Only half of students who are eligible for tutoring services are taking advantage of campus resources, said Mary Camp, secretary for tutoring services in the Dean of Students Office.

At least 13 organizations at Iowa State provide free and discounted tutoring for students, she said. Most programs will pay for a tutor in one or more classes for students who need help; however, only about half of ISU students are aware of this.

Matt Ledger, sophomore in computer engineering, said he didn’t know free tutoring was available.

Ledger said he thinks tutoring is a good resource for students belonging to particular groups.

Patrick Hibbeler, sophomore in psychology, said student services should advertise free tutoring.

“They could mention it on the student services Web site,” he said.

Hibbeler, who has a tutor for his French 102 class, said tutoring is very resourceful.

“The class is really killing me,” he said. “The tutor is really helpful.”

John Seidl, sophomore in construction engineering, said his tutors have always done a good job.

“I may not have passed some classes without a tutor,” he said.

Camp said the reason half of the students on campus might not take advantage of tutoring services is their lack of involvement.

“If they’re not involved, not a minority, not an international student and not the right major, they don’t have a lot of opportunities,” she said.

John Knoot, graduate student in curriculum and instruction, said students are already paying thousands of dollars to go to school, so they might as well spend four dollars a hour for a tutor if a free one isn’t available.

“Ninety-two percent of students who filled out [a tutor] evaluation said their score in the class improved by at least half a letter grade,” Knoot said.

The ISU Computer Science Learning Community, Women in Science and Engineering, Reserve Officer Training Corps and the Office of Minority Student Affairs are among the groups that provide funding to pay for tutoring services.

“There shouldn’t be any question on how tutoring benefits students,” said Grif Kolberg, program assistant for minority student affairs.

“We’ve seen a letter grade increase between students who utilize tutoring and those who don’t.”

Alfred Taylor, academic advising coordinator for computer science, said only about 10 students in the computer science learning community take advantage of free tutoring.

“Tutoring offers help in classes to help students who are struggling,” Taylor said.

He said students who use the tutoring services have higher grades, show more confidence in school and take leadership roles on campus.

“Tutoring benefits the university as a whole,” he said. “It

helps students become better citizens.”