Find a tutor

The Cooper Center offers free peer tutoring sessions to all NWU and Wesleyan Honors Academy students. Tutors are NWU students who have demonstrated competence in specific subject areas and have good communication skills. They are trained to utilize collaborative learning techniques and model how to learn, rather than solely focusing on the course content. Tutors facilitate both individual and group sessions to assist their peers with critical thinking and strategies that can transfer across disciplines and courses.

Students who work with Cooper Center tutors will discover and apply appropriate study strategies (e.g., note taking, organization, questioning techniques, vocabulary acquisition, and test preparation) as they review content and materials together.

To reserve a session, click the "Schedule an Appointment" button.

How to prep for your tutoring session

• Bring everything you need to study—books, notes, pens/pencils, paper, calculator, laptop, etc.
• Be punctual and considerate.
• Be ready to engage in conversation and to learn how to answer your own questions. Tutors will not be telling you the answers all the time.
• Be as specific as possible about what you are hoping to achieve in the tutoring session.
• Attempt homework on your own before your session.
• Avoid looking at or using your cell phone.

How to make an appointment

Create a WC online account

• Go to bianlifan.com/coopercenter and click “Schedule an Appointment."
• Use your NWU credentials to sign in. If this is your first time using the system, enter the required information to set up your account (name, phone number, major, student ID, etc.)
• For academic standing, a “traditional undergraduate” is a student who started college straight out of high school and is between the ages of 18-23. An “adult” student is a person who is usually 24 years old or older and typically takes evening classes due to other obligations. A “Wesleyan Honors Academy” student is a dual-credit student through Wesleyan Honors Academy.
• Please keep all the email preferences on the default setting (“Yes”).
• Click on “Complete Registration” when you are done completing all the fields.

How to make a peer tutor appointment

• Go to bianlifan.com/coopercenter and click “Schedule an Appointment."
• Navigate to the “Find an Appointment” box on the left side of the WC Online homescreen. Select a date and time from the drop-down menus. Then “Limit to:” a specific discipline and/or select a “preferred staff or resource” from the drop-down menus.
• Click “Find Appointments”. A box appears that says “Perfect Match” in green letters, or boxes below will say “Close Match” in blue letters.
• Find an available appointment time that works with your schedule.
• Click “Reserve.”
• The “Create New Appointment” box will appear. Enter the course, instructor name, the type of help you need, the type of assignment you need help with, and what you would like to work on (the more specific you can be, the better). Look carefully at the block of time, as you may want to make the appointment longer (the default is 30 minutes).
• Click on “Create Appointment” when you are done completing all the fields.
• You will be sent a confirmation email. If you use an online calendar such as Outlook or Google, you can add the meeting to your calendar via the attached invite.

How graduate students make appointments

Cooper Center Director Dr. Melissa Hayes and Assistant Director Tracy Ensor are available to meet with graduate students both virtually or in-person to support your learning. No matter your topic or area of research, our experienced staff will read your work, ask questions to help clarify your thinking, and work alongside you as you organize your thoughts and bring your ideas to life.

To make an appointment with the Cooper Center director or assistant director, click on the “Schedule an Appointment" button, log in to your account using your NWU credentials, then use the "Limit to:" dropdown to navigate to the available “Adult and Graduate students” slots. Fill out the required information, choose your appointment type, then click “Create Appointment”.

How to become a tutor

To become a Cooper Center tutor, contact Melissa Hayes, Ph.D. at mhayes [at] NebrWesleyan.edu (mhayes[at]NebrWesleyan[dot]edu) or Tracy Ensor at tensor [at] NebrWesleyan.edu (tensor[at]NebrWesleyan[dot]edu).