An OU tutoring program recently received certification from the College Reading and Learning Association, and the university is only the second in the Big 12 to have a program obtain this status.

The University College Action Tutoring Program, which has been operating for close to a year, met the necessary criteria to receive certification, said Tammy Pratt, director of the Assessment and Learning Center. She said the tutoring program offers more diverse assistance than those at many other schools.

“There may be an institution that’s certified, but only in their writing center,” she said. “We can say we’re uniquely certified in that we have this scope and diversity of courses that we offer for academic assistance.”

Pratt said the program attained the College Reading and Learning Association’s advanced certification status, which is the second highest out of three levels. The association evaluates university tutoring programs based on the amount of training tutors receive, topics used in training, ways they are trained and the amount of hours each tutor spends helping students.

The tutoring program, which is run by the Assessment and Learning Center, offers Action Tutoring, which is walk-in tutoring that allows students to get help from a Peer Learning Assistant. Peer assistants are trained undergraduate tutors who have already taken the class for which they provide help. A second component at the center is a course-specific group help sessions run by a faculty member and a Peer Learning Assistant.

Sarah Swenson, Peer Learning Assistant and zoology and letters sophomore, said she enjoys helping students get a better understanding of the material through Action Tutoring.

“It’s hard to really feel like someone’s teaching to you [in class],” she said. “It’s nice for students to know they’re getting good help.”

Student attendance at Action Centers has increased every semester, said Daniel Tippin, Peer Learning Assistant and political science senior. He said the tutoring centers cover most general education classes as well as some upper-division courses.

Tutors must participate in at least 50 hours of training for the program to be eligible for the advanced level, Pratt said. The association requires that tutors receive an A or B in the subject they are assisting, but OU’s program requires an A in the course and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5.

“We exceeded in almost every area of criteria they have laid out,” she said.

Brad Abbott, associate professor of physics, said close to 25 students attend his physics Action Center every week. Most students who attend on a regular basis perform better on exams, he said.

“They can interact, and they can also deal with someone their own age who’s had it before,” he said. “They’re all working together and helping each other, so I think they actually learn it much better.”

Mark Morvant, associate professor of chemistry, said his Action Center allows students to build rapport with one another.

“Students are getting a lot from the camaraderie of doing the practice problems together and also from improvements in the course grades,” he said. “It really adds a much more in-depth understanding of the material they really can’t get in a large lecture format.”

The College Reading and Learning Association, which aims to improve higher-level education and tutoring services, is the only organization that certifies tutoring programs in higher education, Pratt said.

The University of Texas received the same certification for its Mentor Academy, according to the university’s Web site.

OU’s program plans to apply for the highest certification level next year, Pratt said. She said the achievement is an important step for OU.

“I think it says a lot about the commitment OU has made for student success,” she said. “Considering that we’re so new and we’re growing, being able to achieve the certification at an advanced level is quite an accomplishment.”