Our Philosophy

The LRC’s tutoring philosophy is best expressed in this old saying:

If I give you a fish, you eat today.
If I teach you to fish, you can eat for a lifetime.

In other words, LRC tutors teach students to help themselves by giving them the tools to become more independent, confident learners. 

Back to Top

Tutoring policies and procedures

• LRC peer tutoring is provided free of charge to students for courses they are currently enrolled in at Leeward Community College.
• Tutoring is a collaborative effort in which you and the tutor share responsibility.
• Time limits:  As a general rule, you may receive up to one hour per week of tutoring for each subject in which you would like help.
• Permission for additional time beyond one hour can only be given by LRC faculty, and if granted, will usually be for a limited time period (e.g., two weeks).
• Tutoring may be provided to individual students or in a group format. For some subjects, individual tutoring may not be available.

• Make an appointment
• Come to the LRC. Anyone at the front desk will be happy to help you.
• Call the LRC. If you’ve already used LRC services, you can call the front desk at 455-0412 to make an appointment.
• Make your appointment online.
• Appointments must be made at least one day in advance and no more than 14 days in advance.
• Walk-in or drop-in tutoring (no advance appointment)
• In general, only writing consultants are available for walk-in sessions.
• Availability of writing consultants for walk-ins is not guaranteed.
• Scheduled group drop-in sessions may be organized for some content subjects before exams. These will be announced in the class.

• Students who are unable to keep a tutoring appointment should cancel at least 24 hours before the time of the appointment.
• Cancellations made less than 24 hours before the appointment are considered “no-shows”.
• A no-show or a late cancellation may sometimes be erased if there are extenuating circumstances.
• Students with three no-shows will have tutoring privileges suspended for the rest of the semester.

• be on time for tutoring appointments.
• explain and help the student understand and apply course concepts.
• ask questions and offer suggestions.
• assist the student in improving writing skills or study skills (depending on the type of tutor and the subject).
• always treat the student (tutee) with respect.

• be on time for tutoring appointments.
• check in at the front desk before meeting with the tutor (also check out at the end of the session).
• attend classes (tutoring is not a substitute for going to class).
• prepare for the session by
• completing as much work as possible before the session – read the textbook, write a draft of the essay, attempt homework problems, etc.
• coming with questions to ask the tutor.
• bring necessary materials: textbook, syllabus, notes, assignments, calculator, etc.
• always treat the tutor with respect.
• cancel at least 24 hours in advance if unable to keep the appointment.

Back to Top

Types of tutors

LRC tutors offer FREE help to LCC students in a wide range of subjects.

Writing Consultants help you improve your writing skills.  They will help you…

• with writing assignments for any course and with college scholarship essays.
• find a paper topic.
• brainstorm and develop your ideas.
• organize and revise your paper.
• learn to edit and proofread your own work.

Writing consultants are...

• in the LRC, to work with you individually during most hours that the LRC is open.
• We encourage appointments to ensure that you will be able to meet with a writing consultant at the time you prefer.
• You can also meet with a writing consultant on a walk-in basis if one is available.
• online: to find out more, please go to our OWAP page.
• available to work in small groups both in the LRC (with prior approval) and in the classroom (upon instructor’s request).

Content Tutors offer support for a broad range of content courses.  They will help you...

• understand and apply course concepts.
• review course materials.
• develop effective strategies for learning and studying.

• Content tutors work with students individually or in groups, depending on the subject.
• Most content tutoring is by appointment, but special pre-exam review sessions may also be scheduled; these will be announced in classes.
• If you’re part of a study group in a course for which a tutor is available, you can invite a tutor to meet with your group. Contact the LRC for more information.

List of subjects tutored in the LRC for this session.

Back to Top

How tutoring can help

Tutoring can help you succeed at LCC! How do we know? We've got two kinds of evidence: what students tell us, and what the data tells us.

• Tutors are available at no charge, [and] they are extremely helpful.
• She is very encouraging, gives great suggestions & says "You can do it". Highly recommend her to others!
• Helped me to bring my test grade from a "C" to an "A"!  [Tutor] is terrific and I am most grateful!
• She is an excellent tutor.  She makes the problems and solutions clear and easy to understand.
• [Tutor] made something that looked so hard, very easy by breaking it down.
• This tutor was very helpful in the strategy of learning how to study.
• Tutoring helps struggling students improve their grades and strengthen their skills.
• The tutoring really helped me to learn new tools to use in my writing.

Results from our Spring 2005 survey:

• 88% say tutoring improved their understanding of the subject.
• 90% say they are satisfied with the tutoring they receive in the LRC.
• 92% would recommend LRC tutoring to other students.

What the data tells us...
Last year, the LRC compiled a list of 72 students who made frequent use of our tutoring services for a given course (4 or more tutor visits) in 2004-05; then we looked at their final course grades and subsequent reenrollment.  We found that students who used tutoring often were likely to do well in the course and to continue in college.

• Students who used tutors often were likely to do well.
  80.5% of these students received grades of A, B, or C in the subject for which they were tutored. (Fall 04 students = 73%; Spring 05 students = 84%)
• Students who used tutors often were likely to continue attending college.
  82% of regular tutoring clients reenrolled at LCC or another UH-system campus for the following semester. (Fall 04 students = 92%; Spring 05 students = 76%)
• More frequent tutoring visits help even more.

Although we can't prove that tutoring was the reason for these students' success (for one thing, we didn't have a "no-tutoring-allowed" control group!), it certainly seems to have been a positive factor.  Why not take advantage of this free service?!

Becoming a Tutor

LRC tutors are trained and supervised by LRC faculty.  Most are paid student employees, although we do welcome volunteers.  To be hired as tutors, students need an A or B in the course(s) being tutored (or equivalent course or knowledge) and a recommendation from a faculty member.  Paid tutors must be current students in good standing at LCC or another UH-system campus.  All tutors should have strong interpersonal skills as well as academic skills.  Faculty members are invited to refer their excellent students to the LRC as potential tutors using the LRC Tutor Recommendation form.  LRC faculty reserve the right to make final selections of tutors.  For more information on the hiring process, see Student Employment in the LRC.

For more information on the LRC’s tutoring program, contact Beth Kupper-Herr (content tutors) or Laurie Kuribayashi (writing consultants).

Back to Top