiang, S., & Gapud, A. (2023). Students’ perceptions of using ChatGPT in a physics class as a virtual tutor. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 20(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-023-00434-1

Hmoud, M., & Ali, S. (2024). AIEd Bloom’s Taxonomy: A proposed model for enhancing educational efficiency and effectiveness in the artificial intelligence era. The International Journal of Technologies in Learning, 31(2), 111–128. https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-0144/cgp/v31i02/111-128

Labadze, L., Grigolia, M., & Machaidze, L. (2023). Role of AI chatbots in education: Systematic literature review. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 20(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-023-00426-1

Mabrito, M. (2024). Artificial intelligence in the classroom: Conversation design and prompt engineering for English majors. The International Journal of Technologies in Learning, 31(2), 129–142. https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-0144/cgp/v31i02/129-142

QuadC. (2024). The transformative impact of AI on student success. [White paper] https://www.quadc.io/website-download-whitepaper-ai-and-student-success#Form

Rawas, S. (2024). ChatGPT: Empowering lifelong learning in the digital age of higher education. Education and Information Technologies, 29(6), 6895–6908. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12114-8

Yusuf, A., Pervin, N., & Román-González, M. (2024). Generative AI and the future of higher education: A threat to academic integrity or reformation? Evidence from multicultural perspectives. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 21(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-024-00453-6

Conferences

July 8-10 <> Granada, Spain
The Learner Conference
32nd International Conference on Learning
Human Learning and Machine Learning: Challenges and Opportunities for Artificial Intelligence in Education

Best Practices and Standards

Effectiveness begins with best practices.

David Arendale

Note: See also excerpts from the standards and guidelines of the regional higher education accrediting organizations shown in the Program Justification tab on this page.

New learning center leaders can use these to develop a view of the current situation of their centers and from that identify goals and objectives for strategic and tactical plans.

Best Practices, a list developed by Frank Christ

CAS Standards and Guidelines for Learning Assistance Programs (available free on home page of NCLCA for members). The Learning Assistance Programs SAG (Self-Assessment Guide) is available for purchase from CAS.

NCLCA Learning Centers of Excellence (see the full description and checklist)

NOSS (formerly NADE) Commission for Professional Standards and Evaluation: Selected Best Practices for Tutoring Services & Course-Based Learning Assistance Programs (NOSS accreditation currently on hold)

Online Tutoring Standards developed by ACTLA
[Note: The Frank Christ presentation cited in the white paper can be found on LSCHE at Online Learning/Frank Christ Articles.]

Health Checklist for Supplemental Instruction Programs by Dennis Congos

Supplemental Instruction Core Four. The The International Center for Supplemental Instruction has developed four core principles, called the Core Four, for Supplemental Instruction programs to follow to achieve accreditation.

Canadian Tutor Standards developed by the Learning Specialists Association of Canada.

Best Practices in Learning Center Management features two presentations from past NCLCA President Dr. Lisa D'Adamo-Weinstein.

Higbee, J. L., MacDonald, L., Van Blerkom, D., Payne, E. M., & Smilkstein, R. (Eds.). (2007). Best practices in college reading and learning. College Reading and Learning Association.

Wilson, W. L., & Arendale, D. R. (2011). Peer educators in learning assistance programs: Best practices for new programs. New Directions for Student Services, 2011(133), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.383

Bibliography

In this section, we have listed a few key books, monographs, and articles that may be useful for learning support center administrators and staff. More references are available in other sections and in the Articles, Books, Presentations, and Reviews resource accessed via the menu above or the LSCHE Home page.

Books
Covery of the book Handbook for training peer tutors and mentors.

Agee, K., & Hodges, R. (Eds.). (2012). Handbook for training peer tutors and mentors. Cengage Learning.

Cover of the book Access at the Crossroads

Arendale, D. (2010). Access at the crossroads: Learning assistance in higher education. ASHE Higher Education Report, 35(6). Jossey-Bass. [Summary and table of contents on David Arendale's blog]

Christ, F. L., Smith, K., & Sheets, R. (Eds.) (2000). Starting a learning assistance center: Conversations with CRLA members who have been there and done that. H& H. [Available on LSCHE]

Image of book cover for Handbook of college reading and study strategy research

Flippo, R. F., & Bean, T. (Eds). (2018). Handbook of college reading and study strategy research (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Maxwell, M. (1997). Improving student learning skills: A new edition. H & H. https://www.hhpublishing.com/ap/_books/professional-resources.html#improving-student

Image of the cover of the book Learning centers in the 21st century: A modern guide for learning assistance professionals in higher education

Sanders, L., Reedy, D., & Frizell, M. (Eds.). (2018). Learning centers in the 21st century: A modern guide for learning assistance professionals in higher education. Iona Press. [Available direct from NCLCA or on Amazon] https://nclca.wildapricot.org/page-18366

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Sanford, D. R. (2021). The Rowman & Littlefield guide for peer tutors. Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved from https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538135525/The-Rowman-and-Littlefield-Guide-for-Peer-Tutors
Contains an excellent chapter on Tutoring in Online Environments.

Image of book cover

Sanford, D. R., & Steiner, M. (2021). The Rowman & Littlefield guide to learning center administration: Leading peer tutoring programs in higher education. Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved from https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538154625/The-Rowman-and-Littlefield-Guide-to-Learning-Center-Administration-Leading-Peer-Tutoring-Programs-in-Higher-Education

Image of book cover

Turrentine, P. (2015). Champions in the classroom. Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved from https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475818208/Champions-in-the-Classroom

Turrentine, P. (2019. Everything you ever wanted to know about learning centers (and then some…). H&H. https://www.hhpublishing.com/ap/_books/professional-resources.html#learning-centers

Articles

Brown, W. C. (2014). What’s a Learning Center? ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=ED552875

Christ, F. L. (1978, November). Management is evaluation. Audiovisual Instruction, 26, 62. Retrieved from LSCHE.

Christ, F. L. (1997). Using MBO to create, develop, improve, and sustain learning assistance programs. In S. Mioduski & G. Enright (Eds. ), Proceedings of the 17th and 18th annual institutes for learning assistance professionals (pp. 43-51). Retrieved from the LSCHE Winter Institute Archive.

Craig, A., Richardson, E., & Harris, J. (2018). Learning center advisory boards: Results of an online exploratory survey. The Learning Assistance Review, 23(2), 87-114. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/23_2.pdf

Dvorak, J. (2004). Managing tutoring aspects of the learning assistance center. Research for Educational Reform, 9(4), 39-51. EBSCO.
From the abstract: "This article focuses on strengthening the tutoring component in the LAC from a manager's perspective. It will draw on research and experience to present strategies for justifying, organizing and managing a college tutoring program."

Higbee, J.L. (Ed.). (2014). The profession and practice of learning assistance and developmental education: Essays in memory of Dr. Martha Maxwell. DeEd Press, National Center for Developmental Education, Appalachian State University. https://cladea.info/publications/

MacDonald, J. (2008). Blended learning and online tutoring: Planning learner support and activity design (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Maxwell, M. (Ed.). (1994). From access to success: A book of readings on college developmental education and learning assistance programs. H&H Publishing. https://www.hhpublishing.com/ap/_books/professional-resources.html#access

Maxwell, M. J. (1975). Developing a learning center: Plans, problems and progress. Journal of Reading, 18(6), 462-469. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/40017288

McClellan, G. S., & Stringer, J. (Eds.). (2016). The handbook of student affairs administration (4th ed.). Wiley. [Table of contents]

Norton, J., & Agee, K. S. (2014). Assessment of learning assistance programs: Supporting professionals in the field [White paper]. CRLA. https://crla.net/images/whitepaper/CRLA_2014_WhitePaper_LAP.pdf

Pariser, D. J. (2012). Factors affecting peer tutoring programs in higher education as perceived by administrators. [Doctoral dissertation, West Virginia University]. https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.277

Perin, D. (2004). Remediation beyond developmental education: The use of learning assistance centers to increase academic preparedness in community colleges. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 28(7), 559-582. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668920490467224

Truschel, J., & Reedy, D. L. (2009). National survey—What is a learning center in the 21st century? The Learning Assistance Review, 14(1), 9-22. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/14_1.pdf

White, W.G.,Jr. (2004). The physical environment of learning support centers. The Learning Assistance Review, 9(1), 17-27. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/9_1.pdf

Wurtz, K. A. (2015). Impact of learning assistance center utilization on success. Journal of Developmental Education, 38(3), 2-4,6,8,10. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1092656

Budgets/Funding/Grants

Standards and Guidelines

Learning center leaders must familiarize themselves with budgeting and funding standards and guidelines—both those internal to the institution and those from professional organizations. The latter include the CAS Learning Assistance Programs Standards and Guidelines (link near bottom of the ICLCA web page; see Part 10 Financial Resources) and the ICLCA Learning Centers of Excellence Application Checklist (see section IV. Funding, Resources, and Design).

Understanding the Budget

Though often considered a mundane task, budgeting is vital to learning center success as implied in the CAS and NCLCA standards and guidelines. Following are some questions to ask to help you understand the particulars of the budget at your institution. Sometimes the answer are surprising.

  • What expense details constitute each budget line item?
  • Which line items or expenses do you control?
  • Can funds be carried over to the next fiscal year if not spent?
  • Can funds be moved from one line item to another?
  • Which line items are inviolate?
  • Does the institution set spending deadlines for certain line items in the last month or two of the fiscal year, and, if so, when are they?
The answers vary from institution to institution.

Know the budget cycle in your institution. What forms are used? What are the deadlines for each stage?

Each institution provides some form of budget-to-actual variance report, probably monthly. Are expenses lining up with projections? The answer is often that they are not. Know the reasons for the mismatch.

The following article attempts to demystify the budget process in higher education.

Murphy, D. S., & Katsinas, S. G. (2014). Community college budgeting and financing demystified. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2014(168), 17-27. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20117

Sources of Funding for Learning Centers

  • General funds
  • Student registration or activity fess
  • Special funding from particular departments to support specific programs in the learning center
  • Discretionary funding from a president, provost, vice president of academic or student affairs
  • Athletic funds
  • Charitable donations to the learning center (through the institution's annual campaign or a donation button directly on the center's website)
  • Alumni campaign for major renovation or construction of new space for the learning center (e.g., Clemson Class of 1956 Academic Success Center)
  • Learning center fees (e.g., fee for missed tutoring appointment)
  • Fees for offering tutoring to the community
  • Donations from departments or faculty members (e.g., many departments have an excess of complimentary copies of textbooks from publishers, especially for frequently taught courses with large enrollments)
  • Funding from the student government association—often for a specific event rather than a program or service
  • Student technology fees

For example, one college made significant use of TI calculators in its lower-level mathematics courses. The learning center staff obtained funding from the student technology fee committee to purchase TI calculator emulator software for the computers at the learning center for each campus.

Sometimes there are funds unspent near the end of the fiscal year that a higher level administrator wants to reallocate to ensure it is spent. Be prepared with a list of items you might want to purchase and a justification for each so that you can act quickly if the opportunity arises.

Grants

Grants

Get to know the grants office staff at your institution. They can be an invaluable resource. Grants staff know what opportunities are available from federal, state, and private opportunities and can help match that to the needs of your learning center. Also institutions sometimes provide internal grants to enhance particular programs. Talk with the grants office about what you might do with additional funding, especially to implement new programs and services for specific populations. Collaborate with other departments as a part of a larger grant-funded program for which the learning center provides assistance (tutors, coaches, etc).

Arendale, D. (1994). Suggestions for winning grants. Journal of Developmental Education, 18(1), 38. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42775543

Expenses to Budget

  • Staffing—professional and paraprofessional, full-time and part-time
  • Travel—airfare, mileage, lodging, food, intercampus travel for institutions with multiple campuses
  • Professional development—registration fees for training and conferences, books, subscriptions
  • Consulting—commercial online tutoring services, assistance with program evaluation
  • Textbooks (if unavailable from other departments)
  • Office equipment and supplies—computers, printers, copiers, AV equipment, paper, copying charges, telephone, mailing, equipment maintenance and replacement
  • Instructional materials—video (DVDs or streaming), chemistry molecular models, skeletons, calculators (for tutor use), handouts (although many have migrated online for students to print), topical booklets—e.g., critical thinking booklet, SI session materials
  • Software—learning center management system (e.g., TutorTrac, AccuTrack,…), software supporting subject content,
  • Furniture—desks, chairs, carts, bookcases, rolling white boards, power poles for laptop and USB power
  • Publications and printing
  • Advertising—brochures, pencils, bookmarks,
  • Facilities—construction of new learning center facilities, renovation or expansion of existing facilities, cost/rent for the space the center occupies and its maintenance

Some of these expenses are probably paid by other departments within the institution. For example, computers in the learning center and printers for student use may be covered by the IT department, but printers for staff use may be within the learning center budget.

