The Academic Success Center at Iowa State offers students opportunities to improve their academic abilities.

For international students, some of these opportunities can be financially supported by the International Students and Scholars Office.

Tutoring

For academic support, the center offers group tutoring. Group tutoring typically consists of two to four students creating an interactive environment to help students excel in a given subject area.

“The idea is to help international students get academic tutors without the financial burden being a reason to prevent them from getting such services,” said Dilok Phanchantraurai, one of the advisers at the International Students and Scholars Office.

International students who use this funding are typically placed in group tutoring sessions to begin with.

On their applications for tutoring, international students can request funding from the center. The application is rerouted to the center, and is reviewed to make sure the student meets the criteria for international student status. The student is then either approved or denied, and his or her application is returned to the center.

A budget is set aside from which international students can use up to $120 each semester to fund tutoring services, and students can reapply every semester.

Phanchantraurai said many of the students who use funding from the center are returning patrons who see the benefits of tutoring services. He said he sees the academic benefits of tutoring services enjoyed by the students using it.

And he also sees a large number of international students working as tutors in math and sciences. This enables international students to refresh their knowledge of those subjects.

Supplemental Instruction

Supplemental instruction is another form of academic assistance offered by the center. Supplemental instruction is offered for classes most students consider difficult.

It consists of sessions in which a peer leader who attends the course teaches fellow students the material in a different way.

A list of courses for which supplemental instruction is offered is available on the center’s website.

Academic coaching

For students seeking help with problems beyond their understanding of course content, like test-taking anxiety, public speaking anxiety or motivation, one-on-one academic coaching sessions are available.

Psych 131 – Academic Learning Skills

An academic learning skills course numbered Psych 131, Academic Learning Skills, affords students another opportunity to improve their study skills.

The class in an eight-to-16 week course in which students learn about themselves as learners, what techniques are most effective for them and how to apply those techniques to their coursework.

Psych 131 provides a great opportunity for international students to learn how to transition from one academic culture to another and learn about the academic culture at Iowa State. Students can talk with their advisers about joining a Psych 131 course or can enroll themselves using AccessPlus.