Ohio University’s Academic Achievement Center has fully converted to online learning and seen increased activity during the Spring Semester.
The Academic Achievement Center, or AAC, offers tutoring and advising to students who need assistance to keep up in their classes. When OU went online due to the pandemic, the AAC shifted online as well.
Elizabeth Fallon, director of academic assistance at the AAC, believes this was a smooth process.
“It was a quick switchover, but it actually went really well. We trained our tutors how to use the Teams app and have meetings,” Fallon said. “For the most part, students didn't have any trouble adapting, and we actually made it through last spring really well … we had the summer to try to … figure out how best to do this and then we continued on in the fall.”
During the Fall Semester, over 1,300 students used one or more of the AAC’s services and the AAC had over 7,300 student visits, Fallon said. Those visits are counted by students attending a supplemental instruction or tutoring session. This Spring Semester, over 1,000 students have used the AAC’s services already, and Fallon said the AAC is on track for 10,000 visits.
The Allen Student Advising Center also saw an increase in activity during the Spring Semester. Antonique Flood, assistant director of the Allen Student Advising Center, recognizes this increase.
“Fall Semester, we were kind of like, ‘no one's using our drop-in hours; where are they?’” Flood said. “Spring Semester, we have seen an uptick in drop-in appointments, major exploration appointments, in general advising appointments across the board, so that means that students are finding us ... I think now our colleagues understand how to refer students to us as well.”
The Allen Student Advising Center conducted an assessment project last semester to hear about student experiences. Of the 15 students who responded, all of the students felt heard and supported during their appointments, Flood said.
OU has requested the AAC and the Allen Student Advising Center remain online for the time being. Both organizations have plans to be in-person again as soon as they are allowed. Despite this, the services will continue their online access for students as they’ve been able to provide services for students across campuses.
“I imagine that we fully intend to continue to provide online services as well … we've been able to provide tutoring for students on all campuses, so not just Athens (campus). We actually provide tutoring for students on regional campuses,” Fallon said. “Many of them had regional campus tutoring available to them, but it's not available now … so we actually hired some of those tutors to work for us.”
Tutoring has not been the same in the online environment. Caroline Gulla, a senior studying nursing, has been an supplemental instructor, or SI, for two years and a peer tutor for a year and a half.
“SI is all group work, and that was the best part of it: you would form these connections within the SI group with students, so now it's harder to do that,” Gulla said. “Peer tutoring is fine online. That has been an easy switch because you're still one-on-one with a student, and normally, they have the camera and their mic on the entire time, so it's just kind of like a conversation still.”
There are some benefits to online sessions. Gulla said she is able to meet with more students, and the schedule is much more flexible for her. Gulla believes a hybrid of in-person and online sessions would have the biggest benefit for students.
“There’s still appointments available if students would like to get a tutor,” Fallon said. “There's still time. Get an appointment before it's too late.”
