Upswing Helps North Carolina Central University Students Discover Benefits of Online Tutoring

Upswing, an education technology startup, is helping North Carolina Central University (NCCU), a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina, engage and connect with their online students and increasing use of the university’s free tutoring support services.

NCCU needed a user-friendly tutoring platform to connect students enrolled in online courses and programs with the university to improve student outcomes.

“The previous system was complicated for students and faculty to navigate, and it was a challenge just getting students to use an online tutoring platform,” says Kimberly Phifer-McGhee, director, division of extended studies at North Carolina Central University.

She says many of the university’s students were scrambling to get time with one of their on-campus tutors during regular business hours.

But then they found Upswing.

Upswing Provides Engaging Environment
Upswing provides NCCU with a tutoring platform easily accessible to students with the look and feel of social media platforms to help increase usage.

Upswing’s solution for NCCU includes 24/7 online tutors that provide NCCU’s students with access to 600 coaches with diverse backgrounds, skills and experience, and paper submissions with Upswing tutors.

Paper submissions allow students to submit their papers to Upswing. A tutor pulls the material out of the queue and evaluates the work for content and structure. The paper goes back to the student in 24-48 hours, and the student reviews and improves it before resubmitting it in the queue.

Paper submissions are helping NCCU students increase their scores on tutoring sessions.

Upswing Helps Students Discover Tutoring

NCCU rolled out Upswing in a pilot program three years ago in a select group of online courses, including English Composition, College Algebra, and Chemistry.

Now the university’s online students have the flexibility to schedule tutoring remotely around their schedules.

“Upswing has simplified the process of helping students discover tutoring by providing an engaging environment for our students with personalized one-on-one support,” says Phifer-McGhee.

More Tailored Learning Experience

Phifer-McGhee says she expects NCCU’s online students to have a sense of confidence that they can get the help they need when they need it.

“Many of our students express an interest in using online resources and services to have a more tailored learning experience rather than seek help directly through a classroom discussion board or group chat,” she says.

NCCU sees the most active users of Upswing in science and math, with almost 300 completed sessions in the top 10 subjects alone.

She says 95 percent of all tutoring sessions have received a perfect score from students, and more than 80 percent of all students who have completed one online tutoring session have returned for another session.

“We hope our student’s use of Upswing continues to climb and that all of our online students have an opportunity to use the system during their matriculation,” adds Phifer-McGhee.

Melvin Hines, Upswing’s co-founder, and CEO is proud of NCCU’s results with Upswing. He worked at the university earlier in his career, and then NCCU was one of Upswing’s first clients.

“It’s important colleges make support services like online tutoring platforms available to students without an additional cost,” says Hines. “Many students are the first in their families to take on the rigorous pursuit of earning a college degree, and we’re excited to be partnering with a university like NCCU who are investing in their students, and making it a priority for them to succeed.”

Learn how Upswing can enhance your college’s student services at https://upswing.io/demo/

Use the ROI Calculator to see how much Upswing can save your school at https://upswing.io/roi-calculator/

About Upswing

Upswing is an Austin, Texas-based educational technology startup removing the barriers to degree equality. Learn more about Upswing at https://upswing.io/