Sacramento State’s Peer Academic and Resource Center made an online tutoring service available to students.

Through My Sac State, students can access Smarthinking, an additional tool for tutoring services in English, math, science, business, Spanish, nursing, computers and technology.

During last semesters launch, Smarthinking services went unnoticed by many students who had never visited  the center before.

In an effort to popularize and facilitate the use of Smarthinking this semester, the university made the service available on Blackboard through My Sac State.

Tina Jordan, director of the Peer and Academic Resource Center, said Sac State’s Graduation Initiative prompted the purchase of Smarthinking services.

The reason for the investment was to improve the GPA and graduation rates of all students, but especially for underrepresented minority groups, Jordan said.

Through Smarthinking, the university wants to increase tutoring availability.

“We are (only) open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and (because of this) we wanted to give students access to an online platform for tutoring,” Jordan said. “Students are able to access Smarthinking 24/7.”  

Hiliry Harvey, coordinator for the Peer and Academic Resource Center, said while quantity of students seeking services from the center has grown by 80 percent, the number of tutors has remained the same.

She said given the shortage, the resource center incorporated online tutoring to satisfy student demand.

The program can be particularly useful for students who study at night and for those who cannot attend tutoring service on campus, Harvey said.

“There are some students who really like to work at two in the morning and this is who (Smarthinking) is really catering to,” Harvey said.

The service does not provide the same assistance as on-site tutors, but can benefit many students.

Jordan said Smarthinking is especially helpful for working students because of the flexibility 24-hour tutoring provides. Students can upload essays to Smarthinking and within 24 hours, tutors will revise the piece.

“For example, if you are working all day and can’t see a tutor, by the time you get home your essay could have some comments on it,” Jordan said.

Jordan said tutors answer math questions through an instant messaging forum called Whiteboard. Students within a few hours can have their questions solved.

The center holds information workshops throughout the semester for students seeking to navigate the service more effectively.

Senior criminal justice major Thomas Ulibarri said he has not heard about the online tutoring service on campus.

Ulibarri said he has seen Smarthinking on My Sac State, but does not know its function or how to use it.

“It’s a good option, but they need to make students more aware of it,” Ulibarri said. “Students, including myself, don’t check email (and) don’t think it’s a huge priority, but if it was implemented in a way (in which)  professors made students aware of it, then that would be very beneficial.”