Finding a tutor on the Minneapolis campus was not a problem for University student Alycen Lundberg. But now with classes in St. Paul, she said, she doesn’t know where possible tutoring resources exist.
She’ll have a better idea starting Wednesday, when the science, math, and research and writing tutor center opens. The SMART Center will be in 43 Classroom Office Building.
The center is “intended to serve all St. Paul colleges,” Karl Lorenz, liaison to the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Honors Program, Diversity Student Programming, wrote in an e-mail.
When the center debuts, an open house will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will include cider and cookies.
Besides writing, math and science tutoring, a librarian will also be available for research and reference questions, said Bernadette Longo, the rhetoric department director of Writing-Intensive Outreach: Scientific & Technical Communication Program.
“I think it’s the only full-service tutoring center available at the University,” she said.
The center includes tutoring for algebra, calculus, chemistry, biology and various economics, Lorenz said.
Lundberg, a sophomore animal science major, said she liked the prospect of having the tutor center on the same campus as many of her classes.
She said she “would use it for sure,” if she knows exactly what it does and where it is.
Second-year student Kelli Michel has not sought help yet in any area, but the animal science student said she might in the future.
“I probably would use it,” she said. “I just haven’t needed it yet. I’m sure I will sometime.”
Ben Neeser, a graduate student, will be a writing tutor. He said he will be helping students in COAFES.
He said he will help students write stronger and better to help them when they need it.
“I have a great deal of tutoring experience in the past, but this program is unlike anything I have seen before,” Neeser said.
The rhetoric department, the Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence and the Magrath Library organized the center’s opening.