KINGSTON, R.I. – April 19, 2023 – Stephen Cote at the Academic Enhancement Center at the University of Rhode Island sums up his department’s work best: “We want people to succeed here, not just succeed in their classes, but be happy, too.”

Cote is a part-time staffer at the center’s drop-in center in the basement of the Carothers Library and Learning Commons. His kind demeanor and warm welcome help calm the nerves of students looking for academic help in these final weeks of the school year, and he’s just one of a team helping students find the academic support they need.

If students are stressed, it’s not readily apparent here. There’s an audible hum of “let’s do this” energy permeating the space. Organized lines and place cards lead student visitors through in an orderly and friendly process.

The library drop-in center is an extension of URI’s Academic Enhancement Center. The heart of the center is found on the fourth floor of Roosevelt Hall, the historic building’s warren of offices part of its charm.

Tutoring at URI is offered in person or online, for specific STEM or business classes. The undergraduate writing center offers peer writing support for any class or stage of the writing process, as well as reviews of personal statements and graduate school applications. Other students come to the center to strengthen their studying, planning, or time management skills.

Students access the center’s services at three locations: Roosevelt Hall 4th floor, the Undergraduate Writing Center in Roosevelt 009, and the AEC Drop-In Center in the library. Drop-ins are always welcomed.

The mission of the Academic Enhancement Center is to empower students to become more skillful and successful at school. This year, the center is celebrating its 20th year at URI. Members of the staff are also happy to make classroom visits and invite faculty to connect students to them for support.

COVID-19 pivot

The center was a key part of the University’s transition to online learning when school went virtual in March 2020. The center’s pivot even made news in a national journal, the Teaching and Learning Assistance Review Journal, for its ability to adapt to virtual learning during COVID-19.

Now that the University has emerged from the last few years’ restrictions, staff say that in-person tutoring is seeing a strong rebound. Virtual support is still offered, but students prefer in-person.

“Students definitely seem to prefer in-person support,” director Jennifer Burgess says. “They will use online support but typically as a last resort or due to challenges getting to campus. It’s available if needed but students appreciate college getting back to real life and that human interaction.”

And interacting they are. Not only are students happy to be back in person, they are happily taking the center up on its services.

The center has offered 2,400 tutorial visits so far this semester. Burgess reports that usage has been significantly higher this semester, compared to last year.

In the center’s largest program, STEM & Business, for instance, tutors have seen a whopping 73% increase in the hours of tutoring compared to this time last spring. More students are seeking tutorial support, she says, and staying for longer durations of time.

Since the start of the spring semester, STEM/Business tutoring saw a 37% increase in visits, a 34% increase in unique students, and a 75% increase in total visit hours; 1,051 students have come in for more than 6,600 hours of tutoring. There has also been a 10% increase in academic skills consultations on topics like time management, test preparation, and study strategies. Students, whose recent years in high school forced them to adapt to virtual learning, are making frequent use of the supplemental face-to-face support that the Academic Enhancement Center offers.

Burgess attributes the increased foot traffic to the fact that students are becoming more comfortable accessing University resources; word of mouth helps, too. Some visit daily.

Tutoring 101

Engineering major Heather Magliari ’23, of Mahopac, N.Y., is a tutor at the AEC — and a former client. “When I was a freshman, transitioning to college was not easy,” Magliari recalls. “I went from being a student who didn’t need to study much in high school to someone who required additional support.” Magliari turned to the Academic Enhancement Center to better understand her foundational courses.

Master them she did, but she wanted to give back and help others succeed as well. She started as a mathematics tutor in 2020. “Tutoring math has allowed me to meet students of different backgrounds and skill sets and provide them with the resources to succeed like my tutors did for me,” she says. “We have a range of resources, from drop-in services and occasional groups to weekly tutoring and writing support. There’s really a different option for all of the different learners our University serves!”

Magliari understands what it feels like to have reservations about coming in. Tutors are trained to help students with different learning styles and she says that all students come in the door with their own strengths and weaknesses; gaining support helps them find them.

Students can do this; they just need occasional help “getting unstuck,” iterates Burgess.

Leading the University’s academic support department isn’t something that Burgess would have forecast for herself but it’s her enthusiastic calling now. She initially had plans to go to law school, but a side job in college as an academic tutor led her in a different direction, to help make more of those “aha” moments and academic success stories her daily work on a permanent basis, and so academic support has instead become her passion and career.

“I realized how rewarding this work is,” she says. “It’s been a privilege to do it. I never left!”

To learn more about the Academic Enhancement Center, contact Jennifer Burgess at jlburgess@uri.edu, see @uri_aec, or visit to learn more. The Academic Enhancement Center welcomes inquiries from students in need of help, faculty or staff members looking to connect students with its resources, or applications from students interested in becoming tutors. The AEC is part of University College for Academic Success.