The Tutoring and Academic Engagement Center at the University of Oregon offers an all-encompassing tutoring service to students. Students can attend tutoring sessions either in-person or via Zoom for subjects including writing, math, language and sciences. The tutoring center is located on the 4th floor of the Knight Library. According to the TAEC, the program has many options for students’ academic support.
UO departments — including the School of Journalism and Communication and the Math Library — offer more specific tutoring and help that is geared towards students’ majors, minors and concentrations. Groups like Yamada Language, CMAE Tutoring, SUPeR Chem and Braddock Tutoring also offer academic help.
Students can look on the Tutoring and Academic Engagement Center website to find sign-up information on tutoring for their specific academic communities.
The Tutoring and Academic Engagement Center
Kim Lilley is the tutor coordinator and office manager for the TAEC. Lilley works to provide students what they need when it comes to academic support. She also coordinates student and staff schedules to find the perfect time for students to use the tutoring center in Knight Library.
“In the tutoring program specifically there are 30-40 student tutors employed through the UO,” Lilley said. “Starting this year, the TAEC is requiring all of our tutors to complete CRLA training, which is a national tutor certification program.”
Grant Schoonover is the director of the TAEC. Schoonover said he supports the staff and operations of the TAEC.
“Our goal is to support undergraduate students, both broadly and individually,” Schoonover said. The TAEC offers both one-on-one student tutoring and small-group tutoring. According to Schoonover, one-on-one tutoring is geared more toward writing support and has more limited access to tutors than drop-in or group tutoring.
“Our focus is a little bit different from the other academic support on campus. We offer support to any undergraduate we can,” Schoonover said. “We try to provide tutoring in a format that allows students the sort of support they need.”
The tutoring offered at the TAEC is not restricted to major or academic departments, and the drop-in hours allow students to signal for a tutor as they encounter problems or need help with their homework. According to Schoonover, Drop in tutoring allows flexibility for students with busy schedules, where the small-group tutoring allows for scheduled and planned academic support.
“We have an academic success HUB in LLC North that has been turned into almost a miniature version of the tutoring center in Knight Library,” Schoonover said. The HUB has everything from math and writing help to facilitated meditation.
“At its simplest, the TAEC works to help students advance their learning and support their path to graduation,” Schoonover said. “We want students to meet their goals.”
Cody Baldwin, a senior studying advertising at UO, has used the university’s tutoring services for help with accounting and math classes. He specifically used Class Encore, another program offered through the TAEC.
Class Encore creates study groups for challenging courses. The program sets up small, structured study groups for select 200 level classes in accounting, biology, math, physics, chemistry and computer programming.
Groups meet once a week for 50 minutes during weeks two through 10 and are free and open to all students enrolled in the class.
“I felt Encore was a great way to help myself through hard terms,” Baldwin said.
According to the TAEC, “Groups are led by students who previously excelled in the class and maintain a high GPA. They attend the class, participate in weekly planning sessions and lead the study groups in reviewing course concepts and study strategies.”
“I’ve taken multiple Encore sessions, and I’ve had great leaders who are willing to help work through any questions or problems asked,” Baldwin said. “I recommend students who are afraid to ask for school help to sign up — you won’t regret it.”
SOJC Writing Center
The UO School of Journalism and Communication offers writing help to current students enrolled in SOJC classes. Mariah Botkin is a writing coach for Writing Central at the SOJC. “Writing Central is a coaching center that came into existence as a way to emphasize grammar and structure for students,” she said.
Botkin said Writing Central helps students hone their professional writing skills. “We are unique in what we provide and how we go about providing it,” she said.
Writing Central offers help on personal and professional writing, resumes and cover letters and classwork.
The Writing Central program offers two options for writing help. The first is a Zoom appointment made with a coach that can go up to 30 minutes in length. A zoom appointment is recommended by Writing Central for students who are in the beginning and drafting stages of their projects. The second option is drop-and-go coaching. Students can upload a paper that is complete and receive feedback within 48 hours.
“We’re not writing tutors, we’re writing coaches,” said Botkin. Writing Central coaches are not necessarily editors, but rather mentors who help students clarify their writing.
“We try not to focus just on grammar because there is so much more to writing than just that,” she said.
Math Library Homework Help
The Math Library Moursund Reading Room Homework Help Program, located in 218 Fenton Hall, offers students drop-homework help for lower division math classes. The program is primarily for tackling specific trouble areas within math rather than full term tutoring.
Kristin Buxton is both the Math Reference Librarian and co-coordinator of the Math Library Moursund Reading Room Homework Help Program.
“The homework help program in the math library started in 2011. After the space was remodeled, Annie Zeidman-Karpinski, who was math librarian at the time, worked with the math department to design a service to convince students to visit the math library,” Buxton said. “Usage has grown since then. This term we’re offering help both in person and on zoom.”
According to the UO Mathematics Library, students can access in-person help Monday through Thursday from 1-6 p.m. in 218 Fenton Hall. Students can register for online help via Zoom appointment on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and on Sundays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
