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Vol. 16
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No. 2
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March 2019
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Quest for Student Success: The Importance of Student Tutoring
Cornelia Wills Director of Student Success Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) has made improving student retention and graduation outcomes a top priority. In 2013, in response to low graduation and retention rates, the university adopted Quest for Student Success, a comprehensive, strategic initiative designed to improve these and other outcomes. With the end goal of degree completion in mind, we set out to remove barriers to student success. This process involved four main strategies: (a) advisor enhancements, (b) communication plans, (c) course redesign, and (d) tutoring. Advisor enhancements resulted in 40 additional advisors hired to reduce the student-to-advisor ratio; communication plans gave At Middle Tennessee State University, junior Jaylon Britt, left, tutors way to more innovative, datasophomore Raven Beverley at the Tutoring Spot in Walker Library. Photo courtesy of Middle Tennessee State University. informed practices; course redesign revamped general education courses with higher-than-average failure rates; and centralized tutoring provided students more learning support opportunities. This article outlines how changes to tutoring at MTSU have led to increased rates of persistence and retention, particularly for first-year and sophomore students.
How Tutoring Evolved Research suggests tutoring at colleges and universities is an essential resource for enhancing student academic performance and persistence (Arco-Tirado, FernándezMartin, & Fernández-Balboa, 2011). An initial review of tutoring services at MTSU found that tutoring was decentralized and occurred in only some departments. MTSU administrators discussed a centralized tutoring concept in 2012, spurred by research suggesting that such support is one of the best resources a college can offer students (Boylan, Bliss, & Bonham, 1997; Henry Ford Community College, April 2011). A pilot, serving 140 courses and housed in a dedicated space at the library, was launched in 2013. The space was positioned to be visible to students entering the facility. The pilot did not require a specific number of participants and was open to students in all class levels and majors. Courses for tutoring were selected across colleges and included many general education courses and others in which students tend to struggle (e.g., chemistry, math, physics, history, biology). MTSU did not track student usage or assessment in the pilot phase. No final push was necessary for full implementation, which began in Spring 2014, as tutoring was already a component of the Quest.
Return to Front Page Copyright © 2019 National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience® and Students in Transition, University of South Carolina
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