Check Out Ohio Wesleyan's Tutoring Program!

Ohio Wesleyan’s tutoring program has gone through a major transformation over the

past decade. What was initially a small network of peer tutors scattered amongst the

various departments has since grown into a centralized system connecting students

with tutors in virtually all disciplines that OWU has to offer.

Before the pandemic, the university’s tutoring options were very limited. The program

focused on walk-in hours mostly in writing, math, and a few sciences. In 2018, the

creation of Bishop ACCESS saw one-on-one tutoring introduced for students who could

request help in specific courses. This small change would be the foundation for future

changes, which would create a more comprehensive academic support network.

In Fall 2023, Katie Boyd and Katy Wood officially took over the tutoring program, and

they worked to build on that initial progress. One of their first changes was to unify all

the departmental tutoring programs into one on-campus job. This centralization came

with benefits for both the tutor and tutee. Tutors can now work different campus jobs,

work multiple subjects of their choosing, and receive training. For tutees, the

centralization widened the variety of courses offered, creating a more accessible

program for all students.

Another big change to the program was the introduction of Penji which is a platform

designed to simplify tutor scheduling and management. Before, tutors would use

individual Google calendars and a shared spreadsheet, which was very inefficient for the

tutors and tutees. Now, with Penji, appointments and walk-ins are easy to manage, and

more OWU students know to use Penji to find tutoring.

“When I'd do class visits and ask how many students had heard of Penji, virtually no

one would raise their hand,” said Katy Wood, Coordinator of the Academic Skills Center,

“I just did a class visit last Friday, and when I asked the same question, around 75% of

the students raised their hands. The visit was for a CNX 100 class, so I was pleasantly

surprised that such a large percentage of students in a first-year course were already

aware of Penji.”

Today, the tutoring program is made up of over 50 peer tutors, and the program’s

leadership continues to look toward the future, focusing on improving the experience for the tutors. Recently, they held the first professional development workshop to help

tutors incorporate academic skills alongside the content for their tutees.

“The growth I have seen from the tutoring program has been tremendously helpful.

Words can't describe how thankful I truly am for the tutoring program. I have a tutor for anything that I might need, ranging from Econ to Spanish or anything in between. With

Bishop Access, my academic coach, helps me keep track of all my HW assignments and

we meet twice a week to see what class I might need help in and create an action plan.”

said sophomore Cameron Friedman.

The continued growth of Ohio Wesleyan’s tutoring program highlights OWU’s dedication

to empower their students and provide a quality higher education.