What Is the Difference Between Academic Coaching and Tutoring?

academic coaching vs tutoring

Understanding Academic Support for Success

In this article, we’ll discuss the academic coaching vs tutoring differences. While the terms are used interchangeably, these serve different purposes. If you can understand their differences, you can maximize their unique benefits.

Let’s first take a brief look at their usage rates. Studies show that between 15% and 25% of college students use tutoring services. Students who are struggling in their academics, with full-time jobs, and certain minority groups are more likely to use them.

Online tutoring platforms are also becoming more popular. Students juggling work, studies, and personal responsibilities are more likely to use them. Math, science, and writing are the top subjects for tutoring services. 

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Studies also suggest that a significant number of college students use academic coaching. This isn’t surprising, as academic coaching has a positive impact on grades. Academic coaching also boosts retention rates, a measurement of success among colleges.

The bottom line: Both academic coaching and tutoring services are popular. You can choose either academic coaching or tutoring. If necessary, you can choose both since they complement each other.

But it’s vital to understand their main differences first. Doing so means making an informed decision about the best choice for your needs and goals.

After all, academic coaching and tutoring demands time, effort, and money. You want to maximize your resources in the same way that you want to get the most from these services.

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What Is Academic Coaching?

Let’s start with answering the question, “What is academic coaching?” We can define academic coaching by understanding its main features.

  • Personalized approach. You and your coach will create strategies based on your specific needs, learning style, and goals. For this reason, you must be honest about these matters. Furthermore, your coaching plan will change based on your progress.
  • Goal-oriented approach. You will work with your coach on setting SMART academic goals and the plan to achieve them. The ultimate goal is to promote your sense of confidence, competence, and independence. You will have the habits, mechanisms, and tools to achieve it. Common goals in academic coaching include:
    • Note-taking strategies
    • Time management and organization
    • Preparation for exams, presentations, and other curricular activities
    • Writing skills and reading comprehension
    • Advocacy for yourself and your peers
  • Focus on progress. Indeed, achieving progress in your journey is at the heart of academic coaching. Your coach will help you achieve better study habits, among other goals. There’s less focus on content mastery since it’s the domain of tutoring services. In other words, you will address issues in the way you learn through academic coaching.

With that said, the key focus areas of academic coaching are as follows.

Build effective and efficient long-term study habits.

Your learning style and strategies must align with your strengths. This way, you can sustain your learning style and strategies over a long period.

Adopt effective time management skills.

You’re a busy college student who must juggle academic, work, and personal obligations. Juggling responsibilities becomes stressful. Your coach will work with you in adopting time management skills that will make it more manageable.

Learn to set goals and achieve them.

You’ll learn to set SMART goals, develop an actionable plan, and follow it. Being accountable for your goals is also part of academic coaching.

Here are scenarios where academic coaching can prove useful:

  • Transitioning from high school to college or transferring from one college to another. You’ll learn the learning strategies and life skills to make a smooth transition.
  • Struggling with time management and organization. You may be overwhelmed by the avalanche of assignments and extracurriculars. Learning effective time management and organization skills will make it less so.
  • Preparing for the SAT/ACT and major exams. You will create a structured study plan with your coach. Tips on decreasing your test anxiety and test-taking strategies are also on the agenda.
  • Low motivation or chronic procrastination. Your coach can identify what’s causing your low motivation or chronic procrastination. Then, you’ll work toward overcoming these challenges.

In conclusion, academic coaching has a broader focus on student success than tutoring.

What Is Tutoring?

We can best define tutoring by understanding its main features, too. By definition, tutoring is a subject-specific service, meaning it has a narrower focus.

Personalized instruction

This is true for one-on-one tutoring, where tutors create a student’s personalized plan. Group sessions are also available with a certain level of personalization. You can, for example, ask questions about specific concepts during a group tutoring session.

For one-on-one tutoring, you and your tutor will work on your weaknesses in the subject. You must be honest about the specific concepts that you’re struggling with in said subject. For example, the concept of “limits” in calculus is an oft-cited reason for tutoring.

Your tutor will also consider your learning style and pace. For example, you may be a visual learner, so your tutor will use visual aids in explaining the concept of “limits.” Graphs, mind maps, and diagrams are common.

Concept-based learning

Again, tutoring services are more focused on learning specific concepts in college courses. These specific concepts are usually complex concepts that can boggle the mind. In college calculus, for example, these include limits, sequences and series, and improper integrals.

Your tutor will break down the complex concepts you’re struggling with in terms you can understand. In the case of limits, the graphical approach is a popular method. Here, graphs of functions become visual explanations of the concept.

Active learning

Tutoring isn’t spoon-feeding concepts, far from it. You must do the hