Saucer & Adams Implementing a Volunteer Tutor Program: A University Resource

25/S 8:00 AM Hanna

Type_Presentation: 60-minute Concurrent Session

PresentationTitle: Implementing a Volunteer Tutor Program: A University Resource

ProgramStrand_Primary: Peer Tutoring

ProgramStrand_Secondary: None

Presentation_description:

Implementing a Voluteer Tutor program provides leadership opportunities for students and academic resources at limited costs for the university. This presentation will highlight the steps needed to develop a sucessful Volunteer Tutor program, including recruiting and training volunteers, maintaining student engagement, and providing assessment.

Session_summary:

The purpose of our presentation is to provide guidance on how to start a Volunteer Tutor program. The University of North Texas implemented its Volunteer Tutor program over ten years ago. All tutors volunteer their time and the average number of tutors recruited each year is 90. During the 2006-2007 academic calendar, these tutors accumulated 997 tutoring hours, all at no cost to the department or University. The learning objectives of the program are how to develop, implement, promote, recruit, and assess a volunteer tutor program. This presentation will benefit the members of CRLA and is of significance to the field because it provides an avenue to increase academic success programs at limited costs to the University or department. In a profession where budgets are tight, this program is a great example of using leadership resources across campus to implement a program that provides academic support to the campus community. In addition, it provides the student body with an outlet for community engagement and an opportunity to lead on a flexible schedule.

For the presentation, we plan to present information on how our volunteer program was developed and implemented. We will include materials that demonstrated our practices as a guiding example of where to start. These materials include an application, promotion, and brochures. We will continue by discussing how we recruit volunteers, train and engage them with our office, maintain records, and provide assessment. We will engage the audience through open discussion regarding what other campuses are doing.

Joshua Adams currently serves as the Assistant Director of the Learning Center at the University of North Texas. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History, a Master of Education degree in Higher Education, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education degree at the University of North Texas. Joshua has worked with the Learning Center and the Volunteer Tutor Program for the past four years. Joshua’s research interests include: Student Engagement on Campus, Volunteering, Tutoring, and Leadership.

Roxanne Saucer currently serves as the Coordinator for Success Programs at the University of North Texas. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications, a Master of Education in Higher Education, and is currently pursuing an additional Masters in Counseling. Roxanne currently oversees the Volunteer Tutor program, along with Outreach, Reading and Study Skills Lab, Speed Reading Workshops, and Learning Success Workshop. She has additional experience with Orientation and Athletics.

PresenterBio:

Roxanne Saucer currently serves as the Coordinator for Success Programs at the University of North Texas. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications, a Master of Education in Higher Education, and is currently pursuing an additional Masters in Counseling. Roxanne currently oversees the Volunteer Tutor program, along with Outreach, Reading and Study Skills Lab, Speed Reading Workshops, and Learning Success Workshop. She has additional experience with Orientation and Athletics.

Presenter2_Bio:

Joshua Adams currently serves as the Assistant Director of the Learning Center at the University of North Texas. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History, a Master of Education degree in Higher Education, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education degree at the University of North Texas. Joshua has worked with the Learning Center and the Volunteer Tutor Program for the past four years. Joshua’s research interests include: Student Engagement on Campus, Volunteering, Tutoring, and Leadership.