Outcomes Achieved by Student Peer Tutors in the Center for Academic Success

Peer tutors have positively impacted the Chamberlain College of Nursing Cleveland campus by making student success a top priority. Peer Tutors assist students by developing expertise in the wide variety of Center for Academic Success (CAS) resources. These resources include Chamberlain's online library and data bases, VitalSource the platform used for Chamberlain's eBooks, eCollege Chamberlain's course platform, Evolve which offers accompanying textbook material, as well as the many supplemental texts and journals our library holds.  Customized study experiences are offered to students who seek academic support.  A dedicated online outreach position was developed to address high attrition from online courses and focuses on providing solutions to new and online student concerns.  Early data indicates an decrease in attrition of online courses, we attribute this improvement to the early intervention made possible through the outreach program. By acting as role models, managing study sessions, providing one-on-one tutoring, developing content specific study materials, and offering additional support peer tutors have dramatically impacted academic success.  The positive attitude of the peer tutors and strong team atmosphere have created a warm and welcoming environment within the CAS and on campus.  Initial outcomes of our work have shown course grade and HESI score improvement for the peer tutors.  This increase in scores is attributed to the tutoring process, as peer tutors provide services they review material constantly and develop academic success in general and more advanced class work.  Peer tutors demonstrate leadership skills, bring creativity to the CAS, and infuse the CAS with energy making the peer tutor program an integral part of supporting positive student outcomes.  The dedication of these students has led to success in the classroom for many individual students.  Our presentation focuses on several individual cases of students who with early intervention from the CAS and peer tutor system increased their grades, HESI scores, and confidence in the material.