Traditionally the statement “I need a tutor” has come with a negative stigma attached to it. Those students who need to work with a tutor are considered unmotivated or not smart enough to do the work required to get a good grade in the course. However, many PSU students are looking past that label and using the free peer tutoring services available through the PASS office.
Angela Ricciardi, the PASS office Tutor Coordinator since 2008, says that the tutoring service has risen quite a bit since she has been here. This semester, currently 315 students are being tutored compared to last spring in which 180 students used the service.
Many students who have walked by the PASS office on the bottom level of Lamson Library might have thought that only students who have a serious academic need are the only ones who the service is provided for. According to Ricciardi, the PASS office is a service that is good for everyone. This could be a big reason why more students are now taking advantage of it. Also, many professors are encouraging students to use this service by putting information about it on their class syllabus.
Students who have used a tutor in the past for a course that they might of had difficulty with are informing their friends to get a tutor as well. Some teachers even offer extra credit for visiting PASS and the Writing Center.
Once students have made an appointment and get set up with a tutor, it is then the tutee’s responsibility to coordinate meetings with their tutor. Tutors are designed to meet and help students the best they can with understanding the materials the student might have questions on, or may help them study for an upcoming exam.
With the higher demand for tutors, Ricciardi is trying to make more 3000/4000 level courses available for tutoring. “This is a big change to our program,” says Ricciardi. In the past, the PASS office has mostly offered general education courses and lower level courses. However, Ricciardi is currently trying to approach more students interested in tutoring an upper level course.
This semester, Junior Alicia Pepin used the PASS office for the first time, saying the reason she went was because she “wasn’t doing well in a class, and decided to get help.” Although she says she was “a little apprehensive at first for going to the PASS office to seek help,” she does say with a smile on her face, that she would, “recommend the service to more students.”
Because this semester is past the half-way mark, the PASS office is no longer accepting any more tutees. However, that shouldn’t discourage students to attend the “Drop-In Tutoring” help that is available. Students can still stop in and receive study skills help, and some specific courses also meet and have group study sessions each week.