Faculty

Subject-specific tutoring support is offered by the Library and Academic Support Services Department.  We provide course-specific tutoring for most introductory and general education courses.  Peer tutoring options include one-on-one or group tutoring sessions, in-person or virtually. 24/7 online tutoring is also available for many subjects via Brainfuse tutoring, a 3rd party tutoring service where students live-chat with a professional tutor about their subject specific questions. To see the difference between these two services, see the graphic listed towards the bottom of this page.

Additionally, there are two types of course-specific peer tutoring that we offer: subject tutoring and learning assistants.

• Peer subject tutors are tutors who have an excellent knowledge of the courses they tutor. They maintain set times throughout the week for students to schedule tutoring sessions and meet with students outside the classroom in academic spaces for tutoring.
• Learning assistants (LAs) do everything that peer subject tutors do, but they also help faculty assist students in the classroom by answering questions and working through problems with students. For more information about learning assistants, please see the Learning Assistant info page.

Students can set up tutoring appointments on the peer tutoring page of the Tutoring website. Students who set up an appointment on Accudemia, our scheduling software, should receive an email confirmation immediately after they book the session and a reminder email 24 hours before their session. The confirmation and reminder emails will tell students where to meet their tutor and how to cancel if necessary. If the student booked a virtual appointment with a tutor, they will be able to find the Zoom link on the email confirmation and the reminder email.

Please note that students must sign up for a tutoring appointment at least 24 hours in advance of a session. Because of this, students trying to schedule a tutoring appointment towards the end of the week (Thursday, Friday) might need to look at the following week to see available appointments.

For questions about tutoring, please see our Policies and FAQs page. To learn more about how tutors support students, please see our document, How Subject Tutors Work with Students.

Tutoring can happen any day of the week (Sunday through Saturday) during Fall and Spring Semester depending on a tutor's availability.  

Students can start scheduling appointments with peer tutors the second week of a new semester.  If a student cannot find a time for the course they'd like a tutor for after the first week, have them check back the next week. Tutors can be assigned to courses anytime within the first month of the semester.  

Tutoring is limited during the summer and the first week of the semester. Students who need a tutor during these times should be encouraged to try Brainfuse tutoring. More information about this service can be found below.

The process for hiring a peer tutor requires a number of steps that take approximately 2 to 3 weeks.  The timeline may take longer if a student is applying to be a CSP student worker for the first time, is missing identification paperwork required by HR, or takes a while to schedule appointments with the Tutoring Manager and HR. 

Faculty interested in recommending a student to be a tutor should fill out the Faculty Recommendation Form here, and reach out at least two weeks before the start of a new semester, especially if they would like them to start at the beginning of the semester. 
Below is a graphic that summarizes the steps in our hiring process:

In addition to offering peer tutoring for many introductory and gen ed courses, we also offer online tutoring in additional subjects through our partnership with Brainfuse. Brainfuse is a 3rd party tutoring service where students can chat with professional tutors or send in their questions for a variety of subjects, including upper-level, graduate, and some professional level courses.

Instructors have the ability to tailor support to their specific course by uploading assignments and typing instructions for tutors to follow when students chat with them.

Students are also given access to academic tools in Brainfuse, such as:  

SkillSurfer, which provides lesson plans and practice tests for students studying for tests. SkillSurfer also has national and state licensing exams for nursing students (NCLEX/ TEAS) and students hoping to become educators.  

Flashbulb, where students can create their own flashcards or use flashcards other CSP students have made to study for upcoming exams.

Language Lab, for students needing extra help learning a language

Brainfuse offers Writing Support for students looking for help on papers.  For more information on Brainfuse's writing services, check out the information page for faculty on the Writing website.

Brainfuse can be accessed by students here or at the following link: https://library.csp.edu/tutor/brainfuse.

There are many ways that faculty can incorporate tutoring effectively into their classroom or curriculum. Some of these include:

• Encouraging students to seek tutoring before they do poorly in the course.
• Adding announcements into D2L reminding students of tutoring options available to them.
• Having a class visit.
• Including tutoring as an additional resource on a syllabus.
• Discussing learning assistant options with the Tutoring Manager.
• Recommending exceptional students to be tutors towards the end of the semester using the Faculty Recommendation Form.
• Requesting fliers to give out to students; guidelines for requesting fliers can be found here.
• Reminding students about tutoring several weeks prior to an exam.

If you have any questions about how to best incorporate tutoring support for your course, please email tutoring@csp.edu. 

Below is a Venn diagram summarizing the similarities and differences between peer tutoring and Brainfuse tutoring: