Student Success

If you would like additional course-specific review/support, help is available.

We encourage students to meet with their professors for additional support outside of class. Office hours are available for students to drop in or schedule an appointment to meet with their instructors for extra help. If you need additional support after meeting with your professor, tutoring services may be available for your course in the Tutoring Center.

We offer free tutoring for many 100-, 200- and select 300-level courses in a wide variety of subject areas. Our goal is to provide quality peer tutoring for undergraduates that promotes academic success by guiding students to become responsible, independent learners.

We focus on helping you understand the core concepts in your course(s) and on helping you learn academic skills and strategies to be successful. Tutors work closely with you to apply the concepts you are learning in class and to build a strong foundation in the material.

Tutoring is not just for students who are struggling academically. Any student interested in improving their understanding of material in a course is welcome and encouraged to use tutoring.

The Tutoring Center will open the second week of classes.

Types of Tutoring

• Individual Tutoring (50-minute sessions once per week)
• Group and Test Reviews (Tutor-led small or large group review sessions)
• Drop-in Tutoring for select courses
• Final Exam Reviews (begin during the last full week of classes)

Please note: Tutors may not help with completion/accuracy of graded assignments; however, they will help you work through practice problems or concepts you are struggling with. Individual tutoring is not available during exam weeks or during breaks.

How to connect with a tutor

Click on the sign-up button at the top of this page to view the types of tutoring and subjects offered. If we do not currently have a tutor for a specific course, please submit a Tutor Request Form.

Cancellations and No-Show Policy

If you cannot attend a scheduled appointment, be sure to cancel your appointment no less than 12 hours ahead of time. Please e-mail your tutor once you have canceled. You may reschedule your appointment by choosing a new appointment slot (for subjects with appointment calendars), contacting your tutor directly (for subjects requiring a tutor request form), or by calling the Tutoring Center at (757) 594-7684.

A no-show occurs when you have a scheduled appointment and do not report to the Center for Student Success without canceling the appointment as above. Students who are more than 10 minutes late for their scheduled appointment or who cancel their appointment after 9 p.m. the night before the scheduled appointment time will be counted as a no-show. If you have two no-shows (or repeatedly cancel appointments) you will be automatically restricted from making tutoring appointments for the remainder of the semester.

Group and test reviews are available for select courses during the academic year. Reviews are a great supplement to individual tutoring appointments or an additional means of preparing for tests. During the review you will have opportunities to ask questions and hear responses to questions from other students that you may not have thought to ask. Additionally, review leaders will be able to guide you in preparing for upcoming tests. Be sure to check out all of the available group reviews offered through CSS.

To view this semester's group and test review subjects and schedules, click the button at the top of the page.

Apply to be a Tutor

Are you an excellent student wanting to help others? The Center for Student Success seeks qualified students interested in serving as tutors. Hiring generally takes place between February and April for the upcoming academic year, with positions starting in August. All tutors must be available to attend mandatory training in August.

Open positions for the current/upcoming academic year are posted on Handshake. If you are interested in tutoring for the Center for Student Success but do not see open positions for your subject(s), please complete the Tutor Interest Form below and/or email the tutoring coordinator at tutoring@cnu.edu.

Position Requirements

(Please refer to the job posting on Handshake for specific requirements by position.)

All CSS tutors must:

• Be a second-year Christopher Newport student with 30 or more credit hours
• Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
• Complete the required courses in the subject area to be tutored with no less than a B in all courses in the subject area (B- would exclude candidates from consideration)
• Receive a faculty recommendation from a Christopher Newport instructor within the subject area

The Tutoring Center is Level One, Stage 1 and 2 certified by the College Reading and Learning Association's (CRLA) International Tutor Training Program Certification.

The purpose of this certification is twofold:

• Provides recognition and positive reinforcement for tutors' successful work from an international organization
• Sets an internationally accepted standard of skills and training for tutors

The CRLA international certification has been in existence since 1989 and has been endorsed by a number of national associations, including:

• Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations
• National Association for Developmental Education
• Commission XVI of the American College Personnel Association
• Association of Colleges for Tutoring and Learning Assistance
• Association for the Tutoring Profession
• National College Learning Center Association
• National Center for Developmental Education

Certified tutors participate in over 10 hours of training and complete a minimum of 25 hours of direct tutoring with students.

Stages of Certification

CRLA Certified
Tutor has completed four hours of online training, 6+ hours of live training and 25+ hours of direct tutoring with students.

CRLA Trained
Tutor has completed four hours of online training, 6+ hours of live training and is working toward 25 hours of direct tutoring with students.

Training in Progress
All tutors meet stringent hiring requirements, including a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, A's and B's in all courses within their subject area, a faculty recommendation and successful interview.

Tutors designated as "Training in Progress" are highly capable students and tutors who have been hired mid-year to fulfill unexpected vacancies. They have completed four hours of online training and modified live training, but have not yet completed the full CRLA training program.