Support, guidance and a little bit of coffee. The Tutorial Services teamed up with the University Libraries on Wednesday, Oct. 2 in Michener Library for their annual Study Night.
Filling the main floor of the library, tutors and faculty members gathered for a four-hour study session from 4:00-8:00 p.m., free to all students. Tutors of multiple subjects were available to assist those in need of extra studying before midterms.
“We had done something similar to this for finals last year,” said Rachel Dineen, a teaching and learning librarian at Michener Library. She works with students and teaches them information literacy, study skills and research habits.
“We thought a good way to bring students into the library was to interact with tutors and have more of an event thing that might make some students feel a little more comfortable asking for that extra bit of help," she said.
Snacks and drinks, as well as a small prize raffle offered through SOAR and CHE, were given to students who attended Study Night. This included the Bears Coffee Shop, which usually closes at 3 p.m. every day of the week.
“We wanted there to be another incentive for students to come, especially since we’re gonna be here until 8:00 and you kinda need some fuel to stay up and do your studying,” Dineen said.
Study Night began to offer students a one-night chance to ask questions and get extra help right before midterms and finals. The night houses regular night tutors, as well as up to eight other tutors. It originated in the tutoring center itself, but eventually moved to the University Center pre-Covid. The idea of Study Night started to try and catch students, who had never gone to tutoring, and help in multiple class subjects.
Study Night usually falls onto an evening dedicated to night tutoring. Night tutoring is typically a three-hour open tutoring session, from 5:00-8:00 p.m., with tutors available for walk-ins. Night tutoring can sometimes be limited, as not all tutors for each subject are available. Study Night offers a way to fix that.
“I feel like a lot of people don’t know about night time tutoring,” said Sarah Lombardi, a nursing and biology tutor. “Study Night is a night where it’s really public that there’s night tutoring and it helps people realize that the Tutoring Center is a thing and also that they could come to night tutoring. There’s way more tutoring available for multiple subjects.”
Now, Study Night continues to be an opportunity for students to get extra help right before the big exams. Students can get help in multiple subjects that are not regularly offered during night tutoring. They can move from subject to subject without an appointment, with group sessions also welcomed.
The night is another way for students to get connected to their peers, as well as a way to get introduced to the Tutorial Services.
“We’re all in college for academic reasons,” said Caroline LaPrade, a level two peer tutor in American sign language. “I think it forms a community because you get to meet people who are majoring in the subject you might be struggling with. But to meet somebody who’s passionate about that subject, I feel like it changes your whole perspective about it.”
However, the Tutorial Services aren't as well-known as they want to be. The center aims to reach students who need assistance, but don’t know where to find it.
“I think it’s more of an access thing,” said Ariana Balderas, a junior and tutee in nursing. “When it comes to students, a lot in terms of academics, I think people don’t really understand that sometimes. Students work and we don’t have time to do this or that. So, having these open hours for us to come up and get more help, I think it really improves our grades.”
Balderas has experienced first-hand the effects tutoring has. She wants other students, who might be nervous or unsure about going, to understand the benefits tutoring offers.
If you missed the mid-term study night, a second Study Night will be offered at the end of the Fall semester, giving students another opportunity to study right before finals. For more information on what the Tutorial Services has to offer, visit their office on the lower level of Michener Library, L-149, or visit their website at https://www.unco.edu/tutoring/.
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