Learning Center

Our Services

The Learning Center is an open area with resources to help students become more confident in their learning. Students are encouraged to meet with a tutor by appointment or stop in during a walk-in session to review and practice class material.

You will work with qualified tutors who have been recommended to tutor a specific course by an instructor. We are a valuable resource as we offer feedback in many subject areas and develop strategies you can use when you leave the classroom.

We Encourage You To:

Build your self-confidence
Become active in your education
Take responsibility for your learning
Enjoy your studies!

Ways We Can Help:

Hours of Operation

Scheduling or Cancelling an Appointment

Schedule an Appointment

APT or Writing Appointment:

Go to www.plattsburgh.edu.
Click MYPLATTSBURGH and log into MyPlattsburgh
Click on the Cardinal Star icon — the first icon at the top of your page
You should now see your Cardinal Star Success Network; your connections are anyone you have a relationship with on campus (your instructors, advisors, coaches).
Underneath your connections, you will see your services. The first two boxes that appear are part of the Learning Center.
To schedule an Academic Personal Training (APT) appointment, click SCHEDULE in the Learning Center: Academic Personal Trainer box.
To schedule a writing appointment (any writing assignment for any class), click SCHEDULE in the Learning Center: Writing Tutoring box.
For either service, the next screen will ask you: What do you need help with?
Click: Academic Personal Training or Assistance with writing assignment and click CONTINUE at the bottom.
Click the day and time you are available for tutoring and click CONTINUE at the bottom. Appointments can be scheduled up to a week in advance, but at minimum, at least 24 hours in advance.
On the next screen, you should write a message about what you will need help with during your session. Your tutor will see these notes.
You will receive an email confirmation of your appointment with a Zoom link.

Schedule a Content Appointment (all other subjects):

Go to www.plattsburgh.edu.
Click MYPLATTSBURGH and log into MyPlattsburgh
Click on the Cardinal Star icon — the first icon at the top of your page
You should now see your Cardinal Star Success Network; your connections are anyone you have a relationship with on campus (your instructors, advisors, coaches).
In the top left corner, you should see three lines. Click. This will give you a drop-down menu.
Click Courses.
You should see your courses.
If we have a tutor available for that course, you will see Learning Center: Content Tutoring: Schedule Appointment.
Click Schedule Appointment.
The next screen will ask you: What do you need help with?
Click Tutoring/Exam Prep.
Click CONTINUE at the bottom of the page.
Click the day and time you are available for tutoring and click CONTINUE at the bottom. Appointments can be scheduled up to a week in advance, but at minimum, at least 24 hours in advance.
On the next screen, you are should write a message about what you will need help with during your session. Your tutor will see these notes.
You will receive an email confirmation of your appointment with a Zoom link

To Cancel an Appointment (at least 24 hours in advance):

Go into your MyPlattsburgh portal
Click on you Cardinal Star icon
Click on your top left navigation menu — three horizontal lines in the upper left corner
Select “Upcoming” and find the appointment you need to cancel
Click on the three dots in the lower right hand corner
You will then be given the option to cancel

Alternatively, if you stay on your Cardinal Star dashboard, you can scroll down to the upcoming day, and then click the “X” to the right of the pencil.

If you are still having trouble, you can always reach out to the Learning Center or your tutor for help.

If you are unable to schedule an appointment, check out our walk-in schedule!

Become a Peer Tutor

Each semester, the Learning Center staff recruits, hires, and trains peer tutors during the first four to six weeks of the semester. We typically look for peer tutors in our high demand subject areas such as BIO, CHE, CSC, ECO, FIN, MAT (especially MAT161), and PHY. Tutors who are recommended to tutor more than one course are more likely to move to the next step of the hiring process.

Please apply through our Handshake application, indicating which subject you would like to tutor; you will need to have a professor complete our recommendation form for every course you would like to tutor (see “Faculty FAQs” for form link).

Hiring Requirements for Content Tutors:

Enrolled as a full-time SUNY Plattsburgh student
Completed the course(s) at SUNY Plattsburgh
Earned a grade of B or better in the course(s)
Maintained a minimum of a 2.75 GPA
Minimum of sophomore standing
Interested in tutoring more than one course for more than one semester
Able to complete either TTR101 Tutor Training Seminar [1-credit hybrid course] or non-credit New Tutor Training Overview.

Hiring Requirement for Writing Tutors:

Must take ENG390: Theories and Practice of Writing Tutoring before applying
Must pass ENG390 with a B+ or better
Enrolled as a full-time SUNY Plattsburgh student
Maintained a minimum of a 2.75 GPA

Questions? Email [email protected] about becoming a content tutor. Email Regan Levitte at [email protected] about becoming a writing tutor.