Tutoring staff at one college were funded through several sources including the college's general fund, grants including Title V and Perkins grants, and funds transferred from another department for specific tutoring.

Learn the details of what must be in the center's budget versus those of other units at your institution.

Two Books for Your Library

Barr, M. J., & McClellan, G. S. (2018). Budgets and financial management in higher education (3rd ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Bauer, D.G. (2011). The “how to” grants manual: Successful grantseeking techniques for obtaining public and private grants (7th Ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.

International Tutor Appreciation Week (ITAW) (a.k.a. Tutor Appreciation Week and/or a.k.a. National Tutor Week)
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Celebrated the first full week of October each year

What is it all about?
It is a celebration to let our tutors know how much we appreciate all that they do for our students all year. It also gives our students, faculty, staff, and campus administration the opportunity to thank our tutors, as well.

Why do programs do it?

Many of our tutors do not get the all the kudos, recognition, and positive feedback from students, campus staff, faculty, and administrators that they should or could for all that they do to support and help our student realize their potential and achieve their education, personal, and professional goals and dreams.
It is also a good way to help the awareness of your program to students and campus administrators and staff.
It is fun and rewarding for all.

What do we do?

Provide a way for students, staff, faculty, and administrators to easily thank our tutors, individually or collectively. Ideas include the following:

  • Tutor Certification—Pinning Ceremony
  • Pot Luck Luncheons/Picnics
  • Make posters announcing the International Tutor Appreciation Week and providea table with blank thank you card (in picture above) for students to write notes to tutors they wish to thank.
  • Send an email to campus faculty, staff, and administrators inviting them to send you emails to print and share with your tutors.
  • Create one or post to your center facebook page and ask people to write on the wall.
  • Provide a flip chart for visitors to write on.
  • Ask for funding for a special activity – see a sample justification for funding request (doc).
  • Write a special and personalized thank you note from the director to each tutor.
  • Have a special “Thank You” party for the tutors at the end of the week and maybe even invite the students or college staff, faculty, admin. to join in.
  • Ask your College/University President or Dean to write a special note of thanks to the tutors.
  • Create a place for students, faculty, and administrators to post notes to tutors

What have tutoring programs done to celebrate ITAW?
See the following links of descriptions and links that were shared about what was done for ITAW:

2011- John Jay College Math and Science Resource Center The Tutor Thank-You Tree (YouTube video)
2010- John Jay College Math and Science Resource Center Tutor Tree (YouTube video)

photo tutoring celebration ideas from Sheridan College

2015 – Sheridan College, ON, Canada – Tutoring Centre, submitted by Shelley Woods, Acting Manager.
Included is a photo and description of Tutor Appreciation Week 2015 at Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada.At Sheridan we invited faculty and students to write notes of appreciation to the Tutors. We supplied thank you cards and provided baked goods and candies to participants. The Tutors appreciated the recognition; they arranged the thank you cards in the shape of a heart and to spell THANKS.

2014 – Gordon State College, GA – Student Success Center, submitted by Charlie Coile
For Tutor Appreciation Week 2014, we went all out. We had candy, snacks, coffee, juice, soda every day. Our director, Mr. Peter Higgins, even brought enough pizza on Wednesday to feed 35 college students—that’s a lot of pizza! Surprisingly, it was the free coffee that was most popular with the Student Success Center tutors.

We created a thank you station where tutees, faculty, and staff could write a kind note and pin it to a bulletin board. I was nervous on Monday because not a single note other than mine was posted by lunchtime, so I moved a table in my office directly next to the bulletin board and put the all the supplies on it (directions, a pen, pushpins, ect.). The table was situated in such a way that students almost knocked it over if they weren’t paying attention—this did the trick and by Wednesday the board was covered with appreciation and gratitude. The tutors loved reading the new notes every time they came in for work, especially when tutees referenced inside jokes.

We also made little “You’re a DINO-MITE tutor cards” and put one with a little toy dinosaur in each of the tutor’s boxes on Friday. I designed the cards myself and printed them in-house. I found toy dinosaurs at Dollar Tree, 8 little dinos per pack. All in all, it was a very inexpensive token that the tutors found delightful.

2014 – Las Positas College, CA – Tutorial Programs, submitted by D. Pauline Trummel
At Las Positas College, CA, we always enjoy celebrating Tutor Appreciation Week the first week of October. As Tutorial Programs Coordinator/Instructor I try to come up with morale boosters and the tutors’ smiles show they work!

This year our week has consisted of:

  • Monday — “Guess How Many Smiles a Tutor Gets” game
    • It’s a jar is filled with little yellow smiley gum balls and tutors write their guess of how many are in the jar on a ticket.
    • The winner will be announced Friday and that person wins the jar of gum balls.
  • Tuesday — Pizza Party
    • our Dean of Student Services provided pizzas and coke for all our 63 tutors.
  • Wednesday — Muffin Day
    • I purchased wrapped muffins and protein bars for the students to pick up as they came into the Tutorial Center
  • Thursday —
    • I put a large eraser in a small cellophane bag, folded it over an attached the following message written on card stock with a staple “Remember: You can never erase the effects of a good tutor. Thank you!” These were in everyone’s files.
  • Friday
    • New tutors will get water bottles that say LPC Tutor on it. (Two years ago I wrote a request for small grants being given from our Las Positas College Foundation for reusable water bottles. The first Tutor Appreciation Week everyone got them and now all new tutors receive one. This will be the last semester I have bottles to distribute so I may write another request for money to do it again since it was so successful and appreciated.)

  • Friday — Everyone will get candy, a pen, and one of the following wallet size photo/quotes
    • “If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.” Fred Rogers
    • “We should all know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.” Maya Angelo
    • “Be the kind of leader that you would follow.” Anonymous
    • “A meaningful life is not being rich, popular, being highly educated, or being perfect…it is about being real, being humble, being strong and being able to share ourselves and touch the lives of others. It is only then that we could have a full, happy and contented life.” Anonymous.
    • “How you make others feel about themselves, says a lot about you.” Kushandwizdom
    • “I have decided to be happy because it is good for my health” Anonymous

2014 – Towson University, MD – Academic Achievement Center, submitted by Allison Hutchison, MFA
As other centers did, we wrote thank you cards to our tutors and provided thank you cards for students to write to tutors. We had an open house for the tutors with goodies and a decorate-your-own cupcake station. Because our math and science tutoring take place in other buildings, we brought cupcakes and candy to those tutors, and hung a sign in the science tutoring lab that reads, “Science Tutors Matter.”

2014 Elise C. Syoen, Instructional Support Coordinator, Center for Academic Achievement, Florida Gulf Coast University

We knew we wanted to celebrate all week long, especially because not all of our Leaders work on one specific day and we wanted each of them to have a bit of appreciation. We work on a very low budget and therefore had to be very creative with our purchases. We looked for low cost candies and items we could purchase through our Office Depot account with the University. All printing was also done in office.

What ideas do you have?

Sunday “Anticipation”
  • Send an email announcing National Tutor Appreciation Week and inform them of the goodies ahead to build anticipation and excitement!
Monday “Gestures of Appreciation”
  • Place Signs the following signs in the Instructional Support areas “Have you thanked your Tutor today (pic), help celebrate National Tutor Appreciation Week!” & “Thanks for all you do Leaders!”
  • Replace dried-out markers in the lab spaces.
Tuesday- “Donuts”
  • Purchase 2 boxes of (50ct) Munchkins from Dunkin Donuts
  • Have a sign with the Munchkins that says “Donut you know we appreciate you a hole lot!”
  • Located in our office for Leaders to stop by throughout the day
Wednesday “Stress Relief”
  • Purchase Bubble Wrap and cut into small 4”x4” squares
  • Staple a tag that says “Stress Relief” “Pop 2-3 capsules every 4-6 hours or as needed”
  • Located in our office for Leaders to stop by throughout the day
Thursday “Little Bag o’ Thanks”
  • One for each leader
  • Located in our office for Leaders to stop by throughout the day
  • Brown Paper Bagswith
  • Highlighter- “You highlight our success everyday!”
  • Eraser- “We are tickled pink to get to work with you!”
  • Lifesaver- “You are a Lifesaver to our students!”
  • Bookmark- “You are one smart cookie!”
Friday “On a Roll”
  • Bowl of Tootsie Rolls
  • Sign that says “This year is on a ‘roll’ – thanks to you!”
  • Located in our office for Leaders to stop by throughout the day
  • Saturday “Director Email”
  • A Thank you Email sent from the Director of the CAA to round out the week
Photos of each item have been posted to Pinterest and tagged with “Tutor Appreciation Week.”
Each day we will post a picture of the goodie for that day on our Instagram account to encourage our leaders to stop by for their goodie for that day.


2013 – Gordon State College, GA – Student Success Center, submitted by Charlie Coile
We put together “Tutor Survival Kits” for National Tutor Appreciation Week (in addition to the usual thank-you cards and baked goods). We typically have 35 student employees in our learning center, so the administrative staff pulled together some cash and with some smart shopping we were able to put together these kits for about $1.50 each. The trick is to buy things that come in multi-packs at dollar stores.

Each kit included pencils, sticky note pads, mini highlighters, travel-sized tissue packs and hand sanitizer bottles, Band-Aids, erasers, mini pens, candy, and more. I was even able to put a little breath freshener bottles in for those after lunch tutoring emergencies.

A Compendium of LSC Names

For naming and function considerations, see Gwyn Enright’s 1997 foundational article, “LAC, LRC, and Developmental Education: An Orientation for the Beginning Learning Center Professional" available on LSCHE in the Winter Institute Proceedings for 1994-95.

Ward (1979) also discussed names for learning support centers with an emphasis on connotation, definition, and implication of possible choices. Although some of Ward's concerns have been resolved, applying a similar approach to center naming considerations is still apt.

Below is a list of more than 260 names, arranged alphabetically, that have been given to learning support centers. They include names of learning support centers in the USA, UK, Australia, and Canada. If you know of additional names or have additional information about naming considerations, please email acraig5@gsu.edu with the information. [Note: You may find center web sites by accessing the list of LSC Websites here in LSCHE.]

