Here are our responses to your Frequently Asked Questions: 

What can the Learning Center do to help my students?

• Tutor them one-on-one, in small groups, or online
• Teach them effective study skills
• Provide tutors that model responsible scholarship and engagement
• Show them how to tailor their Learning Style to the course material
• Help eliminate the temptation to cheat or plagiarize on tests and assignments
• Conduct workshops in your class to help them tackle difficult concepts, skills, or assignments

What occurs during a tutoring session?

Tutoring sessions vary based on the subject matter and the needs of each individual student (or study group).  However, one trait that ALL of our tutoring sessions exhibit is student responsibility.  We're here to help students learn to complete their work on their own.  Like you, we're also more concerned with a student's overall growth than we are with the grade that they might earn on a particular assignment or test. 

As a result, we won't "proofread" a student's paper.  Instead, we'll provide feedback on the student's essay and use a few sample sentences in their draft to demonstrate methods for improving their writing skills.  Similarly, we won't go through each math problem with your students or "show them how" to complete their homework assignments; instead, we'll work with them on a few sample problems and hover nearby in case they get stuck.        

What can I expect if my students seek help through the Learning Center Online? 

The Learning Center Online is a Momentum site that allows students to upload math and science questions to discussion boards and receive answers from our trained tutors.  Most importantly, the site includes a dropbox where students can upload a paper that they've written and usually receive electronic feedback within 48 hours. 

The first thing you can expect when your students use the Learning Center Online is that they'll be an active participant in the learning process.  Math and science students must initiate clear discussions, while writing students must complete a survey indicating three types of feedback that they'd like to receive.  Next, you can also expect that there will always be a record of your students' interactions with us through the Learning Center Online.  For example, writing students receive an electronic copy of a marked-up draft and a page of written feedback that they can easily print out and turn in to you.  Finally, you can expect the same level of quality and commitment to student success that can be found in our physical Learning Centers.  The same trained tutors who greet your students at the doors of our physical Learning Centers also respond to them online; they're familiar with the Roane State population, along with your particular preferences and requirements so they'll certainly be able to help your students!          

How can I be sure that my students will receive reliable, accurate, high-quality assistance in the Learning Center?

The Learning Centers on each campus rely on the help of student tutors, who must have obtained at least a 3.5 GPA in their subject area and must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0.  We don't make exceptions to this criteria!  To assure that these high-achieving students will make good tutors, we consider all faculty recommendations and interview each candidate before inviting them to join our team.

At the Learning Center, we also try to provide a diverse learning environment.  In addition to student tutors, you'll find tutors who hold both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in their subject area, on our staff.  Offering tutors whose skill levels vary encourages collaborative learning and gives students a chance to work with other "experts" besides their instructors.  We're happy to say that we've also hired adjunct faculty members to tutor with us this year; their understanding of both the faculty and student perspectives at Roane State makes them a wonderful resource for your students!   

Rest assured, once a tutor has been hired he or she is required to attend 3 training sessions per semester.  Tutor training sessions discuss everything from adapting your tutoring approach to different learning styles, to knowing when a student really needs to speak with his or her instructor, to "best practices" for online tutoring.  We do everything we can to make sure that your students get the best possible assistance in the Learning Center!          

What kinds of workshops do you conduct (and how can I schedule one for my class)?

There are basically 3 situations in which you might want to request a workshop from us:

1. Your students are struggling with a particular concept and you'd like us to approach the information in a different way.
2. You've designed an assignment, but your students don't seem to possess the necessary skills to complete certain parts of it.
3. Your students are doing poorly on tests and exams because they lack appropriate study skills.    

Class workshops can take place in your classroom, in a computer lab, or in the Learning Center, depending on your preferences.  We'll want to meet with you ahead of time to discuss your particular needs and determine how long the workshop should last.  Most workshops last about 30 minutes, but we can plan to work with your students for up to 80 minutes if you'd like.  We will need you to attend the workshop so that you can answer questions (both from us and from your students) about your expectations for the assignment or project that they're working on. 

We try to make the workshops as interactive and practical as possible, so students benefit from them and enjoy our visit to your class.  So far this year we've conducted workshops where students: 

• Watched a YouTube video about a historical event and used its content to practice writing thesis statements;
• Played a Grammar Jeopardy game to help them recognize and correct their most common grammar mistakes;
• Acted out the role of a reporter as practice for a research project in a Massage Therapy course.

If you're interested in a class workshop, please contact Michael Hudson in Harriman at hudsonmj@roanestate.edu, Jessica Millis in Oak Ridge at millisjm@roanestate.edu, or Ann Berry in Cumberland at berrya@roanestate.edu. 

If my students need to make up a test due to an absence, can they take the test in the Learning Center? 

We do not allow students to take tests and quizzes in the Learning Center because we're not prepared to supervise these graded examinations.  Instead, we encourage you to visit and/or contact the Testing Center.

Do the Learning Center tutors also assist RSCC staff and/or members of the community? 

Though the Learning Center staff always places Roane State students first, we are willing to assist other community members with their academic pursuits as well.  Any non-student who would like to receive assistance is encouraged to contact the Specialist in charge of the campus where he or she would like to receive help, to determine the best days and times to visit. 

Please Note: any request for writing assistance will be treated as an educational experience.  In other words, we will not proofread your work, but will be glad to help you recognize and improve upon any weaknesses in your drafts.     

How can I contribute to the success of the Learning Center?

• Place information about our services on your syllabus.
• Request that we visit your classes to discuss our services with your students.
• Recommend students that you think would make great tutors.
• Volunteer to hold some of your office hours in the Learning Center.
• Bring your classes to the Learning Center for a tour.
• Request that we visit your class to conduct a workshop.
• Give us feedback on how we're doing!