Apply to be a peer tutor:

Peer Tutor Handshake Application

Student FAQs

Q: What services do we offer?
A: We offer free tutoring services to all SUNY Plattsburgh students. Our trained tutors have been recommended by a faculty member and can assist you in specific content areas. Our content tutors must successfully complete TTR101, a hybrid tutor training course. Our writing tutors must successfully complete ENG390: Theories and Practices of Writing Tutoring and can help you with your writing assignments in all subject areas.

Tutoring sessions are sometimes one-on-one, but other students from the same course may join your session.

We provide walk-in tutoring in our highest demand courses most week day evenings, and many students use our space for open study.

We also provide Academic Personal Trainers (APTS) — more information can be found on our Academic Personal Trainer page.

Q: Is tutoring in-person, or online?
A: Per the college’s policies, tutoring will be primarily conducted face-to-face, in the Learning Center, though during Fall 2023, we are piloting online tutoring with our Learning Center peer tutors. When you go to book a tutor, you will see some tutors have "multiple appointment locations" listed on their time slots; this means that you will be prompted to select "online via Zoom" or "Feinberg 103" when you select that tutor. Please reach out to the Learning Center if you need more help with this; we are happy to do so.

Q: How do I meet with a tutor?
A: You can meet with a tutor by making an appointment using Cardinal Star. (Instructions on how to schedule an appointment are above) or attending a walk-in session. Here are the steps to making an appointment:

Log into Cardinal Star through your MyPlattsburgh account.
Complete the tutoring contract (the first time you use the Learning Center's services) that will be emailed to you.
Bring everything you will need to have a productive session

Q: Is tutoring available for my course?
A: We do not have a tutor available for every course. Please feel free to stop by the Learning Center and ask the Tutor Coordinator on duty. If the course is unavailable, you will be asked to complete a tutor request form. We encourage you to contact your professor and/or the course TA to discuss any questions and/or concerns.

Q: What type of tutoring is best for me and my course?
A: Students signing up for content tutoring (e.g. ACC 201, MAT161) will not be guaranteed one-on-one tutoring. You may be joining another person for a double appointment or a couple other students in the same content area for a small group tutoring session.

If you are unable to schedule an appointment one day in advance, walk-in sessions are available in certain subjects. Students often stop by to get a questions answered or attend weekly during the given hours to continue improving their skills.
Your other option would be STAR-NY, our online tutoring service; however, we do not have a tutor for every course, and this online platform doesn’t work for everyone. More information on STAR-NY can be found on our STAR-NY page.

Q: What is expected of me during a tutoring session?
A: Our tutors are excited to work with you. All sessions should be a conversation. Tutors will ask you questions to help you to start thinking deeper and more critically about your assignments. No tutor will do the work for you, and our writing tutors will not grammar check or edit your essays.
Being prepared for your session is important. We ask that you bring any items with you — textbooks, study guides, review sheets, and especially, specific questions for your tutor.

Q: What if I need to cancel my appointment?
A: If you need to cancel this session within 24 hours before the scheduled time, please do so, or email the Learning Center at [email protected].
The Learning Center has a no-show/cancellation policy. Failure to call will be considered a no-show. If you have two no-shows and/or three cancellations, without a valid reason, you will no longer be eligible for tutoring appointments.

Q: What is a “no show?”
A: A “no show” is when a student or a tutor don’t show up for the appointment. This is different than a cancellation because when a tutor or student cancels, both parties know in advance. Tutors are required to wait for their tutees for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, the tutor leaves.

Q: Can I become a Peer Tutor in the Learning Center?
A: All potential tutors must first complete a Handshake application, submitting their DegreeWorks audit and their resume before training. If a Learning Center staff member reaches out to you to continue through the hiring process, then you will need a faculty recommendation.

All of our tutors successfully complete the course(s) they tutor and have been recommended by the faculty member of each course. After receiving the recommendation, tutors are trained via a hybrid Moodle course: TTR101. Tutors must maintain a cumulative GPA of a 2.75 or higher.

Q: What is STAR-NY?
A: SUNY Plattsburgh has joined 22 other schools to participate in online tutoring as part of a shared services consortium. This service is free and is offered Monday–Thursday from 7 p.m. – midnight. These online sessions occur with the help of WhiteBoard technology tools and an online chat. More information can be found on our STAR-NY tab.

Faculty FAQs

The Learning Center has modified its tutor recruitment process. If you have a student who you feel would be an asset to our tutoring program, please contact Karin Killough at [email protected]

Q: How do I recommend a student to tutor for my course?
A: You can send an email to the director of the Learning Center with name of the student and the course recommended — or complete this Faculty Recommendation Form.

Q: Can I (and/or my TAs use the Learning Center)?
A: Yes! Faculty and their TAs are encouraged to use our space to hold review sessions and/or meetings.

Q: Can someone from the Learning Center present its services to my students?
A: Certainly! If you'd like one of our professional staff members to present on how to make a tutoring appointment, an APT appointment, or using the Learning Center space, please fill our our class visit request form. We’ll get back to you with a confirmation.

Welcome to the Learning Center

Learning Center