NEPTA Save the Date!

NEPTA Conference

NEPTA holds a spring conference each year at one of the member institutions. This conference is unique, in that it is a conference organized by tutors and facilitated by peer tutors. This year, the conference will be held at UMass Lowell, on Saturday, Febuary 22nd. 

NEPTA Steering Committee

NEPTA is helmed by a steering committee of academic support professionals in higher education.

Assistant Director of the Academic Coaching and Tutoring Center, Fitchburg State University


 

Jen Abott
Jen Abbott is the Assistant Director of the Academic Coaching and Tutoring Center at Fitchburg State University, where she coordinates the peer mentoring program for First Year Experience seminars at Fitchburg State. Jen also supervises writing tutors and subject area tutors in the humanities and social sciences and manages CRLA certification at Fitchburg State. She has been a member of the NEPTA steering committee since 2019.
Jen Abott

Assumption University

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Assistant Director: Tutoring and Student Success at University of Massachusetts Lowell

Todd Borcher
As Assistant Director of the Centers for Learning, Advising, and Student Success, Borchers is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Centers for Learning South Campus location. The Centers for Learning covers Academic Services such as; Advising, Tutoring, Academic Coaching, Testing Center, and Graduate School Preparation Workshops.

Additionally, since 2017, Borchers has served as Co-Chair on the UMass Lowell Training and Development Task Force, under the University Council of Advisors, which focuses on training staff and faculty on best practices for academic advising, professional development, and updating advising tools on UMass Lowell websites. Borchers is also UMass Lowell’s representative on the New England Peer Tutoring Association’s (NEPTA) Steering Committee, which gives tutors across New England a platform to learn from other institution’s tutors, and Borchers also serves as the lead for the UMass Lowell Major/Minor Exploration Expo, partnering with all academic colleges to ease the change of major or addition of majors/minors at UMass Lowell.

In addition, since 2008, Borchers continues to serve as head coach for Pinkerton Academy’s Special Olympics basketball team in Derry, NH, which has captured several gold medals in the NH State Special Olympic Regional games.
Todd Borcher

Northeastern University

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Assistant Director for Tutorial Services, Providence College

Jennifer Sousa
Jennifer Sousa is the Assistant Director for Tutorial Services in the Student Success Center at Providence College. Sousa manages the day-to-day operation of the Christie Family Tutoring Center and oversees drop-in tutoring conducted in partnership with the Providence College School of Business (PCSB). Sousa has over twenty years of experience working as a learning professional in higher education with a focus on promoting inclusive learning environments and preparing students for standardized test success.
Jennifer Sousa

Executive Director, Learning Resource Center and Office of Undergraduate Research and Studies

Lin Tang
Lin Tang, PhD, is an experienced Higher Education executive, a Licensed Psychologist, and a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP), with expertise in strategies to enhance learning, student wellness and student success, cognitive and behavioral psychology, academic support programing, undergraduate research access, flexible learning initiatives and program development.

Tang has served in a leadership role at the Learning Resource Center (LRC) and Office of Undergraduate Research and Studies (OURS) at UMass Amherst for the past 16 years. Over the years, Tang transformed and grew the LRC and OURS to become the central academic and undergraduate research support unit for UMass Amherst, a unit that has been deemed critical to student success and is at the forefront of academic support research and best practices.  Under Tang's leadership, the LRC and OURS unit has become one of the largest and most comprehensive student support and success centers in the country. 

Tang also contributes regularly to research and scholarly pursuits.  She has secured over 2 million dollars in grant funding in her time at the LRC and OURS. Tang recently authored the Academic Success Coaching program at UMass Amherst, created and taught a core graduate course titled Helping Skills for Professionals in Higher Education course, and developed a Metacognition First Year Seminar (FYS) curriculum, showcasing her unique blend of Higher Education experience with her background in psychology.  She also contributes regularly to research conferences and presentations and has served on numerous comprehensive exam and dissertation committees.  

Tang’s area of expertise and scholarship is focused on metacognitive strategies and skills to enhance learning outcomes, college student transition and success, academic coaching, and designing and implementing system level academic interventions founded on Universal Design Learning (UDL) principles. Tang currently teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate level at UMass Amherst, is an invited speaker to conferences and Grand Round presentations, and collaborates with UMass Chan Medical School on enhancing student wellness and student learning.  She is in a leadership role at regional and national organizations and she is recognized as a national expert in college student learning and success. 
Lin Tang

Associate Director, ACE and Peer Tutoring at Bryant University

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As the Associate Director of ACE and Peer Tutoring, I am responsible for managing every aspect of the CRLA-certified peer tutoring program at Bryant University. I manage all aspects of hiring, training, scheduling, supervising, and evaluating a staff of over 70 peer tutors, two professional math specialists, and two professional learning specialists for student-athletes. I have been employed at Bryant since 2007 and I find it very rewarding to manage a team of peer tutors and professionals who take great pride in helping students become self-reliant, independent, confident learners.
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