The Florida College Learning Center Association offers learning center staff the opportunity to build professional networks by聽working with colleagues throughout the state as well as the opportunity for professional development for all members of the Florida postsecondary student academic support community.

鈥淭his is a great opportunity to showcase the work 麻豆原创 has engaged in over the past few years to help increase the retention and graduation rates of undergraduate students,鈥� said Rebecca Piety, director for Student Academic Resource Center. 鈥淚t is also a wonderful opportunity to learn from colleagues across the state as we strive to provide quality education at a low cost for Florida鈥檚 students.鈥�

Maribeth Ehasz, vice president for Student Development and Enrollment Services, will address the membership on Re-Imaging the First Year in College. 麻豆原创 was recently selected as one of 44 postsecondary institutions to participate in the three-year project sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Mark Gumble, assistant vice president for Learning Support, is also scheduled to present on the work 麻豆原创 has engaged in to improve the retention rate of high-risk students.

More information about the conference can be found at: www.floridacollegelearning.org/.

There were a dozen events for SARC student staffers to participate in, including a meet-and-greet brunch with Student Development and Enrollment Services leaders, a community outreach at the 麻豆原创 Arboretum, a workshop hosted by FAIRWINDS Credit Union, a talent competition, and other activities.

Since 2011, SARC has celebrated National Tutoring Week by recognizing more than 500 tutors that have helped improve the 麻豆原创 community through academic services.

Rebecca Piety, director of the Student Academic Resource Center and University Testing Center, credited 麻豆原创鈥檚 top event ranking to the work of Patricia Hartley, coordinator of tutoring and outreach; Jenna Gonzalez, graduate assistant; and Francisco Del Prado, lead tutor. Because of the first-place honor, Hartley was given a free registration to the association鈥檚 2016 professional development conference in Tampa.

FAIRWINDS Credit Union sponsored National Tutoring Week at 麻豆原创.

The program, which includes online tutoring and supplemental instruction, began 聽in the spring and is run through a web-conferencing software called Adobe Connect, which allows students to communicate with the instructor and each other via chat or microphone, review course content using an interactive whiteboard, and share notes and handouts electronically.

SARC director Rebecca Piety said the programs are geared towards those students who are unable to attend face-to-face sessions because of their class schedule or because they are not on campus. The center also provides online academic-success workshops to military-veteran students and their dependents.

So far the program offers 10 courses, including General Biology I, Organic Chemistry I, Principles of Microeconomics, and Statistical Methods, and 聽138 students have joined the online sessions. 聽SARC will expand the number of courses linked with the peer-assisted learning program in the fall.

Piety hopes to expand these programs in the regional campuses. This spring, peer-assisted learning was offered to the Sanford-Lake Mary campus for Statistical Methods in Psychology, and SARC is working with the regional campuses to determine other courses to incorporate. The center is recording online sessions so that students may view them for reference at a later time; these recordings will soon be available on the SARC website.

The online programs were developed by SARC staff members in collaboration with the Office of Instructional Resources, Student Development and Enrollment Services Information Technology, Veterans Academic Resource Center, and Center for Distributive Learning.

SARC also recently added videotaping and conferencing equipment, netbooks, three interactive whiteboards and other equipment. 聽The center is developing a new website to host additional online modules that will use interactive games and activities to help students understand concepts in various disciplines.

The Peer-Assisted Learning Program is available to students this summer. For more information on what SARC has to offer, visit .