January 20
With newly-expanded spaces and even more changes on the horizon, the Tutoring Center at North Shore Community College (NSCC) is evolving to meet the needs of a growing student body.
On January 21, the first day of the spring 2026 semester, the Tutoring Center will open a new multifunctional space on the Danvers Campus containing a small group tutoring space, individual tutoring stations, and places where tutors can hold remote sessions over Zoom.
The new space will be particularly helpful for offering group support—for example, health professions students often study in groups for the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS), the entrance exam for nursing and other allied health programs.
The Lynn Tutoring Center has also recently expanded into the computer lab, increasing visibility and helping more students get the support they need. As students enter the lab, they meet Tutoring Center concierges, work-study students who can help them make appointments and find the necessary resources.
Academic Support for All
The Tutoring Center, available at the Lynn and Danvers Campuses, helps students with foundational skills such as math and writing and with course-specific content, covering introductory through advanced courses. The Center’s skilled staff includes peer and professional tutors: peer tutors can connect student-to-student while professional tutors bring career experience.
“Tutoring, academic success coaching, advising—these are all proven by research that they are high-impact practices. Having a proper academic support services area is crucial to closing equity gaps and has proven to have a positive impact on our student population,” said Dr. Dennis Camacho, director of academic success.
One example of this is the Tutoring Center’s support for bilingual students. In addition to one-on-one tutoring that supports individuals and their specific subject matter needs, weekly conversation groups help students build confidence in English, and Tutoring employs tutors who are bi- or multilingual in a total of seven other languages.
One-Stop Shop
Collaborating with other campus resources like the library and the computer lab, the Tutoring Center seeks to create a “one-stop shop” for academic support.
"The more we can demystify tutoring and have a positive image out there, the more we're going to connect with the students who need us the most,” said Sara Hilinski, academic coordinator at the Tutoring Center. “We’re doing everything we can do to let students know that getting academic assistance is normal. You're joining a learning community of people who come to the Tutoring Center, and working with others is one of the most effective ways to learn.”
The Tutoring Center has rolled out several tools to identify areas for improvement, such as the creation of a Student Board of Advisors that helps guide new developments. In addition, post-tutoring surveys capture student feedback, allowing the Center to assess effectiveness as well as flag and fix problems faster.
Demystifying Math
The Tutoring Center saw a problem: an overwhelming number of students were using math tutoring to prepare for the Accuplacer placement exam. Many students crammed to test out of foundational courses, placing into advanced classes for which they were not yet prepared—often resulting in course failure.
Tutoring created a math task force to address this issue; spearheaded by Dr. Camacho, the task force spans Academics, Provost’s Office, and math faculty. It eliminated one-on-one tutoring for Accuplacer, and instead, the Tutoring Center now directs students to external resources. Launched last year, this improvement aims to place students in appropriate classes and free up peer and professional tutors to work with other students.
More on the Horizon
As the College’s population continues to grow and change, academic support services
must change too. With space reconfigurement on both campuses and with a sharp eye
for improvement, the Tutoring Center’s leadership and its hardworking tutors are poised
to help even more students.
Learn more about the Tutoring Center or book an appointment.