In addition to tutoring services, UCCS’ four tutoring centers offer events, a sense of community and spaces for students to study or hang out.
The four Excel Centers, which focus on science, languages, mathematics and multiliteracy, are free, student-led resources that provide services for all students regardless of disciplinary skillset, according to Director of the Excel Science Center Jerry Phillips.
The Excel Centers are staffed by students. “They’ve taken the courses they help students with. They know the material, they know the instructors, they know the problems,” Phillips said.
The Excel Science Center
The science center offers help for chemistry, biology and physics students, according to the center’s website. The tutors help students with homework and preparing for exams. The center houses 16 computers and 20 individual quiet zones. Group activities are encouraged, though, and the center has board games and activities for groups.
Phillips encourages students to take advantage of the resources at the science center. “You have time to kill between classes? Come in here, get a cup of coffee, talk to friends, staff or me. Talk to someone or just put your head down and rest,” he said.
Students do not need to make an appointment to meet with a tutor. The science center can be found in Centennial Hall, room 204.
The Excel Languages Center
The languages center offers a tutoring service for students and faculty who are interested in language learning and cultural exchange, according to their website. The center offers tutoring in American Sign Language, French, German, Spanish, Korean and Japanese.
The center hosts conversation table events, during which students speak exclusively in the theme language of the table. These events provide a space for students to practice what they are learning with peers and tutors, according to the Director of the Excel Languages Center, Jesse Perez.
Students do not need to make an appointment to see a tutor, and the tutoring hours for each language can be found on the languages center’s website. The center can be found in Dwire Hall, room 270.
The Excel Mathematics Center
At the math center, students can get help with homework or prepare for exams. They can also discuss problems with other impassioned students and faculty, according to their website. The center offers help for physics, statistics and computer science, and has tutors assigned to help students in every math course offered at UCCS.
Director of the Excel Mathematics Center, Jenny Dorrington, said that the center is for more than studying. This academic year, the math center has hosted events such as casino night, a Pi Day event, the Cool Science Carnival and a Halloween event called Math Isn’t Scary.
“We try hard to be friendly and relaxed. I encourage hesitant students to come on by,” Dorrington said. “It can get noisy in here sometimes, because people don’t always focus on math or physics or computer science; we encourage that.”
f students are seeking help for any 2000 level or below class, they can drop by the center and any tutor can assist them. If they are seeking help for an upper-division class, they can contact the tutor listed next to their course on the center’s tutor spreadsheet. The center can be found in the Engineering and Applied Science building, room 223.
The Excel Multiliteracy Excel Center
The multiliteracy center offers tutoring for all disciplines and helps students communicate in any genre or medium, according to their website. Their staff helps students navigate software, practice public speaking, form strong arguments, create compelling resumes and practice job interviews. The center has a podcast studio, snacks and coffee available for all students and faculty.
Faculty at the multiliteracy center offer handouts and templates for writing, speaking, presenting, interviewing and citation generating. Tutors offer student and faculty workshops that are personalized and interactive; workshop topics include brainstorming, peer responses, personal statements, visual aids, presentations and critical reading. Workshops must be booked two weeks in advance.
Appointments are required so that students are able to meet with tutors who specialize in a student’s topic. Tutoring appointments are offered to single students or groups and can be 30 or 60 minutes in length. Students can make an appointment by creating an account on the Multiliteracy Excel Center’s website.
The multiliteracy center can be found in Columbine Hall, room 312 and 316.
The Excel Centers are open 8:30 a.m. – 6:60 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Fridays.
Computer science majors Alexandra Waltre and Dashen Hollist use a whiteboard in the mathematics center. Photo by Anysia Hovel.