The Amgen STEM Learning Center — located at 260 Ramseyer Hall — offers tutoring aimed at first and second-year students in introductory STEM courses. Credit: Courtesy of Jennifer Collins
The Amgen STEM Learning Center — located at 260 Ramseyer Hall — opened Oct. 2, offering peer-led tutoring for first- and second-year students in introductory STEM courses.
Susan Olesik, dean of natural and mathematical sciences at Ohio State, said the center was created after the Office of Undergraduate Education and the College of Arts and Sciences recognized a lack of adequate resources for students in STEM courses, particularly for larger introductory classes.
The center follows a $2 million investment from Amgen, a prominent biotech company, according to a university press release.
Jennifer Collins, associate director of the Amgen STEM Learning Center, said courses like general chemistry and calculus have a dropout rate of more than 40%.
“Our approach is to listen to what our students are saying,” Collins said. “The data shows the highest dropout rates are in general chemistry and calculus. Let’s target those students to retain them.”
Collins said she and Jonathan Baker, the center’s director, collaborate with instructors to identify struggling students.
“We’re in greater communication with faculty,” Baker said. “We give them feedback during the semester instead of waiting until the SEI report comes out at the end.”
Collins said the center offers one-on-one, drop-in and group tutoring sessions. It also provides students with opportunities to take practice exams.
Baker said the center aims to foster meaningful relationships between tutors and students, matching them up based on personal similarities.
“We’re going to meet students where they are and match them with a tutor whose interests and career goals align with theirs,” Collins said.
Beyond its baseline tutoring, Collins said the center offers support to students from diverse backgrounds.
“We wanted to ensure equal support for all STEM students from diverse racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds,” Olesik said.
Baker said having diverse representation in STEM is crucial for students’ success.
“I know what it’s like to be the only Black person in the room, to feel imposter syndrome in a lecture hall of 150 people,” Baker said.
Collins said this connection between students and tutors is essential, as it helps them feel less alone when they face common academic and social challenges.
“When tutors or faculty say, ‘I’ve been in your shoes; I know what it’s like to struggle and have setbacks,’ it helps students believe they can become scientists,” Collins said.
Notably, Baker said one of the center’s long-term goals is linking student tutors to internships and career opportunities at Amgen.
“Maybe we’ll have a pipeline of students who received tutoring, became tutors, interned at Amgen and eventually became managers there,” Baker said.
