Learning Support Services - UCSC's Undergraduate Tutoring and Learning Center

Learning Support Services is UCSC’s undergraduate tutoring center serving over 100 courses per quarter and over 3000 students per year. Our tutoring programs are proven to increase student success. Our students earn higher grades and pass classes at higher rates. We hire and train 150 undergraduate students each year as successfully certified tutors.

Mission:

Learning Support Services provides UCSC undergraduate students inclusive tutoring sessions facilitated by peers to build a strong foundation for success. In tutoring sessions, students can expect to create a community of learners. We help students catch-up on material, keep up with material, and excel. 

Vision: 

At Learning Support Services we work to support educational equity efforts on campus by providing culturally responsive education and training to tutors, empowering undergraduate students as leaders, and creating transformative learning experiences for students. This work is only possible through our partnerships with faculty, staff, and students. 

Values:

• Culturally Response Pedagogy and Practices 
  • Our programs break elitist patterns that hold students back we want ALL students to be successful, paying special attention to first-generation students, low-income students, students of color, transfer and reentry students, and students who have been historically marginalized in higher education. 
• Cooperative Peer-to-Peer Learning
  • Undergraduate tutors are trained to create supportive, positive, and caring environments that support student learning at all levels. 
• Data-driven Decision-making paired with Proven Academic Support Programs
  • Learning Support Services staff use research and data to create, improve, and implement academic support programs that work at the UCSC campus. 
• Accessibility & Universal Design
  
  • LSS keeps universal design in mind - designing programs accessible to all students. 
• Holistically Supporting Students
  • We want students to be the best students they want to be. Our programs help students get better grades AND create community, confidence, and motivation. Students can expect to participate in active learning sessions that respect multiple ways of knowing and doing

Goals: 

• Students who attend tutoring learn skills to become self-directed learners 
  
• Students who work for Learning Support Services develop as equity-minded educators and professionals
• Learning Support Services is the hub for peer education at UC Santa Cruz.