Ward, B. (1979). Learning lab . . . center . . . clinic: Or what’s in a name? Journal of Developmental Education, 2(3), 4-6. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45106520

-A-
Academic Achievement Center
Academic Advancement Center
Academic & Disability Support Services
Academic Assistance and Resource Center
Academic Assistance Center
Academic Assistance Center Life
Academic Assistance Office
Academic Center
Academic Center for Educational Success (ACES)
Academic Center for Excellence (ACE)
Academic Collegiate Enhancement (ACE)
Academic Commons
Academic Development Centre
Academic Development Services
Academic Enrichment Center
Academic Excellence & Support Services (AESS)
Academic Learning and Testing Center
Academic Learning Center
Academic Learning Lab
Academic Link, The
Academic Opportunity Center
Academic Performance Center
Academic Resource & Writing Center
Academic Resource Center
Academic Services
Academic Services Center
Academic Skills Achievement Program
Academic Skills Center
Academic Success Center
Academic Support and Access Programs
Academic Support and Achievement Program
Academic Support & Developmental Studies
Academic Support Center
Academic Support Lab
Academic Support Program
Academic Support Services
Academic Support Services & Programs
Academic Tutoring
Academic TuToring & Instruction Center (ATTIC)
ACCESS
Applied Academic Discourse
Assessment & Learning Center
-C-
Campus Learning Assistance Services
Campus Learning Center
Center for Academic Achievement
Center for Academic and Personal Counseling
Center for Academic Development
Center for Academic Development & Enrichment (CADE)
Center for Academic Enrichment
Center for Academic Enrichment and Excellence
Center for Academic Excellence
Center for Academic Planning and Support
Center for Academic Program Support (CAPS)
Center for Academic Reinforcement
Center for Academic Services
Center for Academic Success
Center for Academic Support and Advancement
Center for Academic Support and Advising (CASA)
Center for Academic Support and Enrichment (CASE)
Center for Academic Support and Professional Enrichment
Center for Academic Support and Student Retention
Center for Academic Vision and Excellence (The CAVE)
Center for Collaborative Learning
Center for Enhanced Performance
Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
Center for Independent Study
Center for Learning
Center(s) for Learning and Academic Support Services (CLASS)
Center for Learning and Advancement
Center for Learning & Assessment Services
Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS)
Center for Learning Assistance
Center for Learning Assistance Services
Center for Learning Excellence
Center for Learning Excellence Education Complex
Center for Learning Resources
Center for Psychological and Learning Services
Center for Retention Services
Center for Student Achievement
Center for Student Achievement Resources & Enrichment (CARE)
Center for Student Advancement
Center for Student Success
Center for Student Success and Retention
Center for Student Progress
Center for Teaching and Learning
Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence
Center for the Academic Learning Program for Higher Achievement (ALPHA Center)
Center for Tutoring and Academic Excellence
Center for Writing and Learning
Center for Writing, Teaching, and Learning
Centre for Academic Growth
Centro de recursos para el Éxito Estudiantil (CREE)
Translation: Student Support Resource Center
College Learning Advancement Center
College Level Academic Skills Service (CLASS)
College Learning Center
College Skills Center
College Study Center
Collegewide Learning Lab
Cooperative Learning Center
Comprehensive Learning Center
Comprehensive Academic Discourse
Computer Lab and Learning Center
-D-
Department of Learning & Academic Resources
Department of Learning & Student Development
Department of Learning Assistance
Department of Student Success
Developmental Studies Tutoring Lab
Digital Learning Commons
Disability and Learning Resource Center
Division of Academic Enhancement
-E-
Educational Academic Guidance Learning Enrichment Services (EAGLES)
Educational Assistance Program
Educational Development Center
Educational Resource Center
English Language Study Skills Assistance Center (ELSSAC)
Enhanced Learning Center
Educational Support Services Center
-I-
Independent Learning and Assessment Center
Information and Academic Support Center
Integrated Academic Discourse Studies
Integrated Academic Studies
Integrated Campus Center
Integrated Learning Center
Institute for Learning and Teaching, The (TILT) – Learning Programs
Instructional Support Services
-L-
Learn Link
Learner Support Centre
Learning & Academic Skills Center
Learning and Academic Resources
Learning and Teaching Center
Learning & Tutoring Center (LTC)
Learning & Writing Center
Learning Teaching Center
Learning Assistance Center
Learning Assistance for Excellence
Learning Assistance Lab
Learning Assistance Program
Learning Assistance Resource Center:
Learning Assistance and Resource Center
Learning Assistance Services
Learning Assistance Support System
Learning Center
Learning Center (TLC), The
Learning Commons
Learning Commons, The (TLC)
Learning Connection, The
Learning Cooperative, The
Learning Development Center
Learning Enhancement Center
Learning Enhancement Programs
Learning Enhancement Services
Learning Enrichment Center
Learning Opportunities Center
Learning Place, The
Learning Resource & Assessment Center
Learning Resources
Learning Resources Center
Learning Resources Department
Learning Space, The
Learning Skills Centre
Learning Skills Lab
Learning Strategies Center
Learning Studio
Learning Success Center
Learning Support Center
Learning Support Centre, The
Learning Support Commons
Learning Support Services Center
Learning Technology Center
Learning, Tutoring & Academic Technology
Learning/Tutoring Centers
Learning Zone, The
Liberal Arts Learning Center
Library and Academic Resource Center (LARC)
Library and Learning Center
Library Learning Commons (LLC)
Library Learning Information Center
-M-
Math and Learning Lab
Mill, The
Multidisciplinary Success Centers
-O-
OASIS – Office of Academic Support and Information Services
Office of Academic Services
Office of Academic Support and Advising
Office of Learning Assistance
Office of Learning Services
Office of Retention and Academic Support
Office of Student Success
Online Learning Center
Open Learning Center
-P-
Pathways Center
Peer Connections – Tutoring
Peer Learning Center
Peer Tutoring
Personal Learning Assistance Center, The (The PLACE)
Program Leading to University Success (PLUS)
Program for Academic Skills and Success (PASS)
-R-
Reading and Learning Program
Reading and Writing Center
Resources for Academic Achievement
Retention and Learning Center
-S-
Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques (SALT)
Student Academic Assistance Center
Student Academic Center
Student Academic Learning Center
Student Academic Learning Services
Student Academic Resource Center
Student Academic Services
Student Academic Success Services
Student Achievement Center
Student Advising and Learning Center
Student-Athlete Academic Success Center
Student Development and Learning Center
Student Development Learning Resource Center
Student Enrichment Center
Student Learning Assistance Center (SLAC)
Student Learning Center (SLC)
Students Mapping A Right Track (SMART)
Student Services Centre
Student Solutions Center
Student Success Center
Student Support Centres
Student Support Services
Student Tutoring
Student Tutoring and Resource Center (STAR Center)
Study, The
Study Center: Academic Support Service for Students
Study Skills Centre
Study Skills Resource Center
Success Center
Success Through Academic Readiness (STAR)
Supplemental Instruction
Support, Tutoring, and Resource Services (STaRS)
-T-
Talent Development Center
Teaching and Learning Center, The (TLC)
Teaching and Learning Development Unit
Teaching/Learning Computing Center
Testing & Learning Center (TLC)
Think Tank, The
Tutor and Learning Center (TLC)
Tutorial & Academic Support Center (TASC)
Tutorial and Learning Center
Tutorial Center
Tutorial Learning Center
Tutoring & Academic Assistance Center
Tutoring and Academic Success Centers
Tutoring Assistance
Tutoring and Learning Center
Tutoring and Leaning Services
Tutoring and Support
Tutoring and Testing Center
Tutoring and Writing Consulting
Tutoring Assistance
Tutoring Lab
Tutoring, Learning, & Testing Center
Tutoring Resource Center
Tutoring Services
-U-
University Center for Learning Assistance
University Learning Center
University Learning Laboratory
University Learning Services
University Study and Tutoring Center
University Success Center, The
University Tutorial Center
University Tutoring Center
-V-
Virtual Learning Center
-W-
Windows for Intellectual Networking (WIN) Center
Writing/Academic Resource Center

Certifications of interest to learning center administrators:

Embedded Tutoring

2024 Summer Institute

The CSUCI Embedded Peer Education Collaborative (EPEC) Summer Institute brings Faculty Members and Learning Center Professionals together in collaborative teams to plan for expanding and enhancing embedded peer tutoring programs. May 31 in person and hybrid follow on sessions.

Definitions

There are many working definitions of embedded tutoring, but, for this model, an ET attends synchronous classes regularly, providing individualized attention and assistance during active learning activities to help clarify course concepts while motivating students’ participation and engagement in the classroom. The ET also provides open tutoring hours outside of class to provide extra assistance and further engage the students with available academic resources. (Chaves, Lee, Morris, Reinecke, & Tome, p.160)

Embedded tutoring is the practice of having a peer tutor who excelled in a particular course assist with the course in a subsequent semester by attending class sessions and offering support when students are working on assignments in the classroom. The tutor “floats” between small groups of students or individual students throughout class time, and most students in the class interact with the tutor at some point during the semester. (Jacobson & Giblen, p. 60)

Embedded tutoring occurs within a classroom during class time and with a faculty member present. Learning activities can include one-on-one sessions, group activities, and other active learning in cooperation with the professor. Embedded tutoring decreases the student to teacher ratio and brings academic support to the student, instructor, and classroom. Embedded tutoring is not a wait-to-help model but integrates academic support and increases collaboration at the very point of the student learning classroom content for the first time. (Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, p. 4)

Annotated Bibliography

CLADEA Fellow David Arendale has developed an annotated bibliography on embedded tutoring.

"I have compiled several annotated bibliographies you might find related to your work. I focus one on embedded tutoring. There has been considerable discussion about that approach on LRNASST in recent weeks. An umbrella term that I use for this topic which includes embedded coaching and mentoring is Embedded Peer Educator. I was inspired for that title by Brook Masters and the program she created and manages at California State University-Channel Islands. You can download the bibliography at https://z.umn.edu/epebib "

Dissertations

Ganter, B. (2022). Investigating the academic impact of embedded tutoring and college readiness on corequisite gateway English courses. [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Houston - Clear Lake]. https://uhcl-ir.tdl.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/b5c3d9c5-d15d-4b87-8063-4b0743edd588/content

Articles

Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. (2021). The role of faculty in tutoring and learning centers in the community college. https://www.asccc.org/sites/default/files/publications/ASCCC_Position_Paper_2021_Tutoring_220315_epub.pdf

Channing, J., & Okada, N. C. (2020). Supplemental instruction and embedded tutoring program assessment: Problems and opportunities. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 44(4), 241–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2019.1575777

Chaves, S., Lee, V., Morris, S., Reinecke, A., & Tome, A. (2023). An embedded tutoring model. The Learning Assistance Review, 28(2), 151–185. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/TLARVolume28%202Fall2023.pdf

Curcio, S. (2024). Idea exchange: Students perceived benefits of embedded online peer tutors. The Learning Assistance Review, 28(3), 177–183. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/TLARV283SP2024.pdf
[Note: This is a follow up to the Mendoza article below.]

Hannum, D., Bracewell, J., & Head, K. (2014). Shifting the center: Piloting embedded tutoring models to support multimodal communication across the disciplines. Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, 12(1), 96–101. https://doi.org/10.15781/T2CC0V914

Jacobson, J. (2023). Intentional tutoring: Fulfilling the UDL promise for historically marginalized students. The Learning Assistance Review, 28(2), 43–67. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/TLARVolume28%202Fall2023.pdf

Krishnan, S., Landa, S., Lin, P., & Yur-Austin, J. (2023). The effect of team-based active learning and embedded tutors in the first
course in accounting. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 23(6), 110–121. https://articlegateway.com/index.php/JHETP/article/view/5964/5655

Linden, K., Teakel, S., & Van der Ploeg, N. (2022). Improving student success with online embedded tutor support in first-year subjects. A practice report. Student Success, 13(2), 42–50. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.2338

McWilliams, R., & Allan, Q. (2014). Embedding academic literacy skills: Towards a best practice model. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 11(3). http://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol11/iss3/8

Mendoza, D. F., & Kerl, E. (2021). Student perceived benefits of embedded online peer tutors. The Learning Assistance Review, 26(1), 53–73. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/26_1.PDF

Tucker, K., Sharp, G., Qingmin, S., Scinta, T., & Thanki, S. (2020). Fostering historically underserved students' success: An embedded peer support model that merges non-cognitive principles with proven academic support practices. The Review of Higher Education, 43(3), 861-885. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2020.0010

Employment Opportunities

This section points to a variety of resources that may be helpful for learning support center personnel when they are considering a new position or a sabbatical.

Web Resources

Listservs

Some listservs, including LRNASST, allow job vacancies and position wanted messages as a service to their subscribers. You can use these listservs to post job vacancies and to review regularly if you are looking for a position. Go to our Technology and Social Media page for a list of the most relevant listservs.

Professional Conferences

At professional conferences, you come alive as a real person and not just as an e-mail address, a signature on a listserv posting, or as a name associated with a journal contribution or as a conference program presenter. See the Calendar of conferences, institutes, etc on LSCHE for association conferences including dates, location, and contacts. Make the most of it by frequenting the hospitality suite and networking with your colleagues to find out where the vacancies are. Remember also to check conference bulletin boards where job vacancies are posted. Take plenty of business cards and exchange at every opportunity. Carry a few current single page resumes to give any prospective employers.

Resumes/Curriculum Vitae

For those new to academia, themuse.com provides an article with helpful information, The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Curriculum Vitae (Example Included!).

