By Beth Przybylski  

Are you an undergraduate student at the University of Louisville and need an academic tutor for support, can use assistance from a Peer Assistant Learner, or would like some academic coaching?  If so, then look no further than REACH (Resources for Academic Achievement).  

All services are free of use.

Tutoring/Peer Assistant Learning sessions

REACH provides tutoring for a variety of 100, 200, and some 300-level courses.  To see if your course has an available tutor or to check PAL times, check out their website.  If your course is listed, click “Request an Appointment” in red lettering and submit the form.  From there, someone from REACH will contact you to get started.  

Greg Carmichael is the REACH Training and Publicity Coordinator; he has been with the department since 2005.  

“Our math tutoring is largely drop-in.  In that case, there is no appointment needed, and students can just come to the center when it is open to receive help,” Carmichael said.  

“Peer assistant learners work with specific professors, in specific courses, they attend class and hold review sessions.  The review sessions are also drop-in, but also drop-in for just that course section,” Carmichael said. 

The majority of tutoring sessions are held in person.  Tutors have the option if they want to pick up an online session.  If an online session works best for you, still fill out the request form and REACH will contact the student directly to let them know if the online option is available.   

“I have used in-person drop-in tutoring for Math 111, and my tutor was great with breaking down the steps and making sure I understood the concept fully,” Miller said. 

Carmichael provided a list of possible solutions to consider when REACH does not have a tutor available for a particular course during the semester.

  • Ask the department if they have teaching assistants or others willing to help.  
  • Teaching assistants who work in the Physics Department can offer some help at the Physics Learning Center. 
  • Work with your professor and attend office hours. 
  • Find a professor helping with concept comprehension and then pair that with the academic coaching to help with study skills. It can serve as a nice alternative for when REACH doesn’t offer support for a course.  
  • Be a part of a study group of four or five people. 
  • Utilize YouTube, Kahn Academy, artificial intelligence and Photo Math.  These platforms help explain the steps and understand the concepts instead of just getting the answer.  

Students study in a tutoring session. (Photo courtesy/Greg Carmichael, REACH)

Cancellations and no-shows

“We have a pretty strict policy for cancellations and no-shows.  It is designed to keep people on their toes.  One of the frustrating things that we deal with is the lack of funding.  We need to run very efficiently and make sure all our spots are filled,” Carmichael said. “You can cancel within a 24 hours’ notice, no problem.”

“If it is less than 24 hours or you do a no-show, you have to re-request because our tutoring sessions are weekly, the ones you make an appointment for not the drop-in.  If students do a no-call/no-show, you will receive an email, and the student will have to call the office to get back on schedule.”

The weekly recurring tutoring sessions are with the same tutor and same people, so it’s almost like a class.  

Academic Coaching

He described Academic Coaching as “customized.”

“You have an accountability partner, come for recurring appointments, talk about what you are struggling with, and academic coaches help you put together a plan.  Academic coaching is not for a specific course,” said Carmichael. “Academic coaching is for what I call building the skills of an effective college student.  These are the things that might apply to any class like time management, test taking, note taking, textbook reading, resilience, getting yourself organized.”

Tracking 

If you are on a scholarship and need a record of how many times you went to a REACH session, Carmichael can produce a report for you.  You can email gdcarm01@louisville.edu.

There are several locations and classrooms located around campus.  

Employment

Students have opportunities for employment within the REACH Center. 

“We like giving students an opportunity to have an on-campus job.  We start at fifteen dollars an hour.  Our graduate students have assistantships, they pay in-state tuition and also receive a monthly stipend so, that’s great for someone going through grad school,” Carmichael said. 

REACH locations and hours of  operation

Learning Resource Center

BAB 2nd Floor: Monday- Friday open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (some days may be open until 6 p.m. or 7 p.m.)

Math Resource Center

BAB 2nd Floor Monday-Thursday open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday open 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. 

Academic Coaching 

BAB 2nd Floor: Monday-Friday by appointment

Learning Resource Center: Ekstrom Library

Monday-Friday open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

New Speed School Building

REACH will be having a center there called the “Speed Tutoring Center,” It is designed for undergraduate students.

Photo courtesy/Greg Carmichael, REACH