A "personal tutor" otherwise known as a "learning coach" can make all the difference in the world for a student at university or college. Being "mentored" by a leaning coach relieves a great deal of stress and helps you keep up with your studies.

The Greater Sudbury Learning Clinic offers post-secondary school students a service that is totally different from anything else you will find in the entire area. As a 'Professional Career Coach', I specialize in helping post-secondary school students achieve the highest marks possible in order for them to complete their particular course of studies. The high cost of post-secondary school programs makes it critical for students to pass each course the first time in order to avoid having to pay for the course a second time. 

TUTOR SELECTION AND INSTRUCTION

1. When you make contact with The Learning Clinic Education Centre, I will personally review your current situation in order to establish some realistic goals and objectives. This will include estimating the number of sessions that may be required to achieve a successful outcome. I believe it is important for you to understand your chances of success so that you do not have any unrealistic goals. However, in most cases, we will be able to develop a "plan of action" that should enable you to obtain your desired marks.
      
2. If possible, I will try to arrange for a tutor who is one or two years ahead of you in the same program of study. 
       
3. The tutor will meet with you at your home or on the campus, as per your preference.
       
4. Depending on your needs and the "plan of action", your tutor will meet with you for sessions that can be anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours in length. You and your tutor will arrange to meet for instruction sessions on days and times that are suitable to both of your schedules. The days may or may not be different each week and you may meet more than once per week if that is agreeable to both you and your tutor. You may ask for more sessions during exam periods or when you have major assignments on which to work.
    
5. I have found in the past that on-campus sessions are the most convenient. You can arrange get together with your tutor at the library or in one of the study areas for 30 minutes or an hour to clear up some issues that may have come up. Since both of you are likely to be at the campus often, it is easier to schedule times, especially if something comes up at the last minute.
       
6. We can usually find a tutor for you within three or four days.

INSTRUCTION SESSIONS

1. At the beginning of each session, the tutor will first of all assist you with any difficulties that you encountered since the time of your previous meeting. Our goal is to make sure that you do not fall any further behind in your studies so we want to help you "keep up" with your classroom responsibilities.
    
2. The second portion of the session will be spent preparing you for new topics that may be coming up in the week(s) ahead. The goal here is to make sure that you have an easier time understanding new concepts. This means that you must ask your teacher for a brief outline of the topics that will be addressed in the week or two ahead.
    
3. The third portion of the session will be spent preparing you for tests and/or assignments that may be coming up in the immediate future. The tutor will help you develop some effective study skills and assist you in prioritizing the material that you should be studying for the test.
    
4. The fourth portion of each session will be devoted to helping you understand concepts that you may have had problems with earlier in the semester and for which you will be tested again on the final exam. Even though the material has been taken during the first part of the semester, it will still be on the exam so you must review concepts that you had trouble with previously.
    
5. Your tutor will provide you with his/her email address and phone number so that you can access the tutor if needed in between sessions. There are times when you may need some advice or guidance over the phone to clear up a particular problem. 

FEE FOR TUTORING SERVICES

1. The rate for tutoring is $36 per hour.
    
2. You will be charged a flat rate of $216 at the beginning of each six (6) hours of instruction. 
   
3. All payments are to be made by cheque made payable to THE LEARNING CLINIC or by cash.
    
4. You will be asked to pay for the first 6 hours when you meet for your first session. 
     
5. You and your tutor will estimate the amount of time that you will need and schedule sessions that will take you up to and including your exam.
      
6. Your tutoring must be completed in blocks of six hours, so plan your sessions accordingly. Always save some hours so that you have time prior to your exam to meet with your tutor.
    
7. You may discontinue the tutoring at the end of any six hour block. You may also request a different tutor for any reason.
    
8. You will provide the tutor with payment at the end of each six hour block to cover the following six hours. The tutor will mail the cheque to The Learning Clinic.

• Call me at (705) 969-7215 and leave a message for me to call you back:
     
• Send me an email and I will get back to you.
   
• If you do not use Outlook Express, you can email me at:
  rkirwan@thelearningclinic.ca 

Robert Kirwan OCT, B.A (Math), M.A. (Education)
Professional Learning Coach
Independent Education, Training & Career Development Consultant