Your resume or curriculum vitae is an important part of your professional portfolio and should be kept up-to-date. The following outline may be helpful as you develop your own. Remember to indicate dates where applicable.

  • ACADEMIC PREPARATION:
  • TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
  • ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE:
  • LEARNING ASSISTANCE CONSULTANT TO EDUCATION:
  • CONSULTING/TRAINING WITH BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY:
  • PUBLICATIONS/BOOKS & MEDIA:
  • PUBLICATIONS: Major Articles (in APA format)
  • EDITORSHIPS AND RELATED CREATIVE ACTIVITY:
  • MEMBERSHIP/PARTICIPATION IN PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:
  • MEMBERSHIPS/COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION:
  • AWARDS AND OTHER RECOGNITION:

Evaluation

Learning assistance professionals...have an ethical responsibility to know and report to others what their work is accomplishing.

Jan Norton & Karen Agee (from the Handbook of College Reading and Study Strategy Research)

Learning assistance centers in higher education must be visibly accountable and cost effective to convince students, faculty, administration, trustees, legislators, and taxpayers that their services are worth the personnel, equipment, materials, and space allocated to them.

Frank Christ & Margaret Coda-Messerle (from Staff Development for Learning Support Systems)

Evaluation is an important means of program justification.

  • Partner with Institutional Research (for expertise and to connect with the institution's SIS data)
  • Establish a tracking database (TutorTrac, AccuTrack, WCOnline,…)
  • Determine how the LC is viewed by students, faculty, staff, administrators

Common measures:

  • Student usage/demographics/satisfaction
  • Student learning skills improvement/pass rates/ retention/ grades

chart of sign-ins to a learning center over a period of several years showing a trend upward in usage
Resources and Samples

See also Assessing Student Learning Outcomes using Metacognitive Rubrics and General Tutoring SLO Measurement by Dorothy Williams on the LSCHE page Learner Assessment under the tab Assessment Instruments, then Study Skills.

Articles

Bowles, T. (2008). The effect of supplemental instruction on timely graduation. College Student Journal, 42(3), 853-859. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1103&context=psych_facpub

Carpenter, K. (1992). Evaluating a tutor program: Decision points and methodologies. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 24(2), 11-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.1992.10849985

Channing, J., & Okada, N. C. (2020). Supplemental instruction and embedded tutoring program assessment: Problems and opportunities. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 44(4), 241-247. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2019.1575777

Colver, M., & Fry, T. (2016). Evidence to Support Peer Tutoring Programs at the Undergraduate Level. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 46(1), 16-41. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2015.1075446

Comfort, P., & James McMahon, J. (2014). The effect of peer tutoring on academic achievement. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 6(1), 168–175. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-06-2012-0017

Cooper, E. (2010). Tutoring center effectiveness: The effect of drop-In tutoring. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 40(2), 21-34. Retrieved from ERIC https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ887303

Dioso-Henson, L. (2012). The effect of reciprocal peer tutoring and non-reciprocal peer tutoring on the performance of students in college physics. Research in Education, 87(1), 34-49. https://doi.org/10.7227/RIE.87.1.3

Fizer, G. A. (2020). Do trained peer tutors have an effect on correctional education outcomes. Journal of Correctional Education, 71(3), 18–32. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27042214

Folk, K. (2019). Evaluating the impact of a first-year experience on student success at a distance learning university. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 22(4). Retrieved from https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter224/folk224.html

Franklin, D. A. (2014). An analysis of program evaluation in community college learning assistance centers (Publication No. 3643250) [Doctoral dissertation, Illinois State University]. ProQuest. Illinois State University Research and eData. https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1196&context=etd

Franklin, D., & Blankenberger, B. (2016). Program evaluation of community college learning assistance centers. Community College Review, 44(1), 3-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552115609998

Fullmer, P. (2009). The assessment of a tutoring program to meet CAS standards using a SWOT Analysis and Action Plan. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 40(1), 51-76. https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2009.10850324

Fullmer, P. (2012). Assessment of tutoring laboratories in a learning assistance center. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 42(2), 67-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2012.10850355

Gao, X. & Reid, K. (2015). “What we do in the shadows” : Evaluating the one-to-one tertiary learning advice consultation. ATLAANZ Journal, 1(1), 34-53. https://doi.org/10.26473/atlaanz.2015.1.1/003

Hendrickson, S. I. Yang, L., Love, B., & Hall, M. C. (2005). Assessing academic support: The effects of tutoring on student learning outcomes. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 35(2), 55-65. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ689654

Kostecki, J., & Bers, T. (2008). The effect of tutoring on student success. The Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 16(1), 6-12. Ingenta Connect. [Also available from Montezuma Publishing at https://www.montezumapublishing.com/jarcc/aboutjarcc]

Mealy, B. A. (1998). A program evaluation of the Learning Assistance Center at Southern Wesleyan University (Publication No. 9824776) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Sarasota]. ProQuest.

Norton, J., & Agee, K. S. (2014). Assessment of learning assistance programs: Supporting professionals in the field [White paper]. CRLA. Retrieved from https://crla.net/images/whitepaper/CRLA_2014_WhitePaper_LAP.pdf

Sudik, D. (1984). Evaluation of a peer-tutoring program at a community college. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 17(1), 179-184. https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.1984.10850250

Toms, M., & Moschella, E. (2018). Assessment of the 21st century learning center. In L. Sanders, D. Reedy, & M. Frizell (Eds.), Learning centers in the 21st century: A modern guide for learning assistance professionals in higher education (pp. 69-89). Iona Press.

Trammell, J. (2005). Learning about the learning center: Program evaluation for learning assistance programs. The Learning Assistance Review, 10(2), 31-40. Retrieved from https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/10_2_1.pdf

Walvoord, M. E., & Pleitz, J. D. (2016). Applying matched sampling to evaluate a university tutoring program for first- year students. The Learning Assistance Review, 21(1), 99-113. Retrieved from https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/21_1.pdf

Whisper, L., Anderson, R., & Brown, J. (2017). Planning for program design and assessment using value creation frameworks. The Learning Assistance Review, 22(2), 59-74. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/22_2.pdf

Wurtz, K. A. (2015). Impact of learning assistance center utilization on success. Journal of Developmental Education, 38(3), 2-10.

Marketing, Publicity, Public Relations

Marketing the learning center is one of the primary duties of the learning center leader. Multifaceted and continuous marketing is key to success.

The following references are specific to marketing and public relations for learning centers. The first is available on LSCHE.

Christ, F. L. (2000). How do I develop a favorable image for the LAC and how do I publicize the programs and services of the LAC? In F. L. Christ, R. Sheets, & K. Smith (Eds.), Starting up a learning assistance center: Conversations with CRLA members who have been there and done that (pp.93-97). H&H Publishing. Retrieved from LSCHE.

Olsen, S. (2004). Marketing academic support services. Research and Teaching in Developmental Education, 21(1), 91-92. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42802573

Sizemore, M. (2018). Building an intentional marketing plan for learning centers. In L. Sanders, D. Reedy, & M. Frizell (Eds.), Learning centers in the 21st century: A modern guide for learning assistance professionals in higher education (pp. 117-123). Iona Press.

Turrentine, P. (2019. Everything you ever wanted to know about learning centers (and then some…). H&H Publishing. [See Chapter 9, Publicity and Public Relations.]

Marketing/Publicity/Public Relations Ideas (Not an exhaustive list!)
bulletin board with world map with photos/bios of tutors and staff of a learning center with pins placd on the map where each person was born.
photo of college mascot

  • Marketing Plan with subplans that focus on different stakeholders: students, parents, faculty, staff, administration…
  • Center identity/branding
    • name
    • logo
    • motto
  • Center brochures, flyers
  • Center newsletter
  • Posters on campus bulletin boards
  • Bulletin board in the learning center with photos/bios of each tutor and staff member (the one shown above also had pins placed on the world map where tutors were born)
  • Promotional items for students: bookmarks, pencils
  • Staff and tutor shirts, buttons
  • Staff and tutor badges
  • Student contests (with cash prizes, gift cards—Starbucks, Amazon…)
  • Email campaigns to target audiences—students taking and faculty teaching specific classes, academic advisers, personal counselors, etc.
  • Campus/student newspaper
  • Campus TV/radio stations
  • Campus closed-circuit TV
  • Dormitory marketing/tutoring
  • Social Media—Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, …
  • YouTube videos describing the LC and services, customer testimonials, e.g., Auburn University Office of Academic Support Aubie Goes to Study Partners

  • Website—see more than 1500 website examples in LSCHE
  • Advisory BoardStudent, faculty, adjunct faculty orientations (example Clemson University Academic Success Center Orientation: Information for New Students and Families)
  • Club days table to promote the center
  • Activities with college mascot
  • Sponsor contests
  • Participate in campus events
  • Obtain awards, achieve certifications and send jubilant press releases
  • Center open house
  • International Tutor Appreciation Week
  • Food!!!
  • Exam Jam (e.g., Mt. San Antonio College Exam Jam a Tutoring Party for Finals Week)
  • Faculty development days, Department meetings
  • Tours, class visits, open houses
  • Present at club meetings
  • Visit international student orientation
  • Standard entry on syllabus for all courses
  • Surveys
  • Take people to coffee, lunch
  • Regular meetings with administrators, faculty, staff
  • Participate on campus and college committees, initiatives
  • Status reports, annual reports, statistics
  • Award ceremonies; tutor pinning (for tutors achieving certification)
    • Invite the president, provost, deans, department chairs, etc
    • Ask one of these invitees to speak
    • See the International Tutor Appreciation Week section under the Celebrate! tab on this page

Mentoring

"The literature on peer mentoring in higher education is unequivocally positive about peer mentoring (p. 3)."

For an excellent review of peer mentoring, see the report by Smith, Sturtevant, Kartchner, and Bullough (2021) of Utah Valley University Fulton Library Executive Research Service. The report summarizes the benefits of peer mentoring programs for both mentees and mentors, describes peer mentor programs at higher education institutions in Utah and comparable institutions elsewhere, and contains an extensive annotated bibliography for peer mentoring.

Conferences on Mentoring

The University of New Mexico Mentoring Institute hosts a conference on mentoring each fall. Peter Collier named this conference "one of the premier venues for networking with peer mentoring practitioners." Check the LSCHE calendar for the next conference.

Sample of Mentoring Programs/Materials

Brigham Young University - Idaho Peer Mentor Handbook

California State University - Northridge Mentor Connect

Jamestown Community College Peer Mentors

Kennesaw State University Odyssey Peer Mentoring Program

University of Louisville Graduate Program Peer Mentoring Handbook

Books on Mentoring

Agee, K., & Hodges, R. (Eds.). (2012). Handbook for training peer tutors and mentors. Cengage Learning. https://crla.net/page/tutorhandbook

Collier, P. J. (2015). Developing effective student peer mentoring programs:
A practitioner's guide to program design, delivery, evaluation and training. Stylus Publishing. https://styluspub.presswarehouse.com/browse/book/9781620360767/Developing-Effective-Student-Peer-Mentoring-Programs

Newton, F. B. (2010). Students helping students: A guide for peer educators on college campuses (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass. https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Students+Helping+Students%3A+A+Guide+for+Peer+Educators+on+College+Campuses%2C+2nd+Edition-p-9780470630907

Smith, T., Rabbitte, C., & Robinson, S. (2009). Curricular peer mentoring: A hand book for undergraduate peer mentors serving and learning in courses. Trafford. https://www.trafford.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/187464-Curricular-Peer-Mentoring

Articles on Mentoring

Entire issue devoted to peer mentoring.

