Kingsborough Learning Center

CRLA Certification

The Kingsborough Community College Learning Center (KLC) has been awarded International Tutor Training Program Certification (ITTPC) through the College Reading & Learning Association (CRLA). CRLA is a foremost professional certifying organization in the tutoring field for higher education. CRLA is a group of student-oriented professionals active in the fields of reading, learning assistance, developmental education, and tutoring at the college/adult level. CRLA’s most vital function and overall purpose is to provide a forum for the interchange of ideas, methods, and information to improve student learning and to facilitate the professional growth of its members. CRLA’s International Tutor Training Program Certification (ITTPC) “serves as a benchmark and standard for excellent college tutor training programs around the globe.”  Its members promote the implementation of innovative strategies to enhance student learning” (www.crla.net).

Internationally recognized, CRLA certification acknowledges the quality of service and represents the KLC's achievement of professional standards for our tutoring services, including training and evaluation. The voluntary certification process enhances the professionalism and effectiveness of the tutoring program. The certification process dictates the modes of training considered to be acceptable and the specific area of training that must be addressed. Specific tutor-selection and tutor-evaluation criteria also must be followed. KLC tutors have been granted Level 1 certification (minimum of 10 hours of training and 25 hours of actual tutoring completed). Our goal is to get level two and three certifications within the next two years. The KLC earned certification based on its rigorous tutor training program and professional development focus which incorporates theoretical approaches and best practices, always with the goal in mind to best support the tutors of Kingsborough Community College. While ensuring that our students receive a high level of tutoring services.

Level-Specific Requirements

Level 1

Selection: Grade of A/B verified, Recommendation on file, Interview.

Training: A minimum of 10 hours (at least 5 TIS), and 10 topics (selected from the chart below)

Experience: At least one evaluation during the Level 1 training period.

Documentation:

  • Overview/syllabus for entire Level 1 training curriculum,

  • Material from two sample training sessions,

  • A log that documents tutors’ completion of training hours and topics (last names and ID numbers redacted),

  • A log that documents at least 25 hours of actual tutoring experience per tutor (last names and ID numbers redacted), and

  • At least one sample trainee evaluation (last names and ID numbers redacted).

Level 1 topics:
Category:
Select at least:
Topics:
Basics

4

  • Administrative Policies, Record Keeping and Reporting*

  • Conducting a Successful Session

  • Role of the Tutor

  • Tutoring Do’s and Don’ts
Communication

2

  • Active Listening and Responding*

  • Communication Styles*

  • Question Asking Strategies

  • Tutoring Conversations
Learning or Studying

2

  • Advanced Study Skills*

  • Course and Syllabus Analysis*

  • Goal Setting and Planning*

  • Learning Theories in Academic Support Services*

  • Time Management for Tutors and Tutees*

  • Use of Graphic Organizers*
Ethics and Equity

1

  • Compliance with the Privacy Act (FERPA)*

  • Professional Ethics (Academic Integrity and Academic Honesty, Copyright Compliance, Plagiarism)*

  • Title IX and/or Sexual Harassment*
Electives

1

  • Institutional Policies and Procedures*

  • Modeling Problem Solving*

  • Practical Applications of Contemporary Research in the Field*

  • Substitution of One Topic from Level 2 or 3

  • Other Topic based on Institutional and/or Programmatic Need