LEC will begin online tutoring for students

by Bailey Porter
Staff Writer

The University of La Verne's Learning Enhancement Center has implemented an online tutoring service that will allow students to communicate with LEC tutors online.

A pilot of this program was tested last fall through an English 110 class and three distance learning courses and has taken off this semester as an option for ULV students seeking help with papers and other course work.

Approximately 400 students used the LEC in person in the tutoring service last year, said Bailey Smith, director of Learning Enhancement Services.

Although online tutoring is just beginning, and the reception has been positive, the LEC is still looking for the best arena for the online service to bring attention to the students, she said.

During the trial semester, students seemed to appreciate the opportunity that the online tutoring provided, Smith said.

Students familiar with the LEC will find the online tutoring service to be similar in execution as the more traditional tutoring service.

First, a student must call the LEC and set up a two-hour block of time to meet with the tutor much like making an appointment for an in-person session.

The student then e-mails the essay to the LEC e-mail account by 8 a.m. on the day of the session.

For the first hour, the tutor spends time reading over the paper and inserting comments and changes into the paper, said Haley Stokes, sophomore English major and a LEC tutor.

The second hour can then be organized in two ways, Stokes said.

Students can take part in online chats with their tutors where discussion continues about the paper, and students can ask further questions.

Alternatively, students can decline the opportunity for chat time and ask that their papers just be sent back to them with the comments made by the tutors.

In this case, the comments attached to the essays must be more thorough because there is not the added interaction that the chat provides, Stokes said.

"It really works well for commuter students and CAPA students," Stokes said.

There have been difficulties surrounding the online chat sessions because they are new.

Currently, there is no consistent platform, because of conflicting accounts between the tutors and students and some students' unfamiliarity with the chat process, Smith said.

However there are plans to have a blackboard tutorial to solve this issue of consistency, she said.

Tutors like Stokes who have been trained for their positions receive some additional training regarding e-mail etiquette to be online tutors as well, Smith said.

"The real tutoring happens when two people sit at a table and talk, but online tutoring is a huge benefit and convenience for some students," Smith said.