Academic Support

Two tutors, who attend classes with students for several hours a week, are assigned to each learning community in the Opening Doors and Intensive ESL programs. Tutor participation in classes may include furthering discussion as "model students," supporting students' in-class writing/note-taking as "partners" or people with whom students share insights, offering observations to both teachers and students about students' troublespots in learning, or helping students and faculty make connections to the other courses in the link.

Learning communities in the Intensive ESL Program and those in Opening Doors which involve developmental English also include scheduled lab hours in the Reading and Writing Center. These sessions are facilitated by tutors who engage students in a variety of activities meant to strengthen their understanding of content material and make connections among their courses. Tutors follow a model where they assist students in the construction of meaning around important current topics of study.

Tutors plan an integral role in linking courses. They are often included in faculty team meetings where the entire team can determine the course of lab sessions and further define the tutors' roles.