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CRLA Tutor Program Certification offers numerous benefits for individual tutors, tutorial coordinators, and programs. The following is a partial list of the opportunities/benefits that are possible with CRLA Tutor Program Certification:

1. Develop a super tutoring program from scratch by utilizing certification guidelines, The CRLA Tutor Training Handbook, and the experience of other professionals attending CRLA Conferences.

2. Utilize allotted time for development of an individual certification plan to carefully rethink your whole existing tutorial program, an opportunity for a fresh perspective.

3. Using CRLA guidelines, organize separate training sessions into a coherent curriculum and possibly a credit course.

4. Create a spirit of teamwork in your department by involving colleagues in tutor training curriculum design, actual tutor training, and tutor evaluation.

5. Generate interest in the community about your program by giving a press release to local and campus newspapers about your CRLA Certified Program. Include CRLA CERTIFIED TUTORS on all of your program advertisements.

6. Secure greater student and faculty confidence and respect for your tutorial staff and program.

7. Attract attention and interest among other tutorial services on campus. May stimulate interaction for the betterment of both programs such as working together on training.

8. Attract highly motivated tutors with CRLA Certification credentials and extensive training.

9. Tie wage rates to CRLA Certification levels in order to provide incentive for additional training and experience. This also helps with retention of tutors.

10. Involve upper level tutors in developing and/or conducting segments of lower level tutor training. This creates excitement and motivation for ALL tutors and staff.

11. Honor certified tutors by hosting a ceremony/party in their honor. Invite all tutors, selected faculty and staff.

12. Emphasize the transferability of CRLA Tutor Certification to other certifying colleges and universities. In other words, a Level I Certificate earned at one institution would be recognized at another.

13. Encourage tutors to add CRLA Tutor Certification to their resumes and to talk about their training and experience in job interviews.

14. Add to your own resume with items such as authored certification proposal, developed and conducted tutor training and maintained certification records.

How has the ITPC certification process benefited you, your tutors, your program, and/or, your institution? (Comments from some of the programs responding in Stage 2 certification who have given permission to print their comments)

"Certification has provided our program with a valuable way to promote our tutoring program to university administration and to the rest of the campus. It has allowed us to demonstrate the time and effort that goes into the training component of tutoring, and that tutoring is a professional role that involves in-depth training in pedagogy, communication, and other skills."

Level 1 certification validated our program. It was a great advantage to our college’s application for Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accreditation. When the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) team visited our college, they singled out our program as being an asset to our college.

Certification was used to showcase the professionalism of our tutoring center. Also, creating the actual documentation was useful to see how wonderful we are.

University Center Rochester (UCR) –
Rochester Community and Technical College

The tutors who have earned their Level 1 Certification are significantly stronger tutors than the tutors who complete Plymouth State University’s basic tutor training workshop. 

The certified tutors are role models for those who are not certified, and they have generated quite a buzz on campus about the strength of our tutoring program.  Students ask for our certified tutors by name, and professors appreciate the dedication these tutors have to their work.

The CRLA certification process has added much needed structure and legitimacy to the ASSA Tutor Program. 

• I’ve benefited from the process because it gave me direction while restructuring the tutoring program. 
• I took over the position of tutor coordinator in January of 2009 and was giving the responsibility of completing the certification process immediately... 
• Completing the certification process allowed me to thoroughly evaluate the current state of the ASSA Tutor Program and implement changes that were necessary to adhere to the CRLA requirements. 
• I was able to justify changes and get additional staff by simply stating this is necessary to comply with the CRLA requirements.

The ASSA tutors have benefited from the certification because upon completion they are eligible for a raise and or promotion. 

• The increased structure and attention to the tutoring program also allowed us to weed out tutors that were not effective and reward those that are. 
• We now have a tutor of the semester and year awards.
• The two new positions that were created are currently held by tutors that completed the certification. 

The increased attention to the tutoring program has had a direct impact in our student-athletes academic performance. 

• During the spring of 2010 our student-athletes earned a 3.05 GPA, the highest in school history. 
• Student-Athletes also noted in our annual end of the year survey a significant increase in overall quality and satisfaction with our tutoring services than in previous years. 
• We also saw  approximately a 25% increase in tutor appointments from the previous year. 
• This increase can be attributed to tutors actually recoding all their appointments, mandatory tutoring for at risk students as well as the students wanting to use the services.
• We were also able to significantly decrease the number of No Shows to tutoring appointments. 
  

...The tutors stated that the peer tutor training has greatly helped them to improve their tutoring skills.

