USC Aiken's Center for Student Achievement wants students to excel academically. To that end, we offer various academic support services that are free for currently-enrolled USC Aiken students. Please take a look at the sections below to find a tutoring service that best fits your needs.

For information about the Writing Center, maintained by the English Department, please visit the Writing Center website.

For information about the Math Lab, maintained by the Math Department, please visit the Math Lab website.

Free Peer Tutoring

Drop-in Subject Tutoring in Library

Tutoring takes place in the Learning Commons area, located in the back, right-hand side of the first floor of the Library. Just find a tutor from the list below, check his/her schedule on the calendar, and then stop by the Learning Commons area for tutoring. Tutors in the area will have badges identifying them as USC Aiken tutors. If you can’t find your tutor, feel free to check with the front desk.

Drop-in tutoring is a great way to get quick answers to questions you may have about course material. Of course, we recommend you visit your professors during their office hours for additional support. Even if you don't need tutoring, feel free to come study in the area. Keep in mind that tutors are available to help you gain a better understanding of your course material. However, tutors will not do your work for you. When you come to a tutoring session, bring your syllabus, textbooks, and any notes or other materials that will help make your tutoring session a productive one!

Please take a look at the list of tutors and their subjects below, and then click the calendar link to find a specific tutor's schedule. You may view the calendar by week, month, or in a list format. 

The tutoring calendar is updated daily & the schedule is posted monthly. Please check the calendar before going to tutoring. If a tutor has to miss a regular time due to illness, doctor appointments, etc., then we will update the calendar to reflect those changes.

Please note that although we provide tutoring for many courses, we do not provide tutors for all courses. We focus on providing tutoring support for courses with high DFW rates at the 100 and 200 levels that have a high tutor-request rate from students. Although we actively recruit tutors for courses, it isn’t always possible to find students who can help with every course each semester. Many tutors are upper-level students who graduate after a semester or two of tutoring. Therefore, the availability of tutors who can help with different courses may vary from semester to semester. If a peer tutor is unavailable for your course, try using Brainfuse, our online tutoring option that lets you meet virtually with a professional tutor (scroll down for more information).

Current Subjects Available

SPANISH 101, 102, 130, 210, 316

SPANISH 101, 102, 130, 210

BIOLOGY 121 and 122

Book an appointment with Maggie

BIOLOGY 244 and 243

Book an appointment with Ethan

FRENCH 101, 102, 397

Book an appointment with Catina

GERMAN 101 and 102

Book an Appointment with Luke

NURS 323, NURS 307, NURS 202, NURS 312, NURS 201, NURS 309, NURS 301

Book an Appointment with Carmel

Free Online Subject Tutoring with Brainfuse

During the summer 2021 sessions, subject tutoring is online through Brainfuse. Please see the information below for more information about how to access Brainfuse.

Brainfuse offers students access to live, online tutoring. Each student currently enrolled in a USC Aiken course receives six free hours of tutoring with a Brainfuse tutor. Papers submitted to the online Writing Lab count as 40 minutes each.

Tutors are available in many subjects, including math, biology, chemistry, accounting, Spanish, and more! If you submit a paper to the online Writing Lab, you will receive feedback, usually within 24 hours, about how to improve your writing.

Learn how to submit a paper to the Brainfuse Writing Lab.

Check out the current USC Aiken Brainfuse schedule! 

To access Brainfuse, log on to Blackboard, click on any of your current USCA courses, and then choose “Tools” and “Brainfuse.” You will be redirected to the Brainfuse website. From there, you can access live tutors or the Writing Lab from the top of the page. You can also explore other Brainfuse services that don’t count against your six hour limit, including the ability to create flashcards, test yourself in different subject areas, or schedule online meetings with your classmates (a great way to collaborate on group projects or to form online study groups).

For live Spanish tutoring, click on “Language Lab” on the Brainfuse main page. Then, choose “Spanish” and “Get Live Help.”  You can also click on “Vocabulary Builder” for free resources for Spanish, French, and German.

If you have any questions, please call the Coordinator of Academic Coaching, Tutoring & Supplemental Instruction at 803-641-3297.

Apply to Be a Tutor

If you are a current USC Aiken student who would like to work as an academic peer tutor, please complete the application.