Collier, P. J. (Ed.). (2017). Peer mentoring: A tool for serving the diverse needs of 21st century college students [Special issue]. Metropolitan Universities Journal, 28(3). https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/muj/issue/view/1250/348

Asgari, S., & Carter, F. (2016). Peer mentors can improve academic performance. Teaching of Psychology, 43(2), 131-135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628316636288

Beltman, S., & Schaeben, M. (2012). Institution-wide peer mentoring: Benefits for mentors. The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.5204/intjfyhe.v3i2.124

Collings, R., Swanson, V., & Watkins, R. (2014). The impact of peer mentoring on levels of student wellbeing, integration and retention: A controlled comparative evaluation of residential students in UK higher education. Higher Education, 68(6), 927-942. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9752-y

Colvin, J.W., & Ashman M. (2010), Roles, risks, and benefits of peer mentoring relationships in higher education, Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 18(2), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611261003678879

Fernandez, F., Mason, S., Saetermoe, C. L., & Chavira, G. (2022). Evaluating mentorship programs: Survey items for improving student affairs practice. Journal of College Student Development, 63(2), 223-228. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2022.0017

Hessenauer, S. L., & Law, K. L. (2017). Mentoring: A natural role for learning community faculty. Learning Communities Research and Practice, 5(2), Article 3. https://airtable.com/appXYu1qwxpyPwqH6/shr3X2smhjK8XjfMN/tblTC2OhqfZt567Po/viweM5LtuOfhQOQ8N/recVTBeyI94IRs756/fldSRfESKfQ8pms3w/attApLTpllrcEUjMm

Hill, G. J., & Risolo, P. L. (2018). An analysis of learning outcomes in a freshman seminar learning
community that utilizes peer mentoring at a community college. Learning Communities Research and Practice, 6(2), Article 2.
https://airtable.com/appXYu1qwxpyPwqH6/shrGDVFSGmgmD1Qzt/tblTC2OhqfZt567Po/viwhK9w5DLQNLwI7e/recHMECoXn3UMqTjF/fldSRfESKfQ8pms3w/attOXA8f6ywYgyrv8

Jernigan, R. W., Lobaina, O., Berkenkemper, D., & Hudson, M. (2021). SOS for struggling college students: Improving retention through a mentoring-based comprehensive academic success program. Journal of Access, Retention, and Inclusion in Higher Education, 4, 17-31. https://www.wcupa.edu/universityCollege/asp/journalsManuscripts.aspx

Milne, L., Keating, S., & Gabb, R. (2007). Student peer mentoring at Victoria University. Postcompulsory Education Centre, Victoria University. https://www.academia.edu/22209125/Student_Peer_Mentoring_at_Victoria_University

Minor, F. D. (2007). Building effective peer mentor programs. In B. L. Smith & L. B. Williams (Eds.), Learning communities and student affairs: Partnering for powerful learning (pp. 57-69). The Evergreen State College, Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education. https://sites.evergreen.edu/nsilc2016/wp-content/uploads/sites/153/2016/07/Minor-Effective-Peer-Mentors.pdf

Seery, C., Andres, A., Moore-Cherry, N., & O’Sullivan, S. (2021). Students as partners in peer mentoring: Expectations, experiences and emotions. Innovative Higher Education, 46(6), 663-681. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-021-09556-8

Sharp, L. A. (2021). First-year experience peer mentor program. The Learning Assistance Review, 26(1), 15-51. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/26_1.PDF

Smith, A., Sturtevant, K., Kartchner, M., & Bullough, E. (2021). Peer mentor impact on student success. UVU Fulton Library Executive Research Service. https://www.uvu.edu/library/docs/peer_mentor_impact_on_student_success.pdf

Summerskill, G., & Jones, C. (2013). Case managers and the freshman academy learning community: The results of involving a variety of campus personnel in first-year student mentoring. Learning Communities Research and Practice, 1(1), Article 3. https://airtable.com/appXYu1qwxpyPwqH6/shrqC2qwuTiRtRhB8/tblTC2OhqfZt567Po/viw2cFjBWIf2dkl5r/recfv4mukbSbr9GRL/fldSRfESKfQ8pms3w/attz58p4MYf5eTJlk

Terrion, J. L., & Leonard, D. (2007). A taxonomy of the characteristics of student peer mentors in higher education: Findings from a literature review. Mentoring & Tutoring 15(2), 149–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611260601086311

Thies, L. (2023). Best practice in peer mentoring programs: Reflecting on the role of student writing mentors. ATLAANZ Journal, 6, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.26473/atlaanz.2023/009

Sample of Mission Statements

The following list of 20+ sample mission statements come from institutions’ webpages noted in the annual LSC Website Excellence Awards by NCLCA/LSCHE. Visit the Annual NCLCA/LSCHE Awards for LSC Website Excellence. Additional mission statements were added from LRNASST postings.

AZ – Paradise Valley Community College: Learning Success Center
Mission: The Learning Success Center provides academic support and learning strategies through services, resources, and collaborations with faculty that allow students and the community to achieve their academic goals. [Feb. 2020]

AZ – University of Arizona: The Think Tank
Mission: THINK TANK is dedicated to empowering University of Arizona students by providing a positive environment where they can master the skills needed to become successful lifelong learners. [Feb. 2020]

CA – California State University – Long Beach: The Learning Center
Mission: The Learning Center (LC) at California State University, Long Beach provides our diverse student population with the tools needed for academic success. Empowering students to cultivate the skills, strategies, and behaviors of confident, independent, and lifelong learners, the LC contributes to the university’s focus on student-driven learning, and increased retention and graduation rates.. [Feb. 2020]

DE – Wilmington University: Student Success Center
Mission: The Student Success Center is committed to all Wilmington University students’ academic success by providing personalized tutoring, mentoring, writing and learning resources, as well as multiple workshops and seminars. In partnership with other University offices, the Student Success Center offers a broad set of programs and services, empowering students to achieve academic excellence. [Feb. 2020]

FL – University of Central Florida: Student Academic Resource Center
The Student Academic Resource Center mission is to strengthen comprehensive learning, enhance retention and promote student success by providing academic support services to UCF students. This is accomplished through campus outreach, tutoring, supplemental instruction, learning assistance, and first-year transition programs. [Feb. 2020]

IL – The University of Illinois at Springfield: The Learning Hub
Mission: The Learning Hub provides a friendly, welcoming environment for all UIS students to work toward succeeding in their academic coursework. All students are assured courteous, diplomatic, and confidential assistance. Our staff is pledged to nurture and respect students academically using tried and true approaches to teaching and learning. [Feb. 2020]

MA - Harvard University - Academic Resource Center
The Academic Resource Center (ARC) at Harvard University exists to support the academic mission of Harvard College and the GSAS by ensuring every student has full access to the transformative power of a liberal arts and sciences education. The ARC is committed to empowering students to reach their full academic potential in an inclusive and equitable academic environment. Using evidence-based methods and drawing on recent research in learning assistance, the ARC supports Harvard’s students in developing reading strategies, time management skills, and metacognitive approaches to learning. Students will have access to consultations, workshops, academic coaching, peer tutoring, and skills-based resources. [Feb. 2020]

MI – Delta College: Teaching/Learning Center
Mission: The Teaching/Learning Center (T/LC) provides services to students and to faculty both inside and outside of the classroom to help students become successful independent learners. This support from professional staff, peer tutors, other students, or by way of T/LC services to faculty includes determination of needs; individual, group, and distance facilitation; and services needed to promote lifelong learning and the mission of Delta College. [Feb. 2015]

MN – Dunwoody College of Technology: Elftmann Student Success Center
Mission: Provide quality academic support and development for all students to foster academic success and achievement. [Oct. 2015]

MO – Missouri Southern State University: Student Success Center
Mission: The Student Success Center will assist students in becoming more independent, self-confident, and efficient learners. (Feb. 2020)

Vision: We strive to enhance the mission of Missouri Southern State University by further developing, expanding, and articulating the Center’s support services for students. We will foster the potential of each student by providing College Academic Skills, Disability Services, tutoring, and the Tutor Training course. Additionally, the Student Success Center endeavors to increase the visibility of its services through greater participation by students and the campus community as a whole. [Feb. 2020]

NE – University of Nebraska at Kearney: Learning Commons
Mission: The Learning Commons centralizes academic support services to foster student confidence and independence in a collaborative learning environment. [March 2015]

NC – University of North Carolina-Wilmington: University Learning Center
Mission: The University Learning Center is committed to being a vital part of UNCW students' education. Our academic support services are based on the principle that quality learning takes place when peers work collaboratively to develop knowledge and build skills. The University Learning Center provides students a learning environment and experience that differs from the classroom; we focus on high-quality individual, small-group and large-group student-centered and student-led learning.

Our services support students as they develop independent learning strategies, personal responsibility, intellectual maturity, transferable skills, and a respect for diverse learning experiences. Additionally, we provide our student tutors with a valuable pre-professional experience. [Feb. 2020]

NM – University of New Mexico: Center for Academic Program Support
Mission: The Center for Academic Program Support (CAPS), UNM’s learning assistance center, focuses on undergraduate learning by providing opportunities for academic conversations in which students engage CAPS peer tutors and UNM faculty in critical thinking throughout their educational careers. Tutoring interactions span a variety of formats and learning environments to meet individual student needs. CAPS helps both student users and CAPS student employees develop diverse strategies and skills to achieve their academic and professional goals. [Feb. 2015]

NY – NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering: Polytechnic Tutoring Center
Mission: The Polytechnic Tutoring Center (PTC) is committed to offering superior tutorial service in multiple first and second year subject areas by staying current with the best tutoring methodologies and technologies. We are dedicated to hiring and training well-qualified undergraduate peer tutors as well as professional writing consultants. The Polytechnic Tutoring Center maintains a caring, supportive, and encouraging academic support service to the School of Engineering community. We measure ourselves by how all the School of Engineering students are prepared to excel. The Polytechnic Tutoring Center continues to engage in partnerships across the Institute to develop other tutoring strategies, including but not limited to group tutoring, mid-term and final reviews, study skills workshops, and workshops on various aspects of effective written and oral communication. [March 2015]

OH – University of Cincinnati: AESS – Learning Assistance Center
Mission: The Learning Assistance Center helps University of Cincinnati students become engaged and empowered learners. Our undergraduate and graduate student staff are hired through a competitive selection process. [Oct. 2014]

OK – University of Oklahoma, College of Engineering: Student Services Learning Center
Mission: The Dean’s Leadership Council (DLC) – Division of Tutoring will establish connections with students academically leading to a strong sense of achievement within the College of Engineering through student-to-student interaction. [Feb. 2015]

SC – Clemson University: Academic Success Center
Mission: Provide proactive, intentional, and innovative services that equip students with the tools, knowledge, and mindset needed to enhance their learning. [Feb. 2020]

SC – College of Charleston: Center for Student Learning
Mission: The Center for Student Learning provides comprehensive academic support programs for College of Charleston students as they strive for excellence in learning, while promoting student leadership and development through peer education experiences. [Feb. 2020]

SC – The University of South Carolina: Student Success Center
Mission: The Student Success Center facilitates student learning and degree completion by providing a comprehensive array of programs, resources and services that advance academic goal-setting, skill development, personal transition to and within the university setting and effective decision making. [Feb. 2020]

TN – The university of Tennessee – Knoxville: The Student Success Center
Your success is our mission.
Our mission is to ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed by providing campus leadership and advocacy for student success at UT, identifying and implementing academic success programs that support progress toward graduation, and enriching the undergraduate student experience. [Feb. 2020]

TX – Stephen F. Austin State University: Academic Assistance and Resource Center (AARC)
Mission: The AARC transforms the way students learn through the personal attention of our staff who engage and empower SFA students via tutoring and mentoring services in an innovative and collaborative environment to intentionally improve retention, graduation and life-long learning. [Feb. 2020]

VA – Liberty University: Bruckner Learning Center
Mission: The primary purpose of the Bruckner Learning Center is to plan, develop and maintain University-wide academic support services for all students. [Feb. 2015]

WI – University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee: Panther Academic Support Services
Mission:The Student Success Center connects UW-Milwaukee students to peers, faculty, staff, and resources throughout our campus community to support the personal and academic success of each student. We provide students a variety of academic and support services to empower them to achieve and succeed.

