PSU consolidates its academic support services

Few departments at Portland State have more face-to-face contact with students than the Peer Tutoring and Learning Center, which schedules an average of 275 hours each week of one-on-one peer tutoring with students.

However, in order to better fulfill its role as a supplemental education facility, the Peer Tutoring Center has recently expanded to include the Academic Support Program, and has changed its name to the Learning Center.

“The combination of these two entities is the first step in the construction of a true Learning Center,” said Dan Fortmiller, associate vice provost for Academic Services. “Ultimately, we would like to establish a dedicated building to house the Learning Center, but that’s definitely something down the road”.

According to Fortmiller, the two entities were supposed to be combined early in fall term, but it wasn’t until Jan. 7 that the Learning Center became official. Former Academic Support Program Director Liane O’Banion was appointed as the center’s assistant director.

O’Banion was the head of the former Academic Support Program. In addition to O’Banion, a full-time office manager position has been created within the Learning Center in order to handle the clerical duties. The position has not yet been filled.

According to Learning Center Director Lisa Hatfield, this will be the extent of staffing changes made during the transition, and no student tutors will be replaced or let go.

“It seems logical to combine these two departments,” Hatfield said. “Having them in the same office really creates that sense of synergy.”

Though the offices focus on separate goals, Hatfield said that the inclusion of the Academic Support Program will afford the Learning Center more time to focus on research, data collection and the perfection of the tutoring program.

“Right now, we have an overwhelming amount of male tutors in the math department,” she said. “We’d like to figure out how to attract more female tutors for this field.”

While the former Peer Tutoring Center focused primarily on peer-to-peer instruction, the Academic Support Program mainly provides services to students that are at risk of academic failure. Students that have repeatedly remained on academic probation are required to work with the support program in order to remain in the university. The service also helps prevent students who are under-prepared, or continually struggling, from failing their classes.

The development of the Learning Center has also alleviated stress on the Undergraduate Advising and Support Center (UASC).

Each year, UASC hosts the Roads to Success program for incoming college freshmen. This three-credit course is offered prior to the start of fall term and provides valuable college skills and increases retention rates among students who struggled in high school.

Events like this, which are academic in nature, will now be handled by the Learning Center, allowing more time for UASC to spend advising undergraduate students.

In addition to diversifying tutor demographics, Hatfield hopes the newly renovated Learning Center will also be able to provide the best tutoring experience possible.

“We’re sending our tutors into classes that have high failure rates, like upper-level math and science courses,” Hatfield said. “We want tutors to understand how these classes are taught so they, in turn, know how to better help students.”

Last year, the Peer Tutoring Center received nearly 4,000 student contacts, involving at least 1,000 different students, many of whom were repeat visitors to the center. In the coming months, Hatfield hopes that the Learning Center will be able to accommodate more peer tutors to satisfy the growing need.

The Learning Center will also aid in the development of Chiron Studies curriculum. Formed in 1969, Chiron Studies allows post-baccalaureate and upper division students to propose and teach courses that interest them. The classes are generally university accredited, four-credit courses.

The Learning Center is located in 439 Smith Memorial Student Union. For more information, contact 503-725-4448.?