After receiving criticism from some faculty and staff in late February about the lack of communication at Columbia’s Learning Studio, the center’s management has made an effort to address some of their concerns. However, there are more improvements to be made.

The Learning Studio, located on the first floor of the 618 S. Michigan Ave. Building, is a tutoring facility that caters many academic departments at Columbia. In January 2009, all tutoring services throughout the college were brought together to be housed under one roof. Since its opening, faculty and staff have identified problems and offered solutions, including group tutoring sessions. This suggestion can respond to the lack of individual tutoring time available for students.

There are 75 tutors in the Learning Studio, thus, many students are unable to sign up for a one-on-one session through Oasis because there are limited 50-minute sessions. Students can block out one time to meet repeatedly throughout the semester, leaving that tutor unavailable and fewer sessions for other students.

For other students, tutoring is required for their class. If students miss a Basic Math class, they must make up the hours at the Learning Studio.

In order to assist more students in the studio, there should be group tutoring sessions offered for those who miss the same Basic Math class, or for students studying the same subject.

This would also be beneficial for students who work better in groups or are intimidated by one-on-one attention.

The tutoring groups should be limited to four to seven people, so the tutor can attend to each student.

Because the tutors would be responsible for up to seven students, more time should be allotted for group sessions. Depending on the project, tutors should also be able to extend their time with students.

Even though some students work better in groups, others prefer to be tutored alone, and that option should remain.

In order for students to take advantage of the Learning Studio, more time slots should be available to students. Group tutoring would give more students assistance, which is what the studio needs to accomplish in order to be successful.