NEWS

Learning support services at the ready

Learning Support Services on campus offers assistance to students with legally documented disabilities as well as tutoring for all students in most subjects. Sara Faraj | Washtenaw Voice

Kevin Gerych
Staff Writer

Students at Washtenaw Community College suffer no shortage of personalized support—from accommodations for disabled students, to one-on-one tutoring.

Located in Room 104 of the Crane Liberal Arts building, WCC’s Learning Support Services department provides many of the essential tools to assist students from all walks of life in achieving educational success.

“We offer services to students with disabilities,” said Debra Guerrero, director of Learning Support Services. “We also offer tutoring for everyone.”

According to Guerrero, steps to receiving accommodation for disabilities aren’t difficult, and in many instances can make a difference.

“To receive accommodation, you have to have documentation of your disability,” said Guerrero. “It doesn’t have to be a catastrophic situation. We have people with traumatic brain injuries, mental health issues. If it’s affecting your learning, we can make accommodations.”

In addition to disability accommodations, learning support services offers on-site tutoring and free resources for enrolled students.

“If you’re taking a face-to-face class, we really encourage students to come in, because it’s a much better experience if you meet with a program specialist,” said Guerrero. “If you’re taking an online class, we can arrange things over the telephone or through email so students don’t have to come in.”

Other tools and resources are available from Learning Support Services through their website, which is large and continues to grow with advancements in technology each year.

“We have an assisted technology person who helps students with disabilities,” said Guerrero. “It really helps enhance what those students learn.”

From screen readers and text to speech applications such as Kurzweil 3000, to dictation software such as Dragon and even note taking assistance from fellow peers, Learning Support Services readily provides the necessary resources to help drive the success of all students, Guerrero said.

“It’s not just the students with disabilities who benefit from using these resources,” said Guerrero.