Academic Coaching and Tutoring Center

We're committed to helping each of our students achieve success.
Female international students laughing in falcon hub

We're making sure you get the type of support you need, whatever that is.

Throughout the semester there are several ways in which we can help. Just click one of the following or scroll down to see them all.

Peer Tutoring

During the academic year, we offer a combination of walk-in, appointment-based, small-group, and online tutoring.

  • Need a tutor right now? During our regular hours (M-Th, 10-7:30, F, 10-2:30), check SSC Navigate to see if there's a tutor available immediately. If a tutor is available, you can sign up and get a link to meet with an online tutor right away.
  • If you know you'll need an appointment (for an exam, paper, or project), or you just want to be sure a tutor is available, you can make your own appointments.
  • If you want to make several regular appointments for a challenging class, you can do it yourself. You can also call 978.665.3499, stop in at the Tutor Center (Hammond 306), or email tutorcenter@fitchburgstate.edu for help making appointments.

We offer in person and online tutoring. You can set up either by making an appointment through SSC Navigate, emailing tutorcenter@fitchburgstate.edu, or coming by Hammond 306. You can set up a tutoring time for the future, or you can find a tutor who's available now! 

If you have a non-urgent question for a tutor, you can submit it in writing through Ask-a-Tutor. Submit your questions in writing and someone will email you within 24 - 48 weekday hrs. (Tutors don't work on weekends.) You must be logged into your Fitchburg State account.

Academic Coaching

The Academic Coaching and Tutoring Center offers individualized, workshop-based, or in-class support for key student success skills, such as time management, motivation, and concentration.

Our Academic Coaches are here to support you in your pursuit of academic success. Make an appointment, or use these academic success resources they have created.

How to Make Individual Academic Coaching Appointments Using SSC Navigate

  1. Log into SSC Navigate using your Falcon Key.
  2. Click the blue button which says, "Get Assistance."
  3. From the drop-down menus, choose, "Advising," and then, "Academic Coaching," and then, "Academic Coaching and Tutoring (ACT) Center" - keep clicking "next" until you get to a calendar.
  4. Choose a time that works for you!

You can also...

  • Come to Hammond 308 to get help setting up an appointment
  • Attend an Academic Success Workshop by following the SSC Navigate instructions above and search "Academic Success Workshop" instead of selecting Academic Coaching

How to Request an Academic Coach to Present a Workshop to Your Class

You can request that an Academic Coach do a workshop in your class or Residential Living Community.

Peer Mentoring

Peer mentors are fellow students here to provide academic and social support to new students enrolled in First Year Experience seminars.

  • Your peer mentor can help you figure out all the resources the university has to offer and can share "tips and tricks" to help you excel in college.

Peer mentors offer Academic Success Workshops, focusing on the skills you need to shine here at Fitchburg State. From APA formatting to metacognition, they're here for you!

In the fall semester, peer mentors attend class alongside new students enrolled in the First Year Experience seminars, offering advice, workshops, and office hours.

In the spring semester, they provide regular Academic Success Workshops to support a wide range of skills students need in order to excel in college. Peer mentors lead a variety of activities throughout the year to help fellow students learn about campus resources, participate in campus social events, and develop effective study strategies. 

Multilingual Scholars is an academic and social peer mentoring program which connects first-year students whose first language is not English with peer mentors from similar backgrounds. With a strengths-based model grounding this intervention, peers will engage in both structured and drop-in social opportunities to discuss cultural heritage, address reading and other academic strategies, and reflect on the ways in which their unique backgrounds position them for robust opportunities in the future.

  • Language and Culture Meetups

    The Language and Culture Meetup is designed for Multilingual Scholars to discuss academic and social identity concepts in a supportive and brave space. In these structured meetups, Scholars will reflect on and discuss how their cultural experiences influence their student and academic life. In addition, the Mentors will partner with campus partners to develop workshops in which Scholars will identify, enhance, and apply the strengths they’ve acquired as multilingual individuals in their academic and professional pursuits.

  • Drop-in Hours

    To address ongoing needs, Mentors will hold drop-in hours to provide a more individualized approach to discussing concerns of their multilingual peers, providing academic support, reinforcing Fitchburg State’s respect for linguistic diversity, and facilitating appropriate referrals.

Purdue OWL: Unsure of how to cite a source? Purdue OWL has a number of examples and guides for citations in APA, MLA, Chicago style, and other formats.

APA Style Blog: This website is great for citing more unusual sources (like YouTube videos and interviews) in APA style. 

Focus Booster: Time management app that tracks your time on different tasks; this is a great way to implement the Pomodoro method (study distraction-free in 25-minute blocks of time, followed by 5-minute breaks).

Walk-In, Online, and Small Group Services

Walk-in Writing Center

We support all stages of the writing process, including brainstorming, drafting, revising, and interpreting faculty feedback

Online Tutoring

We've developed an online peer tutoring program in order to support students who are practicing remote learning.

Small Group Peer Tutoring

Contact tutorcenter@fitchburgstate.edu with questions regarding Group Tutoring. 

More Services

Graduate Tutoring

Students in our graduate and online programs are encouraged to utilize our staff of professional writing tutors. 

Placement Testing

Placement Testing Information for New Incoming Freshmen and Transfer Students

Connect With Our Staff

The Staff

Portrait of Kat McLellan

 

Kat McLellan, Director of Academic Coaching and Tutoring Center
kmclella@fitchburgstate.edu
978.665.4136

Portrait of Jen Abbott on campus

 

Jen Abbott, Academic Support Specialist
jabbott7@fitchburgstate.edu
978.665.3258

Portrait of Lisa Bauer

 

Lisa Bauer, Academic Support Specialist
ebauer1@fitchburgstate.edu
978.665.4035

Portrait of Morgan Hakala

 

Morgan Hakala, Academic Coach
mhakala@fitchburgstate.edu
978.665.4611

Portrait of Andy Linscott

 

Andy Linscott, Academic Coach
alinscot@fitchburgstate.edu
978.665.3319

Courtney Neforas ACT headshot

Courtney Neforas, Administrative Assistant
cneforas@fitchburgstate.edu
978.665.3499

Still have questions? Get in touch!

Our office hours are Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Walk-in center hours (during the academic year): Monday - Thursday 10 a.m. - 7:30 p.m., and Friday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.