Center for Academic Engagement reopens in Sears Applied Technologies building

Brad Spielman shows off the new Center for Academic Engagement space to a group of incoming students.

Guilford Technical Community College’s Center for Academic Engagement (CAE) has moved! Previously located in the Learning Resource Center on the Jamestown Campus, the CAE’s new home is easily accessible on the first floor of the Sears Applied Technologies building.

Brad Spielman, director of the Center for Academic Engagement, expects that students will more readily stop by to take full advantage of its resources.

“One of the big shifts for us is that staff and tutoring are now centrally located,” said Spielman. “It makes it a lot easier for our academic achievement specialists to physically take a student around, introduce them directly to a tutor, and say, ‘This is the person that is going to be able to help you get over the hump, reduce those barriers, and help you be successful in the class.’”

The new space features an 11,000 square foot floor dedicated to tutoring, more than double the size of the previous space. The larger area has also allowed the CAE to expand its hours of operations and the size of the tutoring staff.

The CAE offers a wide range of resources for students, including tutoring, academic achievement appointments, and help for those learning English as a second language.

Tutoring

GTCC students are offered in-person tutoring, online tutoring, and embedded tutoring, where tutors are implanted directly into classrooms. In the fall of 2023, over 1,500 individual students took advantage of these resources, amounting to 305,807 hours of tutoring.

Academic Achievement Support

Academic achievement specialists are a great resource for students who are facing external challenges that interfere with their education, or for students who are having difficulty with coursework retention. Not only do they assist students with remaining successful in their courses, but they can also refer students to other college offices that can alleviate some of their non-academic difficulties.

ESOL

The CAE is committed to helping GTCC students in their ESOL classes. The English Language Learners tutors can provide speaking and listening practice, writing support classes, reading improvement, and help with understanding the college classroom and course requirements.

Spielman encourages students to make the most of the CAE’s resources.

“College is hard, and we are here to make things as simple as possible,” he said. “It’s important for students to optimize these resources. We’re here to help the students acknowledge that learning happens not only inside the classroom, but outside as well.”