BSK crest Free tutoring is available from fellow students through the Berkeley Optometry Beta Sigma Kappa (BSK) Chapter. BSK has implemented an expanded tutoring program for optometry students that is geared toward students who are on probation, or worried about being on probation, for failure to maintain a 3.00 GPA.

The tutors are unpaid volunteers who are BSK members as well as non-members. In addition to the private tutoring it has provided in the past, BSK will also offer study sessions in the Fong Optometry Library, in which two BSK members will provide tutoring throughout the week. These will be open for 2-hour sessions, and anyone who may have questions about specific classes is free to drop in. BSK has already set a schedule for these tutoring sessions, and they will be reserving a room in the library.

In order to provide enough tutors, BSK requires its active members to participate in at least 2 hours of tutoring, whether it be private tutoring on an individual basis or open tutoring during study sessions in the library. You should know that BSK members will collectively contribute over 100 hours of tutoring to their fellow students this semester as a result of this new requirement.

BSK 2009
BSK tutors

A student comments

One student who benefited from the BSK tutoring program had this to say:

"In the final weeks of my second-year Spring semester, I felt at a loss about how to prepare for my pharmacology final. ... Coincidentally, for the first time, BSK began offering tutoring for finals. I met [with my tutor] for three hours and discussed practice questions. Different people have different study strategies, and having her show me her pharmacology study strategy really helped me with the final. Since then, I have had help ... for my Binocular Vision and Low Vision finals during the Fall semester of my third year, [which] gave me the motivation to put in the study time needed. ... I was able to listen in on the group's discussions, helping me with concepts that were not immediately clear. I am very happy that the BSK program has been expanded beyond the finals period, and that drop-ins are now available. I am grateful that BSK members volunteer their time to work one-on-one with me."

BSK Officers

Getting help

If you are having difficulties meeting your academic requirements, you are strongly encouraged to contact BSK and arrange to take advantage of this special opportunity. It is rare, perhaps even unique, for a school or college of optometry to provide such a strong program of student-driven tutoring.

Note: The tutoring schedule is posted in the Fong Optometry Library.

Contact: bsktutoring@yahoo.com

About Beta Sigma Kappa

Beta Sigma Kappa is an international Optometric honor society with more than 2,300 members worldwide. The mission of BSK is to stimulate scientific attainment, academic excellence, and the ethical practice of optometry, and to promote and provide financial support for worthy research projects relating to vision care and the eyes.

Membership in BSK is yearly and is based on academic criteria as follows: Any optometry student is eligible for membership who has (1) a 3.5 GPA or better at the conclusion of the first year, (2) a 3.4 cumulative GPA for the first two years of the program, (3) cumulative GPAs of 3.3 for the first three years, or (4) 3.2 GPA for all four years.

All BSK members are given a Certificate of Membership and a gold cord to proudly wear and keep upon graduation. In addition, Beta Sigma Kappa annually awards its Silver Medal to the graduate BSK member who epitomizes the mission of BSK at Berkeley Optometry.

The BSK chapter at Berkeley Optometry sponsors activities that include free tutoring to fellow students, vision screenings, projects serving students, and various social events.

For more information, contact BSK-President Stephanie Burns (snburns@berkeley.edu).

The BSK Faculty Advisor is Richard C. Van Sluyters, OD, PhD (rcvs@berkeley.edu).

BSK National website: www.betasigmakappa.net/index.html