Tutoring center starts charging
Students will need to pay for tutoring if they turn to the Academic Skills Center this year.
The center offered free tutoring for many lower-division classes until this semester, when budget cuts forced university administrators to make reductions from various programs.
The center now charges $40 for five hours of small group tutoring, $60 for five hours of one-on-one tutoring and $200 for unlimited math or science walk-in tutoring for the semester.
The model is based on the fees charged at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’s tutoring center.
Center officials were told about the decision to cut about $75,000 from its budget in June, program director Rita Escher said. The money paid for student tutors’ wages.
Escher said the center needed to start charging if they wanted to keep offering the service to students.
“We’re trying to keep the focus on the students,” she said. “Nobody wants to cut any programs.”
Escher said the center aimed to keep the fees low and would provide free tutoring for students who received Federal
Pell Grants.
Kristina Cagney received tutoring from the center in the past because her professors encouraged students to use the center if they had problems. But she said she thinks new costs will likely deter students from using the program.
“I need tutoring, but that’s expensive,” said Cagney, a 20-year-old criminal justice major. “I’d rather find a friend who knows what they’re doing.”
Originally, officials had planned to start charging for tutoring in fall 2009 and then moved that date to January 2009 before deciding to start charging this semester as the budget cuts worsened, Escher said.
One positive outcome from charging for tutoring was that students could now receive one-on-one tutoring, which the center hadn’t offered before, Escher said.
Because tutors’ wages are paid for by the fees, there is no limit on how many tutors can be hired. Students can receive tutoring in upper-division courses if the center can find a tutor in that subject.
“It’s something we haven’t had the resources to do in the past,” Escher said.
Brooke Wilson, another student who has gone to the tutoring center in the past, said one-on-one tutoring could be helpful but she prefers group tutoring.
“It seems like the costs would add up quickly,” said Wilson, a 21-year-old dental hygiene major.
Costs
- $40 for five hours of small group tutoring (two to four students)
- $60 for five hours of one-on-one tutoring
- $200 for unlimited math or science walk-in tutoring throughout the semester. Students can receive a $50 discount if they buy the walk-in package by Friday.
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