By Jake Mauriello
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – The Camden County College Tutoring Center has moved from the basement of one building to the second floor of another building to merge with the college’s eLearning services.
Last October, the tutoring center exited the basement of the Taft Building and entered the second floor of the Wolverton Library. The tutoring center is available to provide extra academic assistance to CCC students to help them succeed in their classes.
Previously, the tutoring center provided only in-person tutoring sessions to assist with coursework. By joining eLearning, the tutoring center expanded to provide virtual tutoring to CCC students.
Students may receive an unlimited number of in-person tutoring services. They may receive five virtual tutoring sessions per course per semester. The virtual sessions, known as ThinkingStorm, are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Virtual tutoring appointments can be scheduled online through the Canvas learning management system. Drop-ins for in-person tutoring sessions are available during library hours.
The partnership between the in-person tutoring center and virtual tutoring provides more opportunities for students to succeed in their coursework.
Patrick Chadd, dean of eLearning and academic support services, said before the tutoring center moved to the Wolverton Library, it was difficult for students to have access to materials at the library during tutoring sessions. Students were not allowed to check out books and take them to the basement of the Taft Building.
Also, Chadd stated when the tutoring lab was in the basement of the Taft Building, it wasn’t visible and students were not aware of the services it provided. With the move to the library, “In the first two months at the Blackwood campus, foot traffic increased by 50%. At the Student Learning Center at the Camden Campus, the foot traffic was up even more.”
Chadd said partnering with ThinkingStorm provides an advantage. “We also have a company who we work with called ThinkingStorm that offers virtual tutoring. A lot of times, if we didn’t have a tutor for a subject, for example, they may have that tutor virtually.”
Marissa Wood-Roletter, tutoring coordinator in the eLearning and Academic Support Services Department, hires and trains tutors for the tutoring center. She said tutoring is for all students, not just struggling students.
“We would love students who maybe do have an obstacle to overcome. They come in and even students who maybe have a B+ and they really want that A,” Wood-Roletter stated.
Julian Piccola, a CCC student, spent time this semester in the tutoring center getting better at understanding his assignments. “Usually I come in for math and cover homework questions that I’m struggling on. They help me complete them in a way that is more understandable,” Piccola said.
Another CCC student Juana Gonzalez, stated, “It helped me retain the information right after class.”
More information about the tutoring center is here.
The tutoring schedules are here.
