Student Success

Los Angeles CCs Add Online Tutoring

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 09/11/19

Students in the Los Angeles Community College District now have access to online tutoring to augment on-campus tutoring services. LACCD has adopted NetTutor for all nine of its colleges to help learners specifically with English, English as a second language, math, statistics and first-year experience classes. The college system was already using NetTutor for its online students, to offer to them an experience comparable to those provided on campus through its learning centers.

As long as students access NetTutor through their college portal and login, there's no charge to them and no software to download. The tutoring service, provided by human tutors, is accessible 24/7; however, specific times for live tutor sessions vary depending on the subject.

"Oftentimes, our students study or do homework late at night, so NetTutor is available on their schedule when they need a little help," said LACCD Board of Trustees President, Andra Hoffman, in a statement. "Of course, we'll also continue with in-person tutoring during regular campus hours throughout the year because we want our students to succeed and to have the best higher education experience we can provide."

Ryan Cornner, the district's vice chancellor of educational programs and institutional effectiveness, said the institutions were using NetTutor as part of a statewide effort by community colleges. "We're making this easy and intuitive for students. They go to the student portal, click on the icon and they're up and running with NetTutor," he said.

NetTutor works through an online whiteboard that allows the tutor and students to type, draw and use symbols from a palette of tools. Sessions are recorded and can be viewed, printed and played back.