The SSC fulfills this mission by providing Peer Mentoring, Supplemental Instruction, Tutoring, Success Coaching, Academic Skill Development, and Bridge Programs. [Feb. 2020]

Model Learning Support Centers

Links to some centers that can be considered as models for administrators who are looking to develop a new center or to modify an existing one. NCLCA’s Learning Centers of Excellence Certification and NCLCA’s Frank Christ Outstanding Learning Center Award both provide lists of learning centers that may serve as models for others. The latter is presented annually to one two-year college (community, technical, etc.) and one four-year college or university

NCLCA Learning Centers of Excellence – Certified Centers

NCLCA Frank Christ Outstanding Learning Center Award Winners

2021
William D. Law, Jr. Learning Commons, 4 year – Tallahassee Community College, Tallahassee, FL
Academic Resource Center, 2 year – Marietta College, Marietta, OH

2019
Learning Assistance and Resource Center, 4 year – West Chester University, West Chester, PA
Academic Support Services Centers, 2 year – Hudson County Community College, Hudson County, NJ

2018
Learning Centers, 4 year – Rutgers University of New Jersey, New Brunswick
Tutorial and Academic Success Center, 2 year – Pitt Community College, Winterville, NC

2017
Student Academic Resource Center, 4 year – University of Central Florida, Rebecca Piety, Director
Academic Success Center, 2 year – Bucks County Community College, Nicole Tracey, Director

2016
Academic Success Center, Kent State University, Stephanie Walker, Director

2015
Learning Commons, Davidson County Community College, Elizabeth Kremer, Director
UK Academic Enhancement, [now Transformative Learning] University of Kentucky, James Breslin, Dean of Student Success

2014
Henry and Edith Cerullo Learning Center, Bergen Community College, Khairia Fazal, Managing Director
Panther Academic Support Services, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Johanna Dvorak, Director<

2013
Center for Teaching and Learning, Florida Atlantic University, Jennifer Bebergal, Director of Student Retention
Office of Academic Services and Testing: Student Academic Success Center, Dutchess Community College, Jennifer Wrage, Director, and Lori Scolaro and Sally Weglinski, Assistant Directors

2012
Center for Academic Program Support, University of New Mexico, Michelle Steiner, Director
Learning Center, Lake Sumter State College, Marion Kane, Director

2011
The Academic Support Center, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, LTC Jane M. Warner, Director

2010
Learning Center, Ball State University, Jennifer Haley-Core Studies/SI, Jacqueline Harris-Study Strategies/Writing, and Gary Ritz-Math

2009
Bernard B. Rinella Jr. Learning Center, Miami University of Ohio, Linda Dixon, Director

2008
Student Learning Center, Texas A&M University, Karon Mathews, Director

2007
UT Learning Center, University of Texas at Austin, Alan Constant, Director
The Academic Support Center, Daytona Beach Community College (now part of Daytona State College), Robin Courtney, Director

2006
Academic Success Center, Clemson University, M. Elaine Richardson, Director

2005
Center for Academic Support and Advancement, Indiana University Purdue University Ft. Wayne, Rachelle Darabi, Director [Note: The two universities have since split into separate entities in Ft. Wayne]
Center for Academic Planning and Support, New Hampshire Community Technical College (now Great Bay Community College), Sarah Beddingfield, Director

2004
Center for Academic Success, Louisiana State University, Saundra McGuire, Director, and Melissa Brocato, Assistant Director

2003
The Student Academic Consulting Center, Baruch College, CUNY, Carol Morgan, Director
Success Center, Southwestern Illinois College, Award accepted by Laurie Bingel and Lynne Cross

Online Tutoring

See the Online Tutoring tab on the Online Learning, Academic Support, & Teaching page for more information on online tutoring standards and practices and a list of vendors and other resources for online tutoring.

Online Tutoring Standards

CLADEA member organization ACTLA, the Association of Colleges for Tutoring & Learning Assistance, has developed standards and certification for online tutoring. Certification is endorsed by CLADEA. The standards and a white paper on certification are available at Principles, Standards, and Effective Practices for Quality Online Tutoring. The white paper includes references for further information on best practices for online tutoring programs, training for online tutors, and guidance for online students.

The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopted the position paper Effective Practices for Online Tutoring in the spring of 2019. [Also available on ERIC as ED601995.]

Online Tutoring Implementation & Training Guide for Learning Centers

The Online Tutoring Implementation and Training Guide (ITG) (available to download for free at MERITHub) was created by learning centers for learning centers as a guide for starting a successful online tutoring program with your own tutors. Seventeen universities and colleges contributed to the development of the ITG. The ITG project was led by Melissa Thomas (at the time, Partner Success Specialist for Tutor Matching Service and GoBoard) and previous Learning Center Director for the College of Charleston and CRLA president.

Peer Assisted Learning (SI, PLTL, SLA, ALG, …)

A majority of learning centers provide some form of peer assisted learning as a key program of the center.

David Arendale: Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) is a broad term for approaches employing a student to facilitate or lead study groups for historically-difficult courses.

Annotated Bibliography of Postsecondary Peer Cooperative Learning Groups (updated periodically by David Arendale)

The International Center for Supplemental Instruction: "Supplemental Instruction (SI), created at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, is a non-remedial approach to learning that supports students toward academic success by integrating 'what to learn' with 'how to learn.' SI consists of regularly scheduled, voluntary, out-of-class group study sessions driven by students’ needs. Sessions are facilitated by trained peer leaders who utilize collaborative activities to ensure peer-to-peer interaction in small groups. SI is implemented in high-risk courses in consultation with academic staff and is supported and evaluated by a trained supervisor." The International Center for Supplemental Instruction also accredits SI programs.

Peer-led Team Learning International Society holds annual conferences, conducts training, and publishes the journal, Advances in Peer-Led Learning.

The Journal of Peer Learning publishes research articles about peer learning across a variety of contexts, predominantly higher education. The journal is published by the University of Wollongong in Australia.

Online Resources for SI Sessions

Supplemental Instruction, article by Gen Ramirez (from the Winter Institute Archive on LSCHE)

Congos, D. H. (2003). Health checklist for supplemental instruction programs. The Learning Assistance Review, 8(2), 29-45. Retrieved from https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/8_2_1.pdf

Wilson, W. L., & Arendale, D. R. (2011). Peer educators in learning assistance programs: Best practices for new programs. New Directions for Student Services, 2011(133), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.383

LSC (and related academic support) Position Descriptions and Staffing

Articles on staffing and personnel issues

Norton, J. (2002). Job stress among learning center managers. The Learning Assistance Review, 7(1), 22-36. Retrieved from https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/7_1.pdf

Dabashi, P. (2020, June 4). Rise of the absurdly demanding job ad: Enough with peculiar obscurantism and unreasonable expectations. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/Rise-of-the-Absurdly-Demanding/248926?utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en&utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_1266075&cid=pm&source=ams&sourceId=26673

Reichert, C., & Hunter, C. (2006). Tutor selection: A four-tier approach to success.. The Learning Assistance Review, 6(1), 27-36. Retrieved from https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/11_1.pdf

Position description format

One of the CAS standards for learning assistance programs (which includes learning centers) is that “all personnel have written position descriptions.”

This resource is building a compendium of generic position descriptions for learning center staff. Feel free to adapt these to your campus and the particular needs of your center. If you have a position to add, please send it to Alan Craig at the Webmaster link at the bottom of the page.

Job ads or position descriptions often have a specific format established by the human resources department of the institution. Specific “boiler plate” items such as an EEO statement are often added to a job ad by the HR department after an ad has been submitted to HR or is already part of the job ad form. Listed here are the general sections of many job ads.

Position Descriptions

Position Descriptions In Progress

  • Assistant Director
  • SI Coordinator
  • Math Lab Coordinator
  • Writing Lab Coordinator
  • Professional Tutor
  • Academic Coach
  • Learning Specialist
  • SI Leader

Program Justification

Sometimes proposals to develop or to maintain learning assistance programs and services are questioned by administrators or faculty. Some of the most frequent questions are: Do students need such programs? Do such programs work? Are programs cost-effective? Do they help to retain students? Are learning skills important for academic success? Why should we develop a learning assistance support program?

Another question that is asked is what do the standards and guidelines of the regional higher education accrediting organizations say about learning centers, tutoring, and student academic support. Listed here we have excerpts and links for each regional accreditor.

References

The following references and excerpts are only a beginning in documenting the value of learning support center programs and services and may be useful in addressing these administrative and faculty concerns. Although some of them are early studies, they can serve as models of studies to be attempted by learning support personnel.

See also the Evaluation tab on this page.

As you find more recent publications, email the citations to acraig5@gsu.edu for inclusion in this list.

Arco-Tirado, J., Fernández-Martín, F., & Fernández-Balboa, J.-M. (2011). The impact of a peer-tutoring program on quality standards in higher education. Higher Education, 62(6), 773-788. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-011-9419-x
This randomized controlled trial study at the University of Granada used purposeful sampling and multiple methodological designs. Positive results were obtained for the treatment group for GPA, success rate, and learning strategies. Tutors also improved their own social skills and learning strategies.

Arco-Tirado, J. L., Fernández-Martín, F. D., & Hervás-Torres, M. (2019). Evidence-based peer-tutoring program to improve students’ performance at the university. Studies in Higher Education, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1597038
Students were randomly selected for an experimental and a control group. Results showed statistical significance for peer tutoring for the experimental group. "a hypothetical member of the experimental group has 69%–79% chances of reaching a higher score than any hypothetical member of the control group" (p.v9).

Beal, P. E., & Noel, L. (1980). What works in student retention: The report of a joint project of the American College Testing Program and the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED197635

Bender, D.S. (2001). Effects of study skills programs on the academic behaviors of college students. Journal of College Reading and Learning. 31(2): 209-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2001.10850116

Bettinger, E. P., & Long, B. T. (2005, May). Addressing the needs of under-prepared students in higher education: Does college remediation work? (Working Paper 11325). National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/papers/w11325.pdf

Boysen, G. A., & McGuire, S. (2005). Assessment of a study skills course using academic performance and self-efficacy. The Learning Assistance Review, 10(2), 5-16. Retrieved from https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/10_2_1.pdf

Cohen, P. A., Kulik, J. A., & Kulik, C-L. C.. (1982). Educational outcomes of tutoring: A meta-analysis of findings. American Educational Research Journal, 19(2), 237-248. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312019002237

Colver, M., & Fry, T. (2016). Evidence to support peer tutoring programs at the undergraduate level. Journal of College Reading & Learning, 46(1), 16-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2015.1075446
"Results revealed a significant estimated treatment effect, lending support to a causal relationship between tutoring and final course outcomes. Tutoring was especially beneficial for first-generation college students" (p.16).

Cooper, E. (2010). Tutoring center effectiveness: The effect of drop-in tutoring. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 40(2), 21-34. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=EJ887303
"Students who visited the [tutoring center] more than 10 times per quarter had approximately 10% higher rates of persistence and approximately 0.2 points higher average GPA’s than students who infrequently visited or who do not visit the [tutoring center] during their first year of college" (p. 21).

Devlin, M. (1996) Why the provision of 1-1 language and learning support is cost-effective for universities. In K. Chanock, V. Burley, & S. Davies (Eds.), What do we learn from teaching one-to-one that informs our work with larger numbers? Proceedings of the conference held at La Trobe University, November 18-19, 1996 (pp. 82-90). Language and Academic Skills Units, La Trobe University. Retrieved from https://www.aall.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Conference-What-we-learn-from-teaching-1to1-1996_opt.pdf

Entwisle, G., & Entwisle, D. R. (1960). Study-skills course in medical schools? Journal of Medical Education, 35(9), 843-848. Retrieved from https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/Citation/1960/09000/Study_Skills_Courses_in_Medical_Schools_.6.aspx
"Evaluations of college study-skill courses indicate that improvement in overall grade averages following the courses is of the order of half-letter grade, and these improvements are usually maintained on follow-up" (p. 847).

Epstein, J. (2007, June 18). Teaching success: At Florida's community colleges, research finds that study-skills courses improve retention. Inside Higher Ed https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/06/18/teaching-success

ERIC (Educational Research Information Clearinghouse). A list of 160+ articles relevant to study skills and college success.

Gabriel-Millette, C. (2016). The effects of tutoring on academic performance (Research brief). Retrieved from https://www.valleycollege.edu/about-sbvc/offices/office-research-planning/reports/tutoring-performance-measures-final-revisions-review.pdf
"Students who utilize Success Center services have higher success and retention rates than students enrolled in the same courses who do not" (p. 4).

