Since 2005, Union students have had a distraction-free environment for peer tutoring and study in the Hundley Center for Academic Enrichment.
Made possible by a gift from Robert and Mary Ruth Hundley and located in the upper level of the Emma Waters Summar Library, the center provides many academic opportunities for students and its administrators are always looking for new ways to help students improve.
Bethany Morse, director of the Hundley Center, said the center’s mission is to bridge the gap between the classroom and a true understanding of the material.
“I see the Hundley Center and our tutors as a ministry,” Morse said. “We have a unique opportunity to serve students and invest in their lives.”
Morse said the center has 22 peer tutors in more than 40 subjects. These tutors are selected through an application and interview process in the spring. Each tutor must have a minimum grade point average of 3.5, be at least a sophomore and have a recommendation from the chair of his or her department.
The Hundley Center hosts more than 1,000 tutoring appointments per semester. Students can set up peer tutoring appointments at the Hundley Center website. Morse said the center also offers on-call tutoring. On-call tutors meet at the student’s convenience with as little as 24 hours notice. Students can access the list of on-call subjects and tutors with a password provided by the Hundley Center.
“We started our on-call tutoring service last year in an effort to provide students with greater flexibility in scheduling appointments with tutors,” Morse said. “The service was so well received that we recently expanded it to include additional subjects.”
Morse said she meets with students weekly for academic accountability appointments. These are designed to help students improve grades and meet specific goals. She said she also helps with graduation plans and gives one-on-one instruction in study skills, time management and test-taking strategies.
Naomi Pietenpol is a senior mathematics major and Hundley Center tutor for math and statistics. She said she thinks of the center as a place that fills the gaps.
“In less than three hours a week, no professor can make all of their students understand 100 percent of the material 100 percent of the time,” Pietenpol said. “And that’s where the Hundley Center comes into play.”
Pietenpol said tutoring allows individual students to set the pace, and they are often more likely to ask questions than they would be in a full classroom.
“I love seeing those ‘light bulb’ moments when students understand something they have been struggling with for a while,” Pietenpol said. “Oftentimes, all students need is to hear the material presented again or with a little bit different wording.”
Morgan Kroeger, senior accounting major, works with the Hundley Center as the student coordinator. She manages the tutors’ appointments, puts the tutoring schedules online and runs reports on student success.
“I think the thing that makes our tutors stand out is that they’re personable,” Kroeger said. “We try to find tutors who are not just smart, but that are relatable and adapt well to different learning styles.”
Kroeger said she tries to pair each student with the tutor that works best for them.
“If a student doesn’t respond well to a tutor or the times don’t match up, we try to find a better fit for that student,” Kroeger said.
Morse said the Hundley Center also provides opportunities for academic enrichment outside of tutoring. The center hosts an annual Grad School Prep Series and offers practice tests and strategy workshops for multiple graduate level tests. Other services include a walk-in writing lab and online tutoring through smarthinking.com.
For more information on the Hundley Center, visit the website at www.uu.edu/programs/hundleycenter.
