On-campus tutoring could make the difference to your degree

It’s a Thursday afternoon at the end of term, and the Writing Centre on the 6th floor of the Henry F. Hall Building (Room H-662) is a buzzing hive of activity.

For Anne Rahman, an undergraduate in computer science, it’s all about the repeat customers. “The fact that they're coming back means you're helpful in some way.”

As a writing assistant, Rahman is one of 50 tutors at Student Learning Services, part of Student Services at Concordia. Before going “pro,” she often helped her friends and family members compose letters, emails and essays.

“I love it when you can see that you’ve made a difference,” Rahman says.

At 10 a.m. from Monday through Friday, the Writing Centre offers free support to all undergrad and grad students who’ve made an appointment. There are also drop-in hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and students can also set up appointments with writing tutors on the Loyola Campus.

In addition to writing assistance, Student Learning Services provides tutoring for 200-level math, science, economics, geography and business courses. The idea is to give students a leg up in required core courses or prerequisite courses, which are often the biggest hurdle standing between them and successful program completion.

“We try to target the areas that are most in demand,” says Juliet Dunphy, manager of Student Learning Services. “That's why we cover many basic math and science courses — when they're taking a prerequisite course, a lot of students find they don't necessarily have the background for it.”

Tutoring may also be available at the departmental level. Where this is the case, Student Learning Services strives to complement other support students are receiving.

Off-campus tutoring services also advertise at Concordia, and Dunphy suspects that many students may not realize that learning assistance is available for free through the university.

But she also cautions that tutors aren’t there to do all the heavy lifting: “We have really high ethics in terms of our tutoring.”