Eric Dunker Derrick Haynes Metropolitan State College of Denver

1. Small budget for Tutoring?No problem: How to dramatically grow and enhance your program without increasing your budget Eric Dunker Derrick Haynes Metropolitan State College of Denver

2. Introduction Metro State College of Denver Tutoring Program growth and success in past 2 years Opportunities and Challenges Strategies to grow without any increase in budget Strategies to sustain and improve service FIRMM Group activity: Assessment of academic support on your campus, how can you improve and grow using some strategies we talk about!

3. Operating Budget of Metro State Tutoring Center since 2004

4. Individual students served since 2004

5. Tutoring Sessions with students since 2005

6. Number of tutors employed since 2004

7. Retention Statistics

8. Evaluations7 point Likert Scale Overall, how satisfied were you with the entire tutorial experience? Any improvements you would like us to make? 6.63 How much of a positive impact did the tutorial session have on your understanding of the course material? 6.53 If you need tutoring help in the future, how likely are you to return to the Tutoring Center? 6.82 How likely would you be to recommend the Tutoring Center to other people? 6.74 How knowledgeable was your tutor? 6.75 Were you satisfied with the facilities used for tutoring? 6.49

9. Program Status inSeptember 2005 Small space (700 square feet) with few staff and maxed out budget The program needed to dramatically change, and aligned with mission of Metro State How can the Metro Tutoring Center maximize it’s potential?

10. Economics 101 21,000 student population Modified open admissions, over 50% need remedial classes at community college 62% Fall to Fall retention rate 17% graduation rate 12 tutors Problem! Supply vs. Demand? Is current demand based on requests received, or is demand untapped? Based almost entirely on other programs, staff, faculty and how they view the importance of your program.

11. New Intended Program Outcomes • Every student, faculty, and staff at Metro State will have knowledge about the Tutoring opportunities on campus by 2008. • The Tutoring Center will have the most diversified offering of classes and tutoring formats • The Tutoring Center will have the most qualified, highly trained, customer service oriented staff in student services. • The Tutoring Center will substantially contribute to the overall retention goals of the college. • Tracking, assessment

12. New Intended Learning Outcomes: • Learn how to become effective independent learners through strategies employed by tutors. • Learn effective study skills and organization habits that will contribute to the students’ success in academics. • Learn the importance of persistence and goal setting as it relates to academic success. • Students will become more self-aware in relation to their learning styles, personal study habits, and academic strengths and challenges. • Gain confidence and insight through positive feedback and attention from tutors. • Will be knowledgeable about programs and other services that can assist with academic success offered on campus through contact with the Tutoring Center.

13. Challenges Tutoring not integrated on campus, very few departments know it exists Culture of apathy and discontent Small budget: The Tutoring Center is the only general student population learning assistance program on campus No previous assessment No hard-drive or database Floppy disks

14. Challenges No tracking system, other than counting request sheets Underutilized web-site 12 student tutors, no other professional staff for population of 21,000 students No walk-in/group tutoring Set up like a small cohort tutoring system Almost starting from scratch!

15. Opportunities Growth, without compromising service or management IT system/database, tracking Implement certified training program Marketing, integrate tutoring across campus Supporting mission of Metro State by affording more opportunities for academic support for students

16. Opportunities Repair unhealthy or broken relationships on campus Working with each academic department to determine needs assessment Incorporate work-study and volunteer employees as tutors Assessment, evaluations, statistics If nothing else, can’t go anywhere but up!

