You can expect the finest in academic support at the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The motto of the CTL staff and more than 50 student tutors is "Nurturing Excellence." Excellence suggests the high expectations of all Knox students and nurturing suggests the manner in which that excellence is achieved through clear, consistent, interactive and supportive instruction.

Academic Counseling
Learning Skills Instruction
Peer Tutoring
Writing Instruction
Classroom Instruction
Academic Accommodations

Academic Counseling
Not sure about what courses to take? Looking for an internship? Interested in graduate school? The CTL staff works with the Associate Dean, faculty advisers, Center for Career and Pre-Professional Development, the Registrar's Office, the Educational Development Program, and other College offices and personnel to help you navigate academic life at Knox. The center offers academic counseling and assistance in the following areas:

• Appropriate course selection
• Course load
• Course sequencing
• Areas of personal, academic, and/or career interest
• College survival skills
• Motivation
• Graduation requirements
• Internship programs and applications
• Graduate/professional school information and applications

Learning Skills Instruction
Ever struggle to manage your time or prepare for a test? Ever wish you knew how to read more efficiently and with greater recall than you do now? Tired of being anxious about your work or not performing up to the level of your ability and/or preparation? The CTL staff can help you learn how to determine your priorities, define your learning goals, schedule your time, take notes, read texts, prepare for tests, develop test-taking strategies, think critically, and assess your own learning processes and outcomes. The end result is learning that will be intrinsically motivating and exciting—a source of real pride and personal pleasure.

Peer Tutoring
The CTL is responsible for the hiring, training, certification, ongoing assessment and development of the more than 50 peer tutors it employs to provide tutorial assistance in all of the College's major subject areas. CTL tutors are knowledgeable, friendly, flexible para-professionals who have received a minimum of two faculty references and are required to participate in a tutor training and certification program sponsored by the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA).

To receive tutorial assistance, contact CTL Director John Haslem at 309-341-7151.

Writing Instruction
The CTL is committed to providing the best staff and peer tutor instruction. While they won't proofread your work, they can help you with just about everything else: brainstorming ideas, prewriting, postwriting, outlining, draft vision and revision. They can show you how to compose mechanically correct sentences, how to develop paragraphs and how to organize whole essays. 

Classroom Instruction
CTL administers and teaches a variety of courses:

• Language Skills I (CTL 100) offers instruction and practice in English reading, writing, listening and oral communication skills. You will learn about basic sentence mechanics, paragraph structure and development, and the composition of whole essays. You will read and discuss short essays and fiction to develop your research, critical thinking and reading comprehension skills.  You will also learn to practice good listening habits and to make short public speaking presentations.
  
  
• Language Skills II (CTL 101) offers additional English language skill development, with an emphasis on both writing and reading whole compositions and essays. You will also practice good listening habits and make short public speaking presentations.
  
  
• English as a Second Language (CTL 104) is intended for first-term or transfer students whose first language is not English. The course is designed to develop fundamental writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills. You will review basic sentence mechanics, learn to structure and develop paragraphs, and write several short compositions. You will also read and discuss short essays and fiction to develop your critical thinking and reading comprehension skills.
  
  
• Learning Mathematics (CTL 110) is a review of mathematics up to college algebra, offering fundamental instruction in basic mathematical principles and skills.

CTL also offers a variety of independent study courses that are typically available through the English Department.  If you are interested in independent study, consult either the English Department or CTL Director John Haslem at 309-341-7151.

Academic Accommodations
In keeping with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the CTL, in conjunction with the Accommodations Committee, makes every effort to determine and provide appropriate academic accommodations for students who provide sufficient documentation from a qualified professional for a specific and substantially limiting physical and/or mental impairment.

Common accommodations include the provision of note takers, extended periods of time for examinations, and alternative testing formats. Accommodations are made for students with a documented disability on a case-by-case basis and are subject to periodic review by the CTL and/or the Accommodations Committee. Students seeking accommodations should contact CTL Director John Haslem at 309-341-7151.