By Daniel Ceja
Staff Writer
The news that the Learning Assistance Center will no longer be having tutoring appointments for Math or English, left them feeling blindsided since they had no warning about the change.
The English Department will now cover all students who need help in English at the Writing Center and the Math Lab is introducing a one-on-one tutoring for Math classes 125, 137, 227, 245 and 260.
Students who would like an appointment now need to go to the Math Lab and set up an appointment one day in advance.
Students only need to fill out the proper paperwork provided at the front desk for the session.
The paper asks students for the class they need help in and the times they are available.
Students will be asked for class notes, attempted homework or classwork, graded quiz or exam for review, a class textbook or a Texas Instrument calculator if you are in Math 227.
On the back of the paper, the students’ available hours will be matched with tutors of similar availability.
Students can see tutors’ availability within the days of the week at a white board in the Math Lab. For East Los Angeles College students, Carlos Avilez and Jenny Grijalva, this is a cause for concern.
“This news didn’t come within a weeks notice, a semesters notice and not even a couple days notice. Nothing,” said Grijalva, who works in the Learning Assistance Center.
“It’s easy to give away your power. It’s hard to take it back,” said Avilez.
“So when the administration decides to take things away without asking the student body, they are basically saying that our opinions as students do not matter (and) that they know best for us.”
The Learning Assistance Center doesn’t know what to do with their Math or English tutors, since a majority of students according Grijalva, are looking for help for English or Math.
It’s unknown if the tutors at the Learning Assistance Center will move to the Math Lab or to the Writing Center.
If a student needs help with English, they can still go to the Writing Center and get a 30-minute one-on-one tutoring session as opposed to a 50-minute session at the Learning Assistance Center.
The Math Lab will also offer a 30-minute sessions two times a week.
“If we are limited to two 30-minute sessions at the Math Lab (and Writing Center), (and) you add two hours at the Learning Center, which is now a total of three hours a week a student could get,” said Avilez.
By getting rid of the learning center’s assistance, students are now limited to two hours of tutoring.
With all three departments available students would then have the best opportunity to pass their classes since there would be more study time.