Student Learning Center Awards First International Tutor Certificates
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2002
Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Maria Anguiano, Student Learning Center
530-898-6839
Student Learning Center Awards First International Tutor Certificates
The Student Learning Center (SLC) at California State University, Chico recently awarded 69 tutors certificates as part of the International Tutor Certification this spring 2002 semester. The center received certification from the College Learning and Reading Association (CRLA).
The center provides learning assistance and tutoring to approximately 1,200 students each semester. The program’s success depends on the selection, training, supervision and support of the student tutors and workshop leaders. The certification, which has three levels, establishes a standard of skills and training.
International certification means that the tutors receive recognition and positive reinforcement for their successful work from CRLA, an international organization. It helps them build a professional resume.
“The program attracts very academically qualified students, many of whom aspire to continue their careers in educational fields. The recognition of the program by the College Reading and Learning Association is beneficial to the tutors, and the tutees benefit greatly from the quality of training the tutors are receiving,” said Billie Jackson, associate director of Educational Support Programs and coordinator of the SLC.
After meeting the requirements for an initial institutional certification for one year, as CSU, Chico’s center has done, CRLA offers a three-year renewal certification and then a five-year re-certification. Certification means that a particular tutor-training program is qualified to issue CRLA certification to individual tutors at various levels.
The training is designed to increase tutors’ expertise and confidence in the dynamics required in tutoring. The trained tutors work in various programs including the Student Learning Center and Precollegiate Academic Development Program partners such as Upward Bound and Math Link.
The development team and course instructors for the International Tutor Certification program are Maria Elena Anguiano, coordinator of the tutorial program, and Barbara Rigby, coordinator of supplemental instruction. The consultants for the project are Billie Jackson, and Professors Lin-Yi Maslin and Thia Wolf.
The National Tutoring Association, the Commission XVI of the American College Personnel Association and the American Council of Developmental Education Associations have endorsed CRLA’s International Tutor Certification Program for Developmental Education .
The SLC, in existence since 1974, is part of Educational Support Programs. The center provides free tutoring by appointment, informational study skills workshops, supplemental instruction workshops and has an extensive library of selected print and nonprint materials. The SLC is the most comprehensive CSU learning assistance program open to all students, structured across the disciplines, and at no cost to students.
For more information about the SLC or the International Tutor Certification, contact either Billie Jackson or Maria Anguiano at 530-898-6839.
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