​Academic Support Centers Practices, Student Responsibilities, and Policies

Practices

Academic Support Centers exists to support student learning and academic success. Saint Paul College professional fellows and peer tutors prioritize collaboration and partnership with students to help them reach their unique goals.

Our work is grounded in a strengths-based perspective: We acknowledge each student’s capacity to learn and help them build from their existing skills and experiences in both academic and non-academic contexts.

While we support students on specific assignments and projects, we focus on facilitating opportunities for students to learn broader disciplinary concepts, develop metacognitive strategies, and connect their learning to new contexts throughout their careers and personal lives.

What to expect

Tutoring is a conversation. During a session, you can expect the tutor to ask you questions about your needs and goals for the meeting.

Our professional fellows and peer tutors will:

• Discuss patterns of errors and methods for improving your work when studying independently
• Do their best to help you understand your assignment and key concepts​
  
• Offer study strategies to help you learn the material and complete your assignments on your own
• Read your work closely and suggest new ideas to consider
• Share appropriate resources, such as websites or handouts, that can help you continue to improve your skills.

Our professional fellows and peer tutors will NOT:

• Check your homework for correctness
• Do the work for you
• Help with online tests and quizzes
• Predict grades on assignments
• Proofread or edit your writing
• Replace your instructor—tutoring does not replace attending classes, reading assigned texts, seeking help from instructors, or studying on your own. Rather, tutoring is a supplement to all of these other actions that successful students do.

Student Responsibilities

Tutoring is a collaborative partnership between students and tutors. Therefore, students have some responsibilities to ensure an effective and supportive learning experience.

• Before you meet with a tutor, try the assignment on your own and do as much as you can. Review all the material your instructor has provided, and identify specific questions you want to ask the tutor.
• Meet with a tutor at least a day before an assignment is due—and earlier is better. This ensures enough time for learning and practicing the ideas discovered during a tutoring session.
• Arrive to in-person and online tutoring sessions prepared to meet with the tutor. Bring the assignment instructions, work you’ve done so far, and other relevant materials. If you have an online tutoring appointment, email the materials to the tutor before the session.
• Participate in your tutoring session. This can mean answering your tutor’s questions, asking questions if you’re not sure what your tutor is saying, sharing your own ideas, and practicing the new ideas your tutor shares.
• Work independently between sessions and make progress on your assignment before working again with a tutor.
• If you miss a class meeting, contact your instructor to receive any missed work and instruction. The tutors are here to answer specific questions you may have after you take part in instructors’ lessons and attempt assignments.
• During online tutoring sessions, try to avoid leaving the room or having conversations with other people. Online tutoring sessions are most productive when conducted from a quiet, private space free from distractions.
• Attend scheduled appointments, or communicate with the tutor if you’re no longer able to attend. Please cancel or reschedule at least 30 minutes before your scheduled appointment time. This opens the appointment to another student.

Policies

The following policies to all in-person and online Saint Paul College tutoring services:

• Tutoring services are reserved for Saint Paul College students.
• While we do our best to meet students’ needs, Academic Support Centers cannot guarantee tutoring to all students. Tutoring is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
• Each student is expected to follow the Saint Paul College Code of Student Conduct at all times. Do not smoke, drink alcohol, or use any illegal substance during tutoring sessions.
• In general, individual tutoring (online and in-person) is limited to a maximum of 60 minutes per student, per subject, per day, and 180 minutes (3 hours) per subject, per week. This is intended to support students’ independent learning. This limit does not apply to group study sessions a tutor may host; students are welcome to join those in addition to individual tutoring sessions. The department is committed to supporting access and students’ learning needs and, therefore, may make exceptions to tutoring amounts on a case-by-case basis.
• Student agency and integrity are important for student success. As such, Saint Paul College fellows and peer tutors cannot help with tests and quizzes.

In the Tutoring Center and Science Study Center

• Each student who visits the Tutoring Center (Room 3125) or the Science Study Center (Room 3220) must sign in to the department’s recordkeeping system, regardless of whether or not they want to work with a tutor. If a student wants to meet with a tutor, they must sign up at the front desk, as well.
• Food is not permitted in the Tutoring Center or the Science Study Center. Drinks with a cover are allowed.
• In order to maintain an environment conducive for learning and studying, phone calls are not allowed within either center. If you must take a call, please step outside the centers to do so.
• Please be mindful of others working around you. Keep volume of conversation at an appropriate level, and refrain from using vulgar or offensive language.
• If consulting multimedia resources (e.g., videos), headphones are required. Use headphones at a volume that is not disruptive to those around you.
• The department has a limited number of resources that students may use, such as books, headphones, and calculators. Resources must be used while in the center and returned prior to leaving.
• Avoid bringing children with you to the centers.
• Pets are not allowed in the centers. Service animals are welcome.
• The Tutoring Center and Science Study Center are community spaces for all. Study rooms and spaces cannot be reserved and are expected to be shared.

For online tutoring

• Only online tutoring requires an appointment. If you miss a scheduled appointment, it is considered a “no-show.” If you are more than 15 minutes late to an appointment, this may also be considered a “no-show” and the fellow or peer tutor may no longer be able to meet with you. After three no-shows, you will not be able to schedule a tutoring appointment for one week. We do our best to communicate with students about missed appointments.
• All online tutoring appointments are recorded. Saint Paul College will store each recording for 365 days; the video will only be accessed by Saint Paul College staff whose work requires access to the data (or others if required by law). When scheduling an online tutoring appointment, you will be asked to consent to this recording. You are not required to consent, but if you don’t, then you will not be able to participate in the online tutoring session.
• Saint Paul College fellows and peer tutors cannot facilitate online tutoring sessions with students who are operating a motor vehicle.