Gallard, A. J., Albritton, F., & Morgan, M. W. (2010). A comprehensive cost/benefit model: Developmental student success impact. Journal of Developmental Education, 34(1), 10-12,14,16,18,25. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42775934
"The authors present the cost/benefit of the tutoring intervention, demonstrating a surprisingly large return on the investment both to the college and society" (p. 10).

Hardt, D., Nagler, M., & Rincke, J. (2023). Tutoring in (online) higher education: Experimental evidence. Economics of Education Review, 92, 102350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2022.102350
"conducted an RCT offering remote peer tutoring in micro- and macroeconomics at a German university teaching online due to the Covid-pandemic. …The treatment improved study behavior and increased contact to other students. Tutored students achieved around 30% more credits and a one grade level better GPA across treated subjects. Our findings suggest that the program reduced outcome inequality."

Hart, D., & Keller, M. J. (1980). Self-reported reasons for poor academic performance of first-term freshmen. Journal of College Student Personnel, 21(6), 529-534. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=EJ236189
The freshmen (301 students) in this study placed the greatest responsibility for their low grades on their own lack of motivation, improper study habits, and inattention to school work. A majority indicated that their failure to schedule time easily, to develop adequate study habits, to keep up with course work, and to learn how to study well were major or moderate reasons for their lack of academic accomplishments.

Hawkins, S., Fogg, N., Wilson, C., & Browne, J. (2022). Establishing a tutoring and academic support center: Collaborating with nurse educator students. Journal of Professional Nursing, 39, 19–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2021.12.014

Hendriksen, S. I., Yang, L., Love, B., & Hall, M. C. (2005). Assessing academic support: The effects of tutoring on student learning outcomes. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 35(2), 56-65. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ689654

Hodges, R.B., Sellers, D.E., & Dochen, C.W. (2001). Implementing a learning framework course. In J. L. Higbee & P. L. Dwinell (Eds.) NADE Monograph: 2001 a developmental Odyssey, (pp 3-13). National Association for Developmental Education.

Hodgkinson, H.L. (1985). All one system: Demographics of education, kindergarten through graduate school (ED261101). Institute For Educational Leadership. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED261101
“Many drop-outs and flunk-outs are bright enough to do good college work, but have never learned how to study effectively, nor how to take tests and do good written work” (p. 17).
“The range and diversity of higher education in the U.S. is a source of constant amazement—entering freshmen at some institutions know more than graduating seniors from others” (p. 15).

Hodgkinson, H. L. (1999). All one system: A second look. Perspectives in public policy: Connecting higher education and the public schools (ED440592). Institute for Educational Leadership. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=ED440592
Linkages between K-12 education and higher education are stronger than ever … but not close enough to overcome critical gaps in student achievement, according to a new report, All One System: A Second Look, by Harold L. Hodgkinson, director of IEL’s Center for Demographic Policy. Hodgkinson published a landmark report in 1985, All One System, which presented the argument that the nation’s graduate schools were dependent in part on the quality of its kindergartens and that there was a single system of education underlying all educational segments from kindergarten through college.

Johnson, D. E. (1989). Learning skills instruction improves student retention and academic performance. Journal of Reading, 33(3), 226-227. ProQuest.
“Clearly, student retention is related to academic success. If learning skills programs [such as described in this article] … … could be implemented more widely, there would be a significant reduction of attrition rates.”

Karabenick, S.A., & Sharma, R. (1994). Seeking academic assistance as a strategic learning resource. In P. R. Pintrich, D. R. Brown, & C. E. Weinstein (Eds.), Student motivation, cognition, and learning: Essays in honor of Wilbert J. McKeachie (pp. 189-212). Erlbaum.

Kostecki, J., & Bers, T. (2008). The effect of tutoring on student success. The Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 16(1), 6-12. Ingenta Connect. [Also available from Montezuma Publishing at https://www.montezumapublishing.com/jarcc/aboutjarcc]
"Empirical evidence points to a clear relationship between tutoring and student success" (p. 12).
"Students who obtained tutoring have term GPAs .38 points higher than students who do not receive tutoring after controlling for the effects of race/ethnicity, gender, and course placements" (p.11).
"a student who obtained tutoring was 1.8 times as likely to successfully complete a course after controlling for the effects of race/ethnicity, gender, or course placements" (p.11).
"A student who obtained tutoring was 2.3 times as likely to persist to the spring semester after controlling for the effects of race/ethnicity or course placements" (p.11).

Kulik, C.C., Kulik, J. A., & Schwalb, B. J. (1983). College programs for high-risk and Disadvantaged students: A meta-analysis of findings. Review of Educational Research, 53(3), 397-414.
Sixty evaluation studies were analyzed and showed that special college programs for high-risk students have had positive effects on students. High-risk students in these programs stayed in college longer than control students and received better grades in regular college work.

Lake, D. A. (1999). Peer tutoring improves student performance in an advanced physiology course. Advances in Physiology Education, 276(6), S86-S92. https://doi.org/10.1152/advances.1999.276.6.S86

Landrum, R. E., & Chastain, G. (1998). Demonstrating tutoring effectiveness within a one-semester course. Journal of College Student Development, 39(5), 502-506. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5681703a9cadb6554dbf0c78/t/56f69ad11bbee0efeffc3fa6/1459002073264/Demonstrating+tutoring+effectiveness+within+a+one-semester+course+%28Landrum+%26+Chastain%2C+1998%29.pdf

Leight, M. (2000, December). Converge, 3(12), 11.
”Preparing students today for tomorrow’s workforce has a lot to do with teaching about how to use and evaluate knowledge. The Internet is rapidly becoming the biggest repository of information we have ever known. The key will be in our ability to find, evaluate and use the information it provides. We need to teach analytical and organizational skills. Students must know how tom evaluate data. Gone are then days when students spent their time memorizing facts that were readily available at their fingertips. Students need to learn communication and study skills. We must give them the type of tools that prepare them for lifelong learning, so they know how to study and how to evaluate the importance of what they learn.”

Levitz, Noel. Retention Excellence Awards to Institutions.
The Lee Noel and Randi Levitz Retention Excellence Awards program was established in 1989 to honor the retention achievements of postsecondary institutions throughout the United States and Canada.

Linton, C., & Wentworth, S. (2007). Generating reports to show the effectiveness of tutoring. The Learning Center Exchange. Retrieved from http://www.learningassistance.com/2007/september/effectivenessoftutoring.html

Mallett, S. D., Kirschenbaum, D. S., & Humphrey, L. L. (1983). Description and subjective evaluation of an objectively successful improvement program. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 61(6), 341-345. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2164-4918.1983.tb00038.x

Maxwell, M. (1990). Does tutoring help? A look at the literature. Review of Research in Developmental Education, 7(4), 1-5.

Moltz, D. (2008, October 8). Helping community college students beat the odds. Inside Higher Education, Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/10/08/helping-community-college-students-beat-odds

Munley, V. G., Garvey. E., & McConnell, M. J. (2010). The Effectiveness of peer tutoring on student achievement at the university level. American Economic Review, 100(2), 277–282. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.2.277
Using a Tobit model, this study found "that peer tutoring does indeed produce a positive effect on student learning outcomes. For this effect to translate into an increase in a student’s letter grade in a particular course, though, the results suggest that it is necessary to engage in the activity for…something akin to an hour per week" (p. 281-282).

“National Profile” (1987, January 14). Chronicle of Higher Education, 39.
In a national profile of 204,000 students entering college in fall 1986, 40.3% noted as a very important reason in deciding to go to college that they wanted to improve their reading and study skills.

Perin, D. (2004). Remediation beyond developmental education: The use of learning assistance centers to increase academic preparedness in community colleges. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 28(7), 559-582. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668920490467224

Petrie, T. A., & Buntrock. C. (1996). A longitudinal investigation of a semester-long study skills course. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada.
681 academically “at risk” students who took a semester-long study skills course earned higher first and second semester GPA’s and first, second, and third semester cumulative GPA’s than comparable probationary students who had not taken the course. In addition, students who passed the course, remained in school at a higher rate than those who did not take the course. This paper and others are discussed in an article (Simmons (2006) also listed in this section.

Petrie, T. A., & Helmcamp, A. (1998). Evaluation of an academic skills course. Journal of College Student Development, 39(1), 112-116.

Phipps, R. (1998, December). College remediation: What it is, what it costs, what’s at stake (Report). Institute for Higher Education Policy. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=ED429525
This report justifies the need for remediation in higher education. It can provide useful information for discussions with administrators when questions arise about justifying program existence.

Pitcher, R. W., & Blaushild, B. (1970). Why college students fail. Funk & Wagnalls.

Purdie, N., & Hattie, J. (1999). The relationship between study skills and learning outcomes: A meta analysis. Australian Journal of Education, 43(1), 72-86. https://doi.org/10.1177/000494419904300106

Racchini, A. N., Boylan, H. R., & Sanchez, R. M. (2020). The effectiveness of tutoring in higher education: A review of the literature. Research in Developmental Education, 28(1), 1-4.
Reviews studies on the impact of tutoring over several decades from the 1930s through the 2010s.

Reinheimer, D., & McKenzie, K. (2011). The impact of tutoring on the academic success of undeclared students. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 41(2), 22-36. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ926360
"This research utilized a non-experimental, causal-comparative methodology with data analyzed through t-tests, chi-square procedures,logistic regression, and survival analysis. Findings from the study indicate that tutoring had a significant impact on retention, but not on GPA or on time to select a major" (p. 22).

Sanders, V. (1980). College reading studies: Do they make a difference? In G. Enright (Ed.), Proceedings of the thirteenth annual conference of the Western College Reading Association (pp. 24-29). https://doi.org/10.1080/24699365.1980.11669729 [Also available to CRLA members directly from the CRLA website.]
"For the 6,140 students who participated in college reading-study pro- grams or served as controls, significant composite gains in rate, com- prehension, vocabulary and Grade Point Average benefits were found. The "average student" receiving college reading-study instruction was "better off' than 83% of untreated students."
"Unexpected but significant benefits in Grade Point Average gains were found, with participating students achieving a .37 G.P.A. advantage over non-participants at the end of instruction. Subsequent long-term G.P.A. advantage, while an interesting aspect, was not examined by this study. Thus college reading-study instruction did make a difference in student’s reading rate, comprehension, GPA, and in other cumulative benefits”

Simmons, M. (2006). Effective study skills for post-secondary education. College Quarterly, 9(2). Retrieved from http://collegequarterly.ca/2006-vol09-num02-spring/simmons.html

Slavin, R. (2006). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (8th Edition). Pearson Education Inc.

Smallwood, K.B. (1980). What do adult women college students really need? Journal of College Student Personnel, 21(1) 65-73.
In this study of 392 adult women students, time management and efficient studying were rated #1 and #3 of seventeen concerns to which they responded on a questionnaire.,

Topping, K. J. (1996). The effectiveness of peer tutoring in further and higher education: A typology and review of the literature. Higher Education, 32(3), 321-345. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138870

Tuckman, B. W. (2003).The effect of learning and motivation strategies training on college students’ achievement. Journal of College Student Development, 44(4), 430-437. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2003.0034

Walvoord, M. E., & Pleitz, J. D. (2016). Applying matched sampling to evaluate a university tutoring program for first- year students. The Learning Assistance Review, 21(1), 99-113. Retrieved from https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/21_1.pdf

Wark, D.(1975). Raising student outcomes by means of learning skills. In D. Allen et al. (Eds.), Reform, renewal, reward, Proceedings of International Conference on Improving University Teaching. Amherst, 139.
“Buried in the corpus of educational literature one will find evidence that on the average, at least half a letter grade’s worth of improvement in content learning follows from instruction in study skills.”

Weeks, A.A. (1987). CSS one-hour content-correlated courses [Abstract from ERIC]. Duchess Community College. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=ED283543
Students who took the one hour non-credit study skills course received significantly better grades than students who were recommended for but did not take the course. A follow-up study indicated that these students stayed in college longer.

