For many college students, seeking academic support can be daunting. The Tutoring-Learning Center (TLC) at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point makes that task easier by offering its extensive resources through fellow students.
The TLC offers services in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), writing, academic coaching, tech essentials and more. A staff of more than 80 tutors provide peer-to-peer assistance through individual and small group collaboration. With offerings for course work and career-related support, students from a variety of disciplines give and receive help from the center.
According to Jennifer White, assistant director of the TLC, the subject area where the most people seek help is STEM. “Chemistry and biology tend to be really challenging for new students.” White said. It is home to a variety of support services for math and the sciences, the most popular being the STEM Drop-in Center located on the first floor of the Chemistry Biology Building (CBB).
Tutors provide peer-to-peer assistance through individual and small group collaboration.
Maisie Christison, an environmental science major and tutor at the STEM Drop-in Center, credits the TLC for allowing her to flourish academically.
“I see a lot of students nervously poke their head in the door the first time they visit. I notice that apprehension, but I am here to help and I enjoy it,” Christison said. “It is incredibly rewarding for me to tutor because when you help other people, you learn your own material better. The best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.”
While the TLC offers traditional tutoring and academic support services, White emphasizes the diversity of center offerings. In addition to tutoring in four service areas, the TLC offers a variety of programming options, including extracurricular foreign language tutoring, professional writing help and courses offered for academic credit at the university.
“This semester I will be teaching a class on critical thinking,” said White, “This will fulfill the university critical thinking requirement and teach academic study skills at the same time.” All courses offered by the TLC have the prefix PSL (post-secondary learning), and include instruction in time management, writing help, reading for humanities and more.
As the TLC looks ahead to the 2024-25 school year, expansion is on the horizon to help tailor support to students post-pandemic.
White has noticed two major shifts in the type of support that students are seeking. The first is general academic support. Academic coaching services at the TLC have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, with an expanded team of 25 academic success coaches preparing to support their peers this fall.
White (left) and Christison (right) enjoy the community aspect of the main TLC location in CCC 234.
“This means finding the root of the problems,” said White, “For some, it’s not having trouble understanding concepts, it’s trouble with staying organized, managing time or practicing effective study habits. Having somebody to sit down with and be accountable to in learning these habits is important.”
The second is tech essentials. When transitioning from high school to college, there is also a transition to using new learning technology such as Canvas and Microsoft Suite. “Offering help to students navigating new software is important because there can be a learning curve,” White said. This year, the TLC hopes to integrate tech essentials to their STEM Drop-in Center and help students adapt to new learning technology.
The TLC has multiple locations on the Stevens Point, Wausau and Marshfield campuses, with the Stevens Point campus hub located in the Collins Classroom Center (CCC) room 234. White and Christison both attest to the camaraderie amongst students who spend their free time in the center.
“If you just need a spot to study and you kind of like being around other people you can hang out,” White said. Christison notes that there are always fun conversations to be had in the CBB and CCC.
If you are a student looking for academic support, contact tlctutor@uwsp.edu or stop into the TLC in CCC 234. More information on center offerings and resources can be found at Tutoring-Learning Center.
