ECU tutoring center, Honors College promote student success

Everyone learns differently.

In fact, there are four widely recognized methods: visual learning, auditory learning, kinesthetic learning and reading/writing. While some students may thrive on classroom lectures and independent readings, others may need to see work done in front of them in order to fully grasp the content.

At East Carolina University, the Pirate Academic Success Center, or PASC, is a hub for peer-to-peer tutoring and mentorship that focuses on teaching all types of learners.

“When you get to college, each faculty member you encounter is going to approach a class a little bit differently. You're asked as a student to be able to adapt your own processes or the way that you learn. For example, I was a political science major, so for me, a math class was incredibly challenging, even though I was a strong student in my regular classes — I had to adopt different behaviors in the class that wasn't my natural tendency, and that's what I see happening for students,” said Elizabeth Coghill, director of the PASC. “Not every single class you take is going to be in your wheelhouse. We wanted to make sure students could work with a peer, and in doing so, experience a different approach to learning. They're coming up with the answers in what is often a more comfortable environment, and they can build confidence in the process.”

The PASC isn’t only for students struggling in a course, however. In fact, according to Coghill, the center sees plenty of traffic from students with lofty post-graduate expectations.

“When we look at our tutoring numbers, we're not only talking about students failing a class — actually that’s a much smaller number. We're looking at students who may be getting a B independently, but they want to go to medical school, and they know they need an A in order to go to their school of choice,” said Coghill. “At ECU, you don’t go to the tutor because you’re failing a class — you go to the tutor because you want to meet the rigor of that particular class, and you know you’re going to be able to collaborate and engage with a peer who can help you.”

In order to familiarize students with the PASC as soon as possible, first-year students are invited to be a part of learning communities, where they take some common coursework and get priority tutoring. They’re also paired with an upperclassmen mentor. If students struggle at all during their first semester, they will continue to receive tutoring and mentoring services.

The PSAC also operates a call center to help with outreach.

“We have a core group of students whose job is to work the list of freshman names and phone numbers and call every first-year student. We call several times during the semester to make sure they’re aware of things like registration or withdrawal dates and things like that. Those things are so different in a college rhythm versus high school, so that we make sure that everybody's aware of what's happening on campus,” said Coghill. “While we’re on the phone, we can also be proactive and go after the students that might be feeling less confident in a class or aren’t being proactive about reaching out for help. It's really fruitful when we see how 4,000 students have been called multiple times, then we see their activity and engagement with the center is much higher as a result.”

Oftentimes, students who started out using the PASC themselves go on to become peer tutors.

The PASC is just one example of how ECU elevates its undergraduate population, especially incoming freshmen. At the Honors College, award-winning faculty and innovative programs propel students to futures at prestigious graduate schools and professional careers.

“There are a ton of opportunities for all students, from the minute they step on campus — and even before they arrive. But one thing that makes us really unique in the state is that we provide scholarships to all of our Honors College students. We bring in 200 freshmen every year, and all 200 of those students receive some level of scholarship support,” said Margaret F. Turner, director of admissions and recruiting at the Honors College. “All of our honors students also live together for one year, and that community aspect is huge. Being around like-minded students that they meet before they move in —they kind of already have a family built-in.”

Even though Honors College students live in the same dorm, they’re active around all corners of campus. Within the college, there are Division I athletes, student government representatives, club participants and more.

In addition to living quarters, honors students’ coursework also differs from other students.

“It’s a really unique curriculum where they're tasked with working towards solutions for real-world issues. They work together in teams and learn a lot about qualitative research, then it's almost like an episode of ‘Shark Tank.’ They pitch their ideas in front of faculty and their peers, and they take that feedback and make changes to come up with better solutions,” said Turner. “Once they’re older and in their major classes, they understand the value that experience gives them — presenting in front of large groups and pivoting when ideas don’t pan out. Everything doesn't always go according to plan, and they can fail in a safe environment as they learn.”

Other unique classes include small seminars on specialized topics that fulfill general education requirements, with some classes even ending in special trips — like a class on conflict in Northern Ireland that ended with a visit to the country. The program is capped with a signature honors project, where students present a final project based on their major and personal interests.

All of these experiences — from support offered at the PASC to the curriculum of the Honors College — give students ample opportunities after graduation.

“We see the students grow immensely. They often get admitted to prestigious graduate programs, professional programs and jobs — they have the world at their fingertips,” said Turner. “We’re lucky to see them grow and change firsthand.”