One of the mathematics faculty, who observed one of the face-to-face training sessions, said that the training was very thorough and she felt more confident in sending her students to receive tutoring assistance from the trained peer tutors.

     Parkland’s Center for Academic Success has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a model program for providing academic support for developmental students.  The fact that the peer tutor training program was CRLA-certified was emphasized in the report to the U.S. Department of Education...

..For us, implementing CRLA Certification as a requirement for our staff has created a more customer/student-centered, service-providing atmosphere.

• Our tutors feel professional because the certification process reminds them of how important their role is in the lives of our students.
• This feeling translates to a true concern for the success of the student.
• The variety of training topics and modes equip our tutors with how to appropriately assist the student population in their college success.

Carol Bond, the Student Learning Center Manager for all Palm Beach State College campuses states,

 “CRLA certification has significantly added to the prestige and professionalism of our Student Learning Centers’ tutoring component.

As our tutors strive to reach Level III certification, they become role models to new tutors and certification achievement has become a greater focus in each of our labs.

The Student Learning Center Cluster from all four campus locations also included CRLA certification as a focus for our Learning Outcomes.”

UC_Berkeley... Reviewing the certification topics helped us consider additional topics for inclusion in our training...

Tutors often continue with us for several years, and one challenge we have faced is how to keep returning tutors interested and engaged in training that they have already completed during the prior year.

Our solution... during the spring semester (..Level 2...for first-year tutors)...tutors themselves would plan and lead the training modules. Tutors select...from the list of Level 2 training modules, plan the training during their...team meetings, then meet with the tutor trainer to finalize their lesson plan. This approach has allowed us to continue to cover the Level 2 topics, but often with a fresh approach each year and in a way that keeps returning tutors engaged in the material by helping to lead the training themselves.

Tutors had some very positive things to say about this new opportunity:

• “It is great to have a structured framework around all the work that we do and a means of recognition.”
• “Looks great on my resume.”
• “This is going to be a good opportunity for me and I will have credentials.”
• “Looking forward to this opportunity.”
• “This process will help secure a job in the future because I will become a better tutor.”
• “The certification will help me gain employment at other institutions.”
• “It is a great way to learn about the college.”
• “This will help me understand the role of the tutor in other contexts.”
• “This training helps me focus on specific techniques and modes of delivery to assist students.”
• “I will learn how to do workshops.”
• “Being approved by a nationally recognized group is valuable.”

The pros to having certified tutors on our campus are immeasurable.

Salish Kootenai College has a high level of students needing additional resources to succeed in their college career. Many of our students are displaced workers and non-traditional students, who have not been in school for many years. Approximately 70% of our new incoming students, each year, need some type of developmental course before they can enter their programs of study. Many of those students need extra help in writing. Therefore, having access to certified tutors has been a phenomenal asset to our campus.

After a year of students receiving certifications at levels one and two, we have not run into too many concerns. The original program director and those who helped her organize this program did an excellent job. The tutor certification courses run very smooth, and the tutors find this experience both rewarding and grasp the chance for growth in their own writing and interpersonal skills.

When Salish Kootenia College’s Writing Center began in September 2009, it hit the ground running. There was immediate use of the tutors and the center. This has continued to grow each successive quarter. This in and of itself is a good thing; however, we have almost maxed out our resources in just one short year. We have a healthy staff of certified tutors, but due to a shortage of financial resources we struggle to keep up with student demand. The money we had for the initial group of six tutors was sufficient. We want to keep the tutors on after the completion of level 3 training, but there are no more volunteer hours once they complete those levels. We need to find funding for those tutors who have put in the time and energy to become such a valuable resource to our campus. It is an issue we are working to resolve by the end of this year by networking with other departments and actively pursuing outside funding sources.

The certification process has benefited the Salish Kootenai College students and faculty in numerous ways. Since the original certification in August 2009, we have served over 400 students, with a total of 4341 visits in one year. This is quite an accomplishment with only 16 tutors. Salish Kootenai College averages an enrollment of approximately 1100 students, so almost half of this population utilized the Writing Center in its first year. The students and faculty are seeing the benefits of our services and repeating their use of the center and its tutors.

The faculty is seeing improved writing on campus and are asking for more workshops and sending more students in for tutoring every quarter.

CRLA certification has provided students with trained tutors who are prepared to meet student needs. Tutors gain improved writing skills, job skills and interpersonal skills. The SKC Tutoring Program improved retention of students and completion rates in composition courses.