Staff Writer
Longer library hours, college-specific tutoring, further opportunities for student involvement and even more time for swing dancing are just a few of the things that students agree would help them succeed at the University of Wyoming.
Though many resources are offered to students around campus, there are a few suggestions students have to better their learning environment and educational experience at the university.
The suggestion of having longer library hours both during school week and on the weekends is agreed upon by many students. Currently, Coe Library hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. during the weekdays, and hours vary on weekends.
“A lot of studying happens on Sundays and we want to have a quiet place to do that. It’s hard to relocate where you are studying from one place to another,” said Audrey Whitman, a kinesiology major at UW.
While longating library hours may require the library to have staff available for longer hours on the weekends, it would benefit many students of all majors by providing a quiet place for extensive studying.
“For me, it’s easier to study in the library and distance myself from distractions as much as possible, so having longer library hours would allow me to study more,” said Joanna Burgi, a UW social work major.
Alongside extending the library hours on weekends, students also voiced their suggestions that the library should be open 24/7.
Nolan Rauhut, a UW criminal justice major, suggested the library be open 24/7 to benefit those who need to study late at night due to a heavy class load. This would also partner with the idea of the library being open longer on weekends, both suggestions would benefit the studying habits of students.
“I don’t have much free time during the day so I normally study overnight and I feel that having the library as a viable option to study at would help me academically because I would have access to the resources available there,” Rauhut said.
Alongside extending the hours of the library, many students focused their suggestions around bettering the time they spend studying. A common suggestion amongst these students was more supplementary instruction (SI) and more specific tutoring sessions.
SI is a study session for a specific lecture hosted by a teaching assistant from that class. SI focuses to help students study the material covered in lecture each week and answer student questions that may go unanswered in large lecture classes.
“Only people who actually care about how they’re doing [in a class] go to SI so you can get more one on one help,” said Jenni Carillo, UW criminal justice major.
Carillo said she would like to see more SI sessions for larger lectures in order to get a review of material covered during the class. This could benefit students who make an effort to go to SI sessions because it would give them the opportunity for more exposure to the material.
Along with the suggestion of more SI sessions, more specialized tutoring was also suggested. Currently, the university offers STEP tutoring, which is offered in both the Coe Library and in the basement of Washakie dining center. STEP tutoring offers one on one tutoring or small group tutoring over multiple subjects, typically aimed at general courses that many students have to take.
“It would be helpful to break up STEP tutoring into colleges so there could be STEP tutoring for general agriculture courses or general business classes,” Joseph Duncan, a UW rangeland ecology and watershed management major, said.
Duncan’s idea of splitting up the tutoring to be more college specific could benefit students by providing them with specific help from the college where their degree comes from. For example, students within the College of Agriculture would have access to degree specific tutoring instead of just general math tutoring.
This could provide students with an extra opportunity to become involved within their college and provide more degree specific tutoring.
Sean Cotteleer, a UW wildlife biology and fisheries management major, said he would like to see more interactive work in his classes in order to better his learning experience. Cotteleer would like to see more hands-on learning experiences during class to better engage students during longer class periods.
“Hands-on and interactive learning is one of the best types [of learning] for college students,” he said.
Similar to Cotteleer, Morgan Spiro, agriculture communications major, said she would like to see the opportunity for students to interact more on campus in order to better their learning and college experiences.
“I’d like to see better exposure of student involvement opportunities,” Spiro said. “Student opportunities on campus are immeasurable, but unless you are really looking, you’ll never find them.”
Because of limited exposure, some students struggle to find clubs and organizations to get involved with. Spiro said she would like to see more students get involved, but this can be tricky if they do not know where to look for opportunities.
“There isn’t enough cohesion and support between departments and colleges to make every opportunity on campus known,” she said.
The more involvement there is, the more a student can grow due to the opportunities they are exposed to. This can also benefit their academic work because many organizations and clubs push their members to do the best they can both in the classroom and while interacting throughout campus activities.
Out of all of the suggestions given by students, Josh Botkin, a nursing major, had a unique approach on what would better his academic experience at the university. Botkin, a swing dance instructor, said he would like to have more time for swing dancing as a creative outlet.
“It allows for me to do something fun and improve on something that isn’t school,” Botkin said.
Much like other nursing majors, Botkin often finds himself spending a lot of his time studying to do well in his classes. By allowing for more time to swing dance, Botkin said it would benefit him because it would allow for a study break and a way to focus his energy on improving himself in a non-academic way.
From extending library hours to offering college-specific tutoring, students continue to look for ways to better their learning experiences at the University of Wyoming. Finding a way to spread the news about organizations to get involved with throughout the campus and even taking time to participate in activities they enjoy, like swing dancing, students at the university continue to search for ways to better their educational experience.
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