IU Athletics Department seeks new tutors

The IU Athletics Department’s Academic Resource Center, which provides free tutoring to all student athletes, is looking for new tutors.

Any students, both graduate and undergraduate, as well as qualified members of the Bloomington community, can apply.

“We have people in the community – former teachers, people who just want to stay involved – but mostly it’s graduate to undergraduate students that are the main pool of tutors,” said Michael Greene, an academic assistant who oversees the tutoring program.

Because students are the majority of the tutors, the center is forced to search for new tutors each year, as those from previous years graduate or are unavailable to continue because of new obligations.

“Your pool of tutors is always evolving because people graduate,” Greene said. “They take other jobs, or they take an internship for their major, so it’s just always evolving. Every year we always recruit the basic areas, depending on where our losses were. Occasionally, you might have people who work with you a long time if they are retired in the community or something, but for the most part you’re dealing with graduate students and stuff like that.”

Tutors are currently needed for math, telecommunications, criminal justice, history, political science, exercise science, physics and business. Hours are flexible to fit the schedules of both the tutors and the student athletes.

Tutoring sessions occur at Assembly Hall or Memorial Stadium, depending on the athlete’s schedule.

To apply, potential tutors should fill out an online application and provide recommendations from faculty members or other qualified figures. A personal statement describing why the person is interested is also required.

The center will then research the applicant’s background, including classes taken and previous tutoring experience, before calling in candidates for interviews with two staff members. A hiring decision will be made shortly thereafter .

Greene said the tutoring is necessary for athletes so they can keep up with their coursework and schedule demands of their sports.

“You definitely see improvements,” Greene said. “Obviously, I don’t work with every student athlete, but even they, through other advisers, will let you know that it’s a big help. It helped them through a tough class or helped them with the makeup work they missed from being on the road. You hear them tell you, and the ones you work with, you can see it.”