If you are interested in becoming a tutor, please call the Coordinator of Academic Coaching, Tutoring & Supplemental Instruction at 803-641-3297.

If you are not a USC Aiken student, please see Private Tutoring below for more information on tutoring opportunities. 

To work as an academic peer tutor, you must be a USC Aiken student; have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher; have an A or B in the classes in which you would like to tutor; and we must receive two faculty recommendations for you.  If a position is available, we will contact the faculty members listed on your application for their recommendations. There is no need for you to contact faculty for reference letters.

Please note that although we provide tutoring for many courses, we do not provide tutors for all courses. We focus on providing tutoring support for courses with high DFW rates at the 100 and 200 levels that have a high tutor-request rate from students in those courses. Therefore, the courses/subjects for which you feel you could provide tutoring may not necessarily be courses for which we need support.

Courses/Subjects for which we often need additional support include: 

• Sciences (biology, especially BIOL 121 & 122; anatomy & physiology; chemistry, especially 111 & 112; physics, etc.)
• Business courses (accounting, finance, economics)
• Languages (Spanish, French, & German)

If your application shows that you could successfully tutor in a course for which we need additional tutors, someone will contact you via the email and/or phone number you listed on your application.

If you have any questions, please call the Coordinator of Tutoring & Supplemental Instruction at 803-641-3795.

Private Tutoring

USC Aiken's Center for Student Achievement has partnered with Tutor Matching Service (TMS) to offer additional tutoring options. Through TMS, you can search for private tutors who offer services both in-person and online. Students may search for tutors based on location, subject, cost, tutor rating, etc. While tutors set their own pay rates, many tutor for free. This is a great option if you need help in a course for which the Center for Student Achievement does not currently have free tutoring available on campus. 

Tutors on TMS do not work for USC Aiken. These are individuals offering private services through TMS. They set their own fees and availability and USC Aiken can not guarantee the quality of the tutoring services they offer. However, TMS does offer a money-back guarantee on their tutoring services (see https://www.tutormatchingservice.com/guarantee/). 

The USC Aiken Center for Student Achievement does offer "badges" to those individuals who have previously worked as tutors for the Center of Student Achievement. This way, you can easily identify individuals who have experience taking USC Aiken courses and tutoring USC Aiken students. 

Although USC Aiken still offers many free tutoring services, we are happy to have this new partnership with TMS, which provides students with an additional resource to help ensure academic success. 

IMPORTANT: Once you access the Tutor Matching Service page, you can click the "X" next to "School" at the top of the page to see a list of tutors from across the country, many of whom tutor online for free! You can filter by subject/course, price, etc.

Visit USC Aiken's Tutor Matching Service page

If you'd like to be a private tutor, once you access USC Aiken's TMS page, just click on the "For Tutors" link at the top of the page and follow the prompts to sign up. 

Chemistry Tutoring

Get to know the chemistry faculty as they will be holding office hours in the Learning Commons of the Gregg-Graniteville library.

Students are encouraged to sit down with a chemistry instructor to discuss course material. This interpersonal interaction is a great opportunity to gain clarity, confirm understanding, and explore ideas and concepts in greater depth.

Chemistry Office Hours in the Learning Commons

FAQ's

How much do tutoring services cost?

All USC Aiken tutoring services are completely free to currently enrolled USC Aiken students. However, you do have the option of finding a private tutor, who may or may not charge.

I need help in a course but there are no drop-in tutoring times available for that course. What can I do?

If you need help for a course that is not listed under our drop-in tutoring section, consider using our tutor request form.

Although we cannot provide an individual tutor for every course, using the tutor request form will let us know what kind of demand exists for specific courses. The courses for which we provide tutoring, as well as the times, may vary from semester to semester based on course DFW rates and, of course, tutor availability.  We also recommend that you visit your instructor during his/her office hours. Finally, you may look for a private tutor by visiting our private tutoring section above.

I'm struggling in a class but it's not really related to the course material. Is there anyone I can talk to?

Sometimes students have problems related to time management, test-taking anxiety, study skills, etc. We always recommend that you speak with your instructor and academic advisor about any concerns you have. You can also make an appointment for an academic consultation with a professional staff member from the Center for Student Achievement.