Spring Break
Academic Enhancement Center evolving to fit new URI mission
Brenna McCabe
Issue date: 3/15/07 Section: News
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03/15/07 - University of Rhode Island students might turn to a quick trip to the library and a cup of joe when they are having trouble focusing on their assigned reading. What many URI students may not know, however, is that there is and always has been an alternative - the Academic Enhancement Center - and the coffee there is free of charge.
Although the homework spot is just a small part of what the AEC is about, the center's director, David Hayes, said all students who need a place to go are welcome to the fourth floor hallway in Roosevelt Hall.
"When students think AEC, they think tutoring," Hayes said. "We are also a study center, much like the library ... If you feel like we can help you, students can come talk to me and we can figure out a way."
A large part of the AEC is its tutoring services, which include peer supplemental instruction for high-risk courses.
Tutoring comes with a certain amount of stigma, Hayes said, and that may be why the perception of AEC hasn't evolved along with the program.
"I think there are a lot of interesting reasons for this," Hayes said about student perception. "We connected with students from orientation, we connect with them through syllabi, through Talent Development and through faculty. We try to present who we are. Sometimes we feel as though one of the difficulties they face is that the information doesn't stick with them."
Hayes said a lot of students come to college with the wrong idea about the best way to learn.
"Students come to this university and have the idea that you should succeed by studying by yourself," Hayes said. "But when you go back through school, if you think about it, all of this was done through learning through other people. Because you're being graded and tested on your own, you might get the idea that you're supposed to stand or fall on your own."
Hayes said the AEC staff is trained to assist students in learning almost anything.
"Even people like Tiger Woods still have coaching," Hayes said. "That's what we aim to provide here."
Although the homework spot is just a small part of what the AEC is about, the center's director, David Hayes, said all students who need a place to go are welcome to the fourth floor hallway in Roosevelt Hall.
"When students think AEC, they think tutoring," Hayes said. "We are also a study center, much like the library ... If you feel like we can help you, students can come talk to me and we can figure out a way."
A large part of the AEC is its tutoring services, which include peer supplemental instruction for high-risk courses.
Tutoring comes with a certain amount of stigma, Hayes said, and that may be why the perception of AEC hasn't evolved along with the program.
"I think there are a lot of interesting reasons for this," Hayes said about student perception. "We connected with students from orientation, we connect with them through syllabi, through Talent Development and through faculty. We try to present who we are. Sometimes we feel as though one of the difficulties they face is that the information doesn't stick with them."
Hayes said a lot of students come to college with the wrong idea about the best way to learn.
"Students come to this university and have the idea that you should succeed by studying by yourself," Hayes said. "But when you go back through school, if you think about it, all of this was done through learning through other people. Because you're being graded and tested on your own, you might get the idea that you're supposed to stand or fall on your own."
Hayes said the AEC staff is trained to assist students in learning almost anything.
"Even people like Tiger Woods still have coaching," Hayes said. "That's what we aim to provide here."
