The first free coaching and mentoring service for AAU students, the Academic Tutoring Center, has been creating buzz since its opening in April.
Targeted at those having trouble with class assignments or even with organizing themselves, the office matches visitors with tutors to help improve writing style, structure, and grammar. Students appreciate the one-on-one tutoring, with help available from Dan Padolsky and Rob Warren on Mondays 4:30-5:30, Tuesdays 2-5, and Thursday 1-4.
Student Services Center specialist Jana Krásenská says the service is “a standard part of Anglo-American universities – and now it is also a standard part of the Anglo-American University.”
The center’s website (atc.simplybook.me) allows struggling students to easily schedule an appointment with a mentor of their choice and a Facebook also shows updates from the center.
Padolsky, a composition lecturer at AAU, says the center is not yet well known will likely benefit many more as the word spreads.
If one early student is any indication, visitors will be seeking help on term papers. “I helped her with understanding how to write footnotes and the importance of footnotes,” Padolsky says. “She didn’t understand that footnotes were supposed to guide the reader, if they were interested, to find out more information about the ideas presented in her paper.”
First-year law student Mariam Pirveli from Georgia attended a high school in Tbilisi and says it was difficult in the beginning to become familiar with the different system at western universities. “I went to see Mr. Warren twice and we went through my essay together. It is very helpful because sometimes I make mistakes that I do not realize and when there is someone who points it out you learn from them.”
Another issue the center will help with is helping students understand the importance of academic integrity. Podolsky has seen many students turning to plagiarism as the solution to their struggles with writing and research, he says. “My hope is now these same students will turn to the Academic Tutoring Center instead.”
