How the tutoring center can help improve your education

By Allison JudgeSpecial to the Chronicle In the basement of Memorial Hall lies Room 12, a room potentially helpful to all Hofstra students, but unknown to many. Indeed, when thirty randomly chosen students were asked if they knew about Hofstra’s Tutoring Center, 11 said “No.” “The biggest improvement we could make would be getting the word out there because not many people know it exists,” said Paras Patel. That doesn’t mean there aren’t students taking advantage of the Center. Just last month, over 700 students signed up for tutoring appointments. “The tutoring center offers private or group tutoring sessions as well as tutoring labs for chemistry, bio and computer science, just to name a few,” says employee Elena. “We also offer workshops twice a week during the semester on more general topics such as time and stress management and public speaking.” Paras said it’s simple for students to book a session at the tutoring center. First, log onto the Hofstra Portal. Then click the “My Apps” button, and find the app called “Tutor Trac,” and book a tutoring session in any subject. According to Paras, “tutoring is available seven days a week. A student can have three half-hour sessions in three subjects; that is a total of nine half-hour sessions.” If a student has a learning disability and requires extra tutoring, the student should register with Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) then the Tutoring Center can work with them. The Tutoring Center employs over one-hundred-fifty students who each have individual schedules, according to Paras. He adds that the tutors are flexible about scheduling and that he has never had a student complain about not being able to book a tutor at a convenient time. Though the Tutoring Center does offer tutoring for students during midterms week, services are not offered during finals because the tutors have to study as well. Both Paras and Elena said the Tutoring Center has improved over the years, particularly with the addition of the “Academic Success” program, which helps students with stress management and organization. It is designed to teach students skills they might not learn in the classroom, but are needed for “real life.” Sophomore Eddie Collins is thrilled with the help he gets from the tutoring center, “The tutoring center helps me get through school.” Collins says he gets all his homework done on time, and projects are done weeks in advance, thanks to his tutor Brian Walker. Walker has been tutoring at the center for almost a year. He tutors students in psychology, sociology, math and statistics, just to name a few. He says he tutors about five days a week, and has a group of three students he tutors on a weekly basis. Brian is pretty content with his job, but if he could change one thing it would be the scheduling system. Such as making sure students committed to their scheduled time because sometimes it can interrupt the tutors’ school schedule. “If you need help, don’t get it last minute or before it’s too late,” Walker advises students. Hofstra’s Tutoring Center is open to all Hofstra students, Monday through Friday 9 a.m.–9 p.m. and weekends 10 a.m.–7 p.m.