By Alex Gilbert
The Math Center, located on the third floor of Herman Hall, is an amazing resource for students to grow their mathematical skills and share their knowledge with others. The Math Center is regularly open from 10 am to 7 pm on most weekdays, 10-2 on Fridays, and also has additional hours from 3-6 pm on Sundays. Tutoring is available both by designated drop-in hours and scheduled appointments.
Professor Michael Urbanski is the Math Center Director in charge of running the resource and is even seen helping students regularly with their homework problems. He is in charge of “managing employees, scheduling appointments, and monitoring math center usage.” Urbanski is also a professor who teaches a few courses in the math department.
The Math Center is a well-utilized resource by most of the students on campus. Urbanski reports that “last semester, we scheduled over 100 individual appointments and had over 2000 student visitors.” The math center usage is monitored by having students swipe in with their I.D.s upon entering.
Even students who don’t need active tutoring enjoy the environment of the math center. Urbanski describes it as a sort of “central hub” for the math department. Students will regularly come to the Math Center to do their homework in a controlled, quiet, and focused environment that allows them to reach out for assistance if necessary. It almost becomes a secondary classroom outside of school, with even some professors helping larger groups of their students in the Math Center.
There are many benefits to students utilizing the tutoring resource provided by the Math Center. It provides the students with an opportunity to study or do their homework with a peer who has experience in the course they are currently taking. Since the tutor knows what it was like to recently struggle through the course, they can offer insight and tips that help them make it through. This one-on-one attention can be extremely beneficial to students because they can address any specific topics that were confusing to them during the class lecture. Urbanski tells the Westerner that “students don’t always feel comfortable asking questions in class.” Having a peer tutor there to listen and help “creates a more relaxed environment where the individuals can work at their own pace without feeling anxious or overwhelmed.”
The tutors at the Math Center are qualified for their positions with the completion of their designated math courses with an A. Urbanski believes that the tutors “are a great resource to go to for tips and study habits to succeed in math courses here at Western New England University.”
Students can utilize the Math Center tutoring resource either with drop-in tutoring or a scheduled appointment. With drop-in tutoring, students can just show up during the hours and ask for help. The staff is always more than willing to help. If no tutors are scheduled for a specific class at the time someone needs help, one of the other tutors will make their best attempt to help. Regular appointments can be requested using the online request form found on the school website under Math Center and appointments page. This means that the student will meet with the same tutor on a regular basis and have priority over drop-in students. The Math Center will reach out shortly after an appointment is requested. Drop-in tutoring hours are shown and can also be found on the Math Center page on the school website.
Link to request Math Center Tutor https://www1.wne.edu/math-center/appointments.cfm
