Dropping those tough fall classes is not the only option that students have in order to maintain a good grade point average.

The University Learning Centers (ULC), located in 220 Boucke Building, 7 Sparks Building and 206 Johnston Commons, offer free peer tutoring, ULC director Anne McLaren said. Help is offered in math, writing, foreign languages, public speaking, technology and study skills.

Students can also be tutored in a specific course, such as Psychology 002 (psychology), by a fellow undergraduate student who has taken the course, said Brian Murtha (junior-engineering science), a math tutor for ULC.

McLaren said there are more than 200 tutors during the regular school year. Students can come into the office without an appointment. If students need to be tutored in a specific subject, they can make appointments with a tutor who has taken that course.

If the center is busy, students can meet with a tutor for 30 minutes, Murtha said. Students can stay longer if there are not many people waiting.

Another feature offered by ULC is Supplemental Instruction (SI).

SI is a program in which a tutor attends the same classes as the student and takes notes on lectures. After class, students get together with this tutor once a week for a review session, said Tammy Parrett, a staff assistant at ULC.

The program is very good for students in big lecture classes, McLaren said.

"Students get to meet people in their class that they can study with," she said. "It is also very specific to what happened in class."

All tutors have taken the classes for which they tutor, Murtha said. The tutors must have received good grades in these classes. There is also a one-semester class that tutors must take on tutoring skills, he said.

Some students feel the program is very beneficial.

Lindsey Lear (senior-life science) said her math tutoring sessions were organized very well. The tutors were helpful and when students have to wait for a tutor, it does not feel as though it is for nothing, she said.

There is sometimes a wait for students to get tutored.

"It fills up really fast," said Michael Quiggle (freshman-professional golf
management), a student who was noti-fied of the program by his English instructor.

Students who have taken part in the program benefit, McLaren said.

"Tutees get a better understanding in the content of their course. They also begin to develop better academic skills overall," she said.

Many students do not know about the center, but once they find out, they continue to come back to use its resources, Parrett said.