Free tutoring, computer lab access available

Rebecca Burgess

Free, high-quality, tutoring services are within reach of every Saddleback student. Tucked under the main floor of the library the Learning Assistance Program offers everything from syllabi decryption to in-depth study sessions on the theory of electricity.  

Simply enroll in Tutoring 300, a no-credit, no-cost course, to receive  an hour of one-on-one tutoring per subject, per week.  Enrollment also comes with unlimited, drop-in access to math and science tutoring.  Foreign language students enjoy the added benefit of conversational practice with group tutoring sessions.Adding the course during initial registration makes good sense.

“It’s really hard to play catch-up later,” said Patti Weekes, LAP director.

Another benefit is the Interdisciplinary Computer Center, which provides 42 IBM-compatible computers.  Never crowded and fully loaded with Auto Cad and human assistants, the ICC is a campus bargain. 

Tutors are often former LAP students.  Having experienced the satisfaction of academic success first hand, they are eager to share new skills with others.

“Tutoring reinforces their own learning,” Weekes said.

To become a tutor for the LAP, a student must earn a grade of B or better in the course they wish to tutor for and have the instructor verify competency of subject matter. 

They must also complete TU 100, a brief, two-unit, open entry, open exit course on coaching techniques.  Some students go on to earn paid positions working for LAP.

In an effort to reach out to the 10,000 on-line enrollees, LAP debuted an internet-based, writing assistance program last spring and hopes to expand the program to include on-line math tutoring in the near future.

For more information visit www.saddleback.edu/lap.

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