Weinstein, C. E. , Dierking, D., Husman, J., Roska, L., & Powdrell, L. (1998). The impact of a course in strategic learning on the long-term retention of college students. In J. L. Higbee & P.L. Dwinnel (Eds.), Developmental education: Preparing successful college students (pp. 85-96). National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Student in Transition. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED423794

Wurtz, K. A. (2015). Impact of learning assistance center utilization on success. Journal of Developmental Education, 38(3), 2-10. JSTOR.
Using sequential logistic regression, this study found that "students who utilized a learning assistance center were three times as likely to be successful in their course and almost twice as likely to persist to the subsequent term" (p. 2).

Xu, Y., Hartman, S., Uribe, G., & Mencke, R. (2001). The effects of peer tutoring on undergraduate students final examination scores in mathematics. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 32(1), 22-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2001.10850123

Zeidenberg, M., Jenkins, D., & Calcagno, J. C. (2007). Do student success courses actually help community college students succeed? (CCRC Brief No. 36). ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED499357

LSC Programs and Services

Martha Maxwell, What Are the Functions of a College Learning Assistance Center?
In this report, Maxwell listed and described 14 functions of a learning center:

  • academic evaluation and diagnostic testing
  • instruction in study skills and learning strategies
  • peer tutoring and/or professional tutoring
  • supplemental instruction (SI), or course-related, systematic, and highly structured group tutoring
  • computer assisted instruction and access to other educational technology
  • providing credit and non-credit developmental courses
  • providing faculty services, such as research opportunities, assistance in developing SI programs, cooperative learning demonstrations, and classroom support materials

  • publicizing LAC programs through newsletters and class and faculty visits
  • keeping college administrators informed about LAC programs and services
  • providing staff training and development activities
  • referral services to other programs and services on campus
  • maintaining close relations with offices that provide personal, financial, educational, and career counseling and providing training for peer counselors;
  • integrating with advising departments and faculty advisors
  • providing program evaluation, including planning, involving students and staff, developing a database, and designing follow-ups

Craig, A., Richardson, E., & Harris, J. (2018). Learning center advisory boards: Results of an online exploratory survey. The Learning Assistance Review, 23(2), 87-114. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/23_2.pdf,

Though focused on advisory boards for learning centers, this article included a survey of programs and services of 230 learning centers. Nearly all (227 of 230) provided tutoring services. More than half provided academic skills workshops, peer cooperative learning programs, and academic coaching. The list below is in order of prevalence among learning centers.

  • Tutoring
  • Academic Skills Workshops
  • Peer Cooperative Learning Programs (SI, SLA, PLTL, ...)
  • Academic Coaching
  • Dedicated Computer Lab
  • Early Alert
  • Peer Mentoring
  • Academic Recovery
  • Student Athlete Support

  • First Year Seminar/Study Skills Course (credit bearing)
  • Disability Services
  • Placement/Assessment Testing
  • Academic Advising
  • Student Veteran Support
  • Grant-Funded Services (TRIO, etc)
  • Writing Center/Math Center (separate from tutoring)
  • Other services

"Other services" included English language learner conversation groups, developmental coursework, community tutoring, reading labs, loaning calculators and other materials, faculty support (e.g., teaching and learning centers), support for summer bridge programs, test proctoring,, and support for learning communities.


See also the Surveys of LSCs tab on this page.

Status Reporting

The status report is an excellent way to publicize the activities of the learning center and to ensure higher-level administrators are knowledgeable about the center.

Status reports can be done weekly, biweekly, or monthly depending on the nature and scope of the learning center. The learning center status report is submitted by the center director to that person's management and others on campus as desired.

The status report is especially useful for learning center directors who have staff distributed across a campus or multiple campuses. By copying the report to each other in addition to the director, the staff of the center learn what each area has accomplished and enables collaboration among the different units.

In addition, because expected accomplishments for the next period are listed in the report, the learning center director can match those items to the accomplishments on the next status report to see if activities and projects are on track.

A secondary benefit of the status report comes at performance review time. Accomplishments for each staff member and area are readily available for self-appraisals.

Details for status reporting are listed in the template below.

A key factor for useful status reports for busy administrators: The status report is no more than ONE page.


Status Report Template

Area of Responsibility
Name
Reporting Period Ending (usually weekly or monthly) xx/xx/xxxx

Issues or Concerns (FYI or Action)

  • Up to three items per section. May leave a section blank—no issues to report this week, for example.
  • For issues or concerns—if the person reporting status wants the manager to take action, this should be specifically noted.
  • Otherwise, it is assumed as FYI for the manager and that the individual will resolve the issue

Accomplishments/Progress
  • Accomplishments or progress on work activities/projects
  • These are project milestones, activity completions, or significant work activity chunks.
  • e.g., interviewed a tutor candidate, hired three tutors, completed testing the new software, processed x number of items/people, completed a report requested by the dean, developed a handout for the math lab, developed a new workshop, conducted a workshop, submitted a proposal for project x, etc.

Next Reporting Period
  • The things the person reporting status anticipates being able to accomplish by the end of the next reporting period.
  • Same type of items as in the section above.
  • These should show up on the accomplishments section in the next week’s report

Learning Support Center Surveys

These are references and links to surveys about learning centers. There is a continuing need for national and state-by-state statistics on learning support centers.

Craig, A., Richardson, E., & Harris, J. (2018). Learning center advisory boards: Results of an online exploratory survey. The Learning Assistance Review, 23(2), 87-114. (Contains information on center characteristics for the 230 survey participants) NCLCA. https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/23_2.pdf

Devirian, M. C. (1974). Survey of functions of learning programs in California’s two- and four-year public colleges and universities (ED114796). Seventh Annual Proceedings of the Western College Reading Association (pp. 63-69). ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=ED114796

Devirian, M. C., Enright, G., & Smith, G. D. (1975). A survey of learning program centers in U.S. institutions of higher education (ED112349). Proceedings of the Eighth Annual Conference of the Western College Reading Association (pp. 69-76), ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=ED112349

Sullivan, L.L. (1978). A guide to higher education learning centers in the United States and Canada. Entelek

Lissner, L. S. (1989). College learning assistance programs: The results of a national survey. Issues in College Learning Centers, 9(82-95).

Norman, C (2001). California colleges and universities learning assistance/tutorial statistical data report, fiscal year, 1997-1998. Chancellor’s Office, California Community Colleges, Educational Services and Economic Development Division.

Toms, M. (2016). National College Learning Center Association 2014 survey report (EJ1095710). The Learning Assistance Review, 21(1), 9-18. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1095710

Truschel, J., & Reedy, D. L. (2009). National survey–What Is a learning center in the 21st century? (EJ839147). The Learning Assistance Review, 14(1), 9-22. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=EJ839147

Names/Titles of Tutors

This list of 20 titles is based on posts to LRNASST-L to answer the question, “What else can one call a tutor?”

  • Academic Coach
  • Apprentice Tutors
  • Chemistry Learning Specialist
  • Educational Support Specialist
  • Expert Tutor
  • Instructional Counselor
  • Instructional Support Specialist
  • Instructional Systems Specialist
  • Learning Assistant
  • Learning Consultant
  • Mathematics Learning Specialist
  • Peer Academic Coach
  • Peer Educator
  • Peer Facilitator of Learning
  • Peer Tutor
  • Professional Academic Coach
  • Professional Tutor
  • Senior Tutor
  • Tutor Specialist
  • Walk-In Peer Assistance

Tutor/Staff Handbook

The learning center staff and/or tutor handbook is a resource that focuses staff and tutors on the work of the learning center, its vision, values, mission, goals, and strategies; policies and procedures; its approach to tutoring; and the desired student learning outcomes. The handbook guides staff and tutors in their interactions with students and faculty as well as staff of other areas of the institution.

Outline of Typical Topics in a Tutor/Staff Handbook

  • Introduction
  • Center Vision/Mission/Goals
  • Center Values
  • Tutoring
    • Definition
    • Benefits
      • Tutee
      • Tutor
    • Job Description
    • Responsibilities
  • FERPA
  • Ethics
  • Sexual Harassment
  • Desired student learning outcomes
  • Tutoring Fundamentals/Approach
  • Tutoring Tips
    • Tutor Do’s/Don’ts
    • Academic Integrity/Plagiarism
    • Difficult Situations
  • Center Policies
    • Including the institution’s applicable policies
  • Center Procedures
    • Especially, timesheet/payroll procedures
    • Use of technology for appointments or drop in tutoring (e.g., TutorTrac)
    • Dress Code/Hygiene
  • Tutor Training
  • Tutor Contract
  • Tutor Evaluation
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Other Campus Resources
  • Sample Forms

Samples:

Tutor Training

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

The Center for Universal Design in Education (Postsecondary): "The Center for Universal Design in Education (CUDE) develops and collects resources to help educators apply universal design (UD) in order to make all aspects of the educational experience welcoming to, usable by, and inclusive of everyone, including people with disabilities."

CAST: "Universal design for learning (UDL) is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn."


Awaiting additional content

Burgstahler, S. (2018). Equal access: Universal design of tutoring and learning centers. Retrieved from https://www.washington.edu/doit/equal-access-universal-design-tutoring-and-learning-centers

Kowalsky, R., & Fresko, B. (2002). Peer tutoring for college students with disabilities. Higher Education Research & Development, 21(3), 259-271. https://doi.org/10.1080/0729436022000020760

McKeown, C., & McKeown, J. (2019). Accessibility in online courses: Understanding the deaf learner. TechTrends, 63(5), 506-513. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-019-00385-3

Opitz, D. L., & Block, L. S. (2006). Universal learning support design: Maximizing learning beyond the classroom. The Learning Assistance Review, 11(2), 33-45. Retrieved from https://nclca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Publications/TLAR/Issues/11_2.pdf

Higbee, J. L., & Goff, E. (Eds.). (2008). Pedagogy and student services for institutional transformation: Implementing universal design in higher education (ED503835). Regents of the University of Minnesota, Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=ED503835

Kowalsky, R., & Fresko, B. (2002). Peer tutoring for college students with disabilities. Higher Education Research & Development, 21(3), 259-271. https://doi.org/10.1080/0729436022000020760

Lipka, O., Forkosh Baruch, A., & Meer, Y. (2019). Academic support model for post-secondary school students with learning disabilities: Student and instructor perceptions. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 23(2), 142-157. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1427151

Newman, L. A., Madaus, J. W., Lalor, A. R., & Javitz, H. S. (2018). Support receipt: Effect on postsecondary success of students with learning disabilities. Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 42(1), 6-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/2165143418811288

Seok, S., DaCosta, B., & Hodges, R. (2018). A systematic review of empirically based universal design for learning: Implementation and effectiveness of universal design in education for students with and without disabilities at the postsecondary level. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 6(5), 171-189. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2018.65014

Troiano, P. F., Liefeld, J. A., & Trachtenberg, J. V. (2010). Academic support and college success for postsecondary students with learning disabilities. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 40(2), 35-44. https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2010.10850329

Vogel, G., Fresko, B., & Wertheim, C. (2007). Peer tutoring for college students with learning disabilities: Perceptions of tutors and tutees. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40(6), 485-493. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194070400060101

Vendors/Products

To get a broad in-person view of current vendors and products that support learning center programs and services, visit the exhibits at one of the national conferences for CLADEA associations.

For vendors of specialized products such as articulated skeletons, disarticulated bone boxes, organic chemistry models, mathematical manipulatives, etc., check with the appropriate academic department to identify approved vendors.

Learning Center Management Vendors/Products

Online Tutoring Vendors
(More information about each of these in the Online Tutoring tab of the Online Learning page here on LSCHE)

Promotional Product Vendors

Learning Center Materials/Process/Books

  • H&H Publishing - Books for learning center staff, LASSI, LLO (Learning and Study Strategies Inventory For Learning Online)
  • Let Me Learn Inventory and process for teaching students how to learn
  • Woodburn Press - Booklets, pamphlets, rack cards, posters, and more. For example, some learning centers provide students a version of the booklet How to Get Good Grades in College printed with the college and learning center logo.

Online Tutoring/Communication Support Vendors

Listed are vendors/tools that have come into prominence in the learning center environment due to the mass exodus from in-person to online tutoring and support. Some of these have been used to support tutoring and/or communications among staff and tutors.

Training Vendors


See also the Thrive Online Series consolidated list of tools for The Productive Online and Offline Professor by Bonnie Stachowiak.

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