17. Plan • Growth Strategies • Sustainability • Preparing current staff for successful change and a new vision

18. Growth Strategies Exclusive 1 on 1 tutoring is unrealistic expectation for population of 21,000 Implement group tutoring, group workshops, test reviews, study skills 12 tutors will not be able to serve population of students who need tutoring Increase in staff starting immediately Work-study office. When are forms due? When does money get kicked back from unearned money from previous semesters? Is work-study maxed out? State, Federal, No-need Sell concept of academic support across campus Funding in future. Career Services example

19. Sustainability and Improvement Training, certify through CRLA Obtained 3 year certification Build comprehensive web-site Hire IT student, focused help from IT department Comprehensive assessment system Tutees Tutors Obtain buy in from Academic Affairs Form advisory council with Dean’s office representation Web-site and information in professor syllabi by Spring 2006 Integrate Academic Support across campus Including other student services departments

20. Utilizing current staff, planning for success Give all existing staff responsibilities in addition to tutoring, collaboration with other departments exp) 10 hours of work per week = 8 tutoring, 2 hours supporting office needs Marketing, budget, IT, liaison to student organizations, liaison to different academic departments, ect. Support balance and wellness of staff Fiscal Accountability No more hourly tutors for non-high demand subjects. Must obtain work-study, volunteer, or reduce hours

21. Assessing your Programand Planning for Change

22. FIRMM • Assessment • Focus Points • Finance • Information Technology • Recruitment • Marketing • Management

23. FIRMM Assessment • Assess the institution to develop a plan for success • Examine the following: • External Factors • Strategic Plans (vision, mission, objectives) • Gaps that exist

24. FIRMM:Finance Utilizing student staff to compensate for lack of fulltime staff. Only spend money on high demand subjects where work-study or volunteer undergraduates are hard to find Continue lobbying the school for financing in order to take the next steps with the program. Diversified sources Volunteers! Most student organizations require community service

25. FIRMM:Information Technology Tracking database through Access Ad-Hoc Access to Banner or student database Success rates of students we are serving Are we serving a representative population compared to campus demographics Comprehensive web-site, user-friendly All forms on-line Electronic Schedule, seamless set-up process Query high failure rate courses, contact professors to increase our exposure

26. FIRMM:Tutor Recruitment Targeted e-mail to students who are above 30 credits, but below 91, A’s in courses, above 3.0 Over 2000 e-mails sent out with link to application stating they are pre-qualified to become tutors Highlighted benefits of the experience, pay rate, and emphasize work-study. Obtained over 220 applications in a year and a half! Work-study, volunteer, reduced hours for high demand subjects if hourly. Most qualify for work-study in some way Interviewed interested candidates, signed intent to hire forms for work-study office Diversity in staff. Grow with a plan. What does my staff look like (compared demographics to the population we serve)?

27. FIRMM:Marketing Each tutor must make 3 professor visits per semester Liaison positions Exp) Top physics tutor is your new liaison to the Physics dept. Needs assessment from academic departments, athletics, other departments through liaisons Branding On evaluation, ask how students found out about the Tutoring Program 75% through professors

28. FIRMM:Program Management • Autonomous employees and system • Fluid operation • Strong communication • Accountability/Performance Standards • Diversity in staff and stakeholders • Sound Training • Professional development

29. FIRMM:Management (cont.) • Visioning for future • Wellness and balance • Building solid relationships • Trust, openness • Collaborations

30. Take the FIRMM challenge

31. Questions to Consider • How does my institution view the academic support programs? • Are your academic support programs properly equipped to serve the general population? • What has your Director done to help improve the institution's outlook on the program? • Current funding sources? Am I diversified? • Is academic support integrated across campus?

32. Questions to Consider • Are we utilizing the volunteer commitments of student organizations? • Do we utilize our student staff to not only tutor, but to help support the overall operations of the office? • Do you have positive relationships with all pertinent stakeholders? • Do we have data to support our progress?

33. Current Projects Projected staff of 65 in Fall 2007 Created and manage SI program for Reece Learning Communities Funding for Program Assistant Tiered structure, lead tutors, ect. Awarded 2 new spaces, increased square footage by 300% Increased collaboration with other departments

34. Current Projects • Subject Specialists funded by Academic Affairs • Conversation hours for foreign language and ESL • Currently offer tutoring for all 1000/2000 level classes and most upper level classes

35. Questions?