Academic Enhancement Center evolving to fit new URI mission

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."

He said even students with busy schedules can talk to him about setting up convenient tutoring sessions.

Hayes said many students at the college level only experience knowledge and not the specific learning style that best suits them. College professors, he said, have too much on their hands to worry about the second part.

But the AEC has taken on several new initiatives that Hayes said will enhance the URI academic experience in different ways for each student.

Hayes said the AEC has evolved over the years, especially recently because of revised university mandates.

"The AEC is mentioned directly in the university's mission," he said. "Mandates from the university suggest that [the AEC] has a lot of work to do."

The center's Intercultural Community for Academic Success program, for example, is geared toward breaking down cultural barriers that interfere with learning. The program is in its second year.

"It's grounded in the fact that people of color face cultural barriers [in academics]," Hayes said. "We've had tremendous success as far as organizing and restructuring the staff development process.

Competence training is integrated into the staff development program now."

To better serve students' needs, the AEC is using connections with URI student organizations, such as Talent Development, the Multicultural Center and the National Society of Black Engineers, to improve their programs.

AEC also has a research component. Students have provided workshops in residence halls to find out how their peers feel about their academic experiences. AEC also provides a workshop for nursing students who want to improve their studying and test-taking skills. Hayes said many departments are interested in working with the AEC to provide opportunities like these to help students in need.

"We've tried to develop new programs and improve the old ones to better serve the needs," Hayes said. "This is the fourth year so we're still very much learning. It's my third year here as an educator and a former teacher. I've been trying to study how students learn and gain a sense of who they are and what they need to know."

The center is not only implementing new programs but also new workshops specifically for students. The first will be a presentation about how students can beat procrastination April 10 in the Hardge Forum of the URI Multicultural Center.

"It's a presentation on everything you need to know to beat procrastination, study better and do well on tests," Hayes said.

For more details on the presentation or on getting involved with the Academic Enhancement Center, go to the AEC Web site at http://www.uri.edu/.