Department Spotlight | Academic Success Centers
As we begin the Fall semester and the student buzz stirs on campus again, the doors to the Amarillo Academic Success Centers burst open to offer support and encouragement to all students. The Amarillo College Academic Success Centers are comprised of eight total tutoring centers: Those housed on the Washington Street campus (Math, Science, English, and General), the West Campus Academic Success Center, the East Campus Academic Success Center, the Hereford Academic Success Center, and the Dumas Academic Success Center. While the Academic Success Centers share the same mission to offer the best academic support for all Amarillo College students, each center possesses its own purpose, services, and unique culture.
When thinking about what goes on inside a tutoring center, you might imagine stacks of textbooks, bookish tutors, and a mission solely focused on academics. While these stereotypes do ring true in some ways, like our dedication to providing resources to students, hiring incredible tutors, and helping students in their academic pursuits, they don’t paint a complete picture of all the services the academic success centers provide. While the Academic Success Centers share the same mission to offer the best academic support for all Amarillo College students, each center possesses its own purpose, services, and unique culture.
If you pass through the first floor of Durrett Hall, you are likely to hear the energetic bustle of the Math Academic Success Center. A couple of halls over, where you are more likely to hear the quiet hum of learning and fervent typing, is the English Academic Success Center, better known to students and tutors as Writer’s Corner. While these two tutoring centers couldn’t be more different in the subjects they tutor and atmosphere, they possess the same ability to nurture learners, academically and otherwise. "We are more than tutoring centers; we provide holistic support to our students that impacts retention and success," says Reem Whitherspoon, supervisor for the Math Academic Success Center. Holistic support includes offering a listening ear on hard days, encouragement when students need an extra pick-me-up, lots of laughter, necessary distractions, and coffee!
Across town, at Amarillo College’s West Campus, Angie Downs and her team of tutors prepare for a busy week of supporting students enrolled in AC’s Allied Health programs. Between online and in-person tutoring sessions, exam reviews, and assisting students in building essential skills needed to excel in their courses, Angie still looks for opportunities to collaborate with faculty and staff members. "Right now, I am enjoying working with the West Campus Tutor Center staff and the faculty of the Associate Degree Nursing Program to develop new and effective ways to help students succeed in the new Concept-Based Curriculum. This is a big change and has been challenging for all involved, but we have learned so much from each other, and we are even collaborating with the KU School of Nursing to provide the support that our students need for this rigorous program," said Angie.
Over 40 miles away, Amarillo College’s Hereford and Dumas campuses house their own success centers with the objective of offering in-person support for all students enrolled at satellite campuses. The distance between students and all other AC communities can make it difficult to maintain a sense of belonging within the institution; however, the Hereford Success Center is a place where students can partake in their own sense of community. Shanice Vega, Hereford’s Academic Success Center Supervisor, says, "We help provide a sense of belonging by giving students a safe space to study, ask questions, and be themselves."
While each academic success center may differ in the subject matter tutored and their own cultures of caring, one resounding truth underlines all they do: Success happens here. The Department of Institutional Research conducted an analysis in 2013 demonstrating the positive correlation between students and time spent tutoring. According to Dr. Frank Sobey, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, "A more recent analysis of the impact on retention reveals that first-time in college (FTIC) students who go to a tutoring center are statistically significantly more likely to be retained from fall to spring. For example, the fall-to-spring retention of FTIC 2021 students who received tutoring was 82.7%, as compared to 69.93% for FTIC 2021 students who did not receive tutoring." Data allows us to develop a deeper, more tangible understanding of the story of students, retention, success, and tutoring. However, those who spend significant time in any Academic Success Center understand firsthand the power of this community committed to the success of students. To bear witness to this magic, all you have to do is walk through the door of your nearest tutoring center and wait to be greeted by a team of friendly, supportive, and encouraging tutors, eagerly waiting to see what they can do for you.
Blog written by Micah Prock, Academic Success Center Supervisor
