Center for Learning and Student Success: A Resource for All Students

Some students seek tutoring only after they have academic setbacks, but Alejandro Parra tapped the Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS) early in his Syracuse University career. A first-year student from Queens, New York, Parra was a little nervous when he first arrived at Syracuse in fall 2020.

First-year student Alejandro Parra

“I was worried about being academically challenged or overwhelmed,” Parra says. “I was taking chemistry and statistics and economics, which are known to be hard courses. I heard about CLASS and went to check it out.”

Wanting to start his college career on the right foot, he enrolled in group tutoring for all three courses. He says, “I had the best experience and, even in the group tutoring sessions, I found it very individualized. It was really helpful to meet with the tutor before the weekly lecture to get an overview of the material. Then, in lecture, I got more out of it and was able to ask better questions to be sure I really understood the material.”

CLASS isn’t just for group tutoring. The center also offers academic coaching that teaches first- and second-year students how to study effectively. Peer educators also provide support for maximizing online learning, where students can construct a plan for success in any online course, and in peer-to-peer mindfulness workshops focused on common issues that students experience in completing assignments or taking exams. To provide course-specific tutoring for a wide range of courses and majors, CLASS uses a scheduling and payment platform operated by Tutor Matching Service.

Khin Aung, a transfer student in Falk College, is learning in her third language and has found that CLASS tutors can help ensure that she understands the assignment and can check her reading comprehension on material that she has reviewed on her own. A native of Myanmar who immigrated to Syracuse from Thailand, Aung is a Higher Education Opportunity Program scholar majoring in social work.

Aung, a wife and mother of two middle-school sons, says, “I am the first in my family to go to college and I want to make my family proud.  When I first decided to go back to school I started with English as a Second Language at the Syracuse Educational Opportunity Center (SEOP). Then I studied for my GED.  After I passed the GED, I decided I could go to college, so I took some pre-college courses, also at SEOP.  Then I earned my associate’s degree at Onondaga Community College. Finally, I enrolled at Syracuse.”

Khin Aung, a transfer student in the Falk College.

Aung asks professors for permission to record some lectures, so she can go back over them to make sure she fully understands the material. “Then, if I don’t understand the writing prompt or assignment instructions, I can work with a tutor to get help or to make sure I understand the reading,” she says.

Noting that her social work professors really want her to succeed, Aung says, “I think students should ask for help every time they have a chance. I go to office hours, talk to the teaching assistant, talk to professors or get a tutor.” She describes herself as a shy person, even in her first language, but notes that everyone at CLASS and at Syracuse University is so willing to help that she no longer hesitates to ask questions if there’s something she doesn’t understand completely.

Parra agrees and says, “My advice to any new student at Syracuse University is to use all of the resources that are here. I participated in tutoring but I also went to my professors’ office hours—I actually wrote it down on my schedule.”

He wants new students to know that, while it may seem scary at the beginning, “all of the tutors at CLASS really want to help you, that’s why they are there. They know the material and can help you be sure you understand the key concepts. Also, going to CLASS taught me study strategies, like going through my notes and putting key equations and important topics on summary pages in my notebook, which helps me prepare for exams.”

CLASS is now recruiting peer tutors and academic coaches for Fall 2021.