Sitting in a lecture hall of 100 students and listening to a professor drone on about introductory chemistry is scary enough. Not passing that class is even scarier.
The Institute for Learning and Teaching (TILT) helps students that find themselves in such a situation. This semester alone, TILT tutors have participated in over 6,000 tutoring sessions with students. This is an increase from years previous.
“Every semester since the Arts and Sciences Tutoring Program has existed, we have seen an increase in numbers,” said Christie Yeadon, associate director of learning programs, “My guess would be that every semester more students are becoming aware of TILT.”
Not only are students aware of TILT and its resources, but they have found that it is an effective way to study for their tougher courses.
“I think there certainly has been a feeling of success, it feels like we are expanding and are having to hire more tutors to keep up with demand,” said Jeremy Redmond, a senior physics education major.
He has been a tutor at TILT for three semesters now and sees that the more students hear good feedback from their professors and fellow students, the more likely they are to ask for help.
With some tutoring, most students become more confident in their topic area and eventually stop coming back.
“Our goal is to create individual learners and integrate study skills,” Heather Landers, director of learning programs,  wrote in an email, “we love it if a student stops going because we see that as a success.”
According to a summary on TILT’s website, “tutoring program participants had a higher average grade in the courses for which they received tutoring compared to non-tutored program participants in most courses.”
It is common for those that come in at least three times during the semester to receive a passing grade in those tougher classes.
“81 percent of students that come to TILT three or more times receive an A, B or C,” wrote Landers.
Landers has overseen the program for three years. During that time, she has noticed a trend in the courses that students seem to be finding difficult.
“From 2008 to 2010, the harder classes have been CHEM 111, LIFE 102, MATH 118, and PSY 100,” Landers wrote, “these classes stay fairly consistent.”
Right now, TILT employs 34 tutors and 16 group study leaders. In a group study, students agree to meet during certain times of the week to work on homework problems and clarify concepts with their peers.
“A study group creates an opportunity for students to help students,” Redmond said. “Re-teaching something you just learned has a tremendous value.”
Students are offered the opportunity to work with study groups or to come in during drop-in hours to speak with a tutor. TILT is continuously working on offering more resources for those students that keep coming back.
“We are constantly changing and adding some classes, taking away others — it’s a process,” Yeadon said.