The University of Georgia offers a wide variety of academic resources for students. With finals season around the corner, students can begin to prepare by exploring these three resources.
Peer Tutors
UGA’s Division of Academic Enhancement offers free undergraduate tutoring services through Peering Learning and Teaching Others (PLaTO).
Peer tutors offer course tutoring along with test prep for exams such as the GRE, LSAT, MCAT, and more. Students can find a full list of over 300 courses available for tutoring on the DAE website.
Anna Lawrence, the peer education coordinator, said peer tutors are currently enrolled undergraduate students who have completed and excelled in the course they are tutoring in.
“These students have had to figure out how to study for these classes,” Lawrence said. “They know how to teach the skills and content for success in the class because they succeeded there.”
Students can schedule a tutoring session on the Penji app. The different tutoring session options include one-on-one appointments or a study pod with other students.
Following academic honesty guidelines, Lawrence said peer tutors can only work with students on ungraded assignments, previously graded tests, and practice problems.
Tip: Send materials ahead of time to help tutors prepare for the session.
Lawrence said there is a stigma around tutoring; however, students often come to a tutoring session just to maintain a high GPA.
“This isn’t your high school version of tutoring,” Lawrence said. “It’s digging deeper into the content than people can in 50–minute classes three times a week.”
Academic Coaches
Similar to how a coach might help an athlete run faster or lift heavier weights, an academic coach can help students with their academic goals such as working on time management or creating an effective study schedule.
Unlike an academic advisor, academic coaches focus on establishing behaviors and creating a strategy to help students complete their goals.
“We’re not going to sit there and tell you ‘No, you need to take biology next semester,’ but we are going to say ‘Okay if you are taking biology next semester, let’s talk about how you can be successful in that class and how that fits into the bigger picture,’” said Rachel Pharr, a certified UGA academic coach.
Academic coaching sessions are individualized to focus on each student’s needs. Pharr said students can benefit from meeting with a coach because they are someone who’s there to support them and be in their corner.
Tip: Feel open and comfortable with talking with the academic coach about any struggles or problems
“We spend a lot of time getting to know the students and asking ‘What are you wanting to get out of this experience?’ and look at their goals,” Pharr said.
Students can sign up for a meeting with an academic coach through SAGE. Before the appointment, students must complete an intake assessment to help them think of what they want to focus on in the session.
Writing Center
For students needing help on a midterm paper or a statement of purpose for graduate school, the writing center helps students navigate the writing process.
Writing consultants help students with their writing in one-on-one sessions, teams, or workshops.
Tip: Students should come prepared with an idea of what they want to spend their time on.
“Our role is really about trying to work with the writer,” said Rebecca Hallman Martini, director of the writing center. “Writers can come in and have their goals. (Consultants) work with them to help get their point across in their writing.”
The consultants are primarily graduate students, however, this is the center’s second year having undergraduate peer consultants.
Martini said one of the main benefits is the students can spend 45 minutes with a consultant and work on whatever they want. For example, students needing additional help editing their final draft of an English 1101 essay can visit the writing center to get feedback from a consultant.
“This is helpful since instructors rarely have time to give you 45 minutes of individualized feedback,” Martini explained.
Students can visit uga.myWConline.com to make an appointment at the writing center.
—Megan Fitzgerald, Public Relations Student Assistant for OVPI