11 Tutoring Accomplishments Within the Last Year

Over the past year, we have accomplished amazing things together. We have:

1. Conducted approximately 5000 tutoring appointments (and it’s not even the end of the term yet!)
2. Participated in several tutor trainings with National Tutoring Association curricula
3. Participated in the first ever RCC tutor observation and evaluation process
4. Participated in a success coach training curriculum in line with the most up-to-date academic support services research
5. Welcomed 26 new tutors to our program
6. Participated in data driven tutor hiring proportional to our students’ needs
7. Started the first ever ACS peer tutoring/success coaching program at RCC
8. Set a high utilization goal (75% utilization) for ourselves–and then surpassed it, in many cases
9. Switched to our online tutor scheduling system (which allows for online tutoring appointments if students need them)
10. Collaborated with professors to give our students the best help possible
11. Helped our RCC students master their course material and pass their classes!

Most Successful Open Mic in RCC History!

Yesterday afternoon RCC tutoring hosted an Open Mic poetry and singing event in room 203. The event was hosted and emceed by Professor Ted Thomas, who graciously read some of his own poetry at the event. If you have not checked out Professor Thomas’ poetry collections, you absolutely should. They are available in many bookstores and online.

Over 50 students turned out for the event, making it the most successful Open Mic in RCC history. This was especially significant given the fact that we did not offer food at the event for the first time! Donuts were brought in at the last minute, but the Writing Center and Tutoring services did not officially sponsor the food. Students came simply because they were drawn to see our students showcase their talent–it was a wonderful event full of creativity and passion.

Many students read and recited their poetry, prose, and songs at the Open Mic, and it’s clear that RCC needs to continue the tradition of giving students an opportunity to share their creativity with the community. Good luck to all the poets and poetry lovers–and keep up the good work!

Halloween Trick or Treating

Last Friday all the offices on the 2nd floor of RCC, including tutoring services, transfer and advising services, and the library, all gave out candy to students and staff dressed in anything Halloween themed. While there weren’t many people on campus, it certainly brightened the days of a few students looking for Halloween treats!

Tutors Did a Great Job this Semester!

Dear Tutors,

You all did an excellent job this semester so far, and you should be very proud of your work. RCC wants to welcome all of you back next semester! Be sure to sign your contracts!

OPEN MIC EVENT NEXT WEDNESDAY!

Next Wednesday

12pm to 1:30pm

Room 203

BE THERE!

There are a lot of talented performers who are excited to participate. Feel free to participate, or just cheer them on!

Not enough interest in MFA field trip

Hello dear tutors,

I am sorry to report that there have not been enough responses to the field trip idea–we can’t do it. However, we can definitely have our usual end of semester festivities at RCC! Stay tuned for more info!

Trick or Treat with RCC tomorrow!

RCC Academic Support Services is hosting a trick or treating event along with the library and Transfer and Advising Services tomorrow! All students dressed in Halloween attire (either costume or orange/pumpkin related) will receive candy when they come to visit the offices and support areas on the 2nd floor of the academic building. Be sure to come get your treats!

Big Individual Improvements = Treats for Tutors!

Many people had big improvements in utilization numbers this week!

• Hazel gained more than 5 points.
• Though Kate has consistently done well in recent weeks, this week she gained more than 6 points.
• Waller improved more than 7 points.
• Sandra gained more than 10 points.
• Mohammad gained more than 14 points.
• Maha gained more than 15 points!
• Amani and Innocent both gained more than 16 points!

Way to go tutors! Be on the look out for treats–both for people reaching targets and people who saw big improvements!

End of Semester MFA field trip

So far, there have been five tutors who say they are interested in an end of semester field trip to the MFA. If I get 15 tutors who are interested in the field trip by next week, I will contact the MFA to set it up. If not, we will not qualify as a class, so we will not be able to go.

Solving the Mystery–Great ideas, everyone!

Hello dear tutors!

You gave me some wonderful feedback in response to our tutoring mystery last week. According to you, we have been seeing approximately the same number of tutoring appointments each week this semester (with the exception of the first two weeks, which are always a bit slow). We might have been rounding up the number of hours we were busy one week and rounding down the next, and Columbus day weekend might have had an impact on our weekly attendance.

Additionally, there were several excellent suggestions regarding increasing traffic in the tutoring centers, including:

• creating and distributing paper faculty referral forms to professors so they can send students to us with specific tasks to work on
• classroom visits at the beginning of the semester for all classes at RCC
• reaching out to all professors so that they bring their classes in to the tutoring centers at the beginning of each semester

These are excellent thoughts! I have spoken with our dean regarding the faculty referral forms, and she said that will have to wait until the Director of Academic Support Services is hired. We might be able to reach out to the Dean of Arts and Sciences at the end of this semester so that we can connect with professors at the beginning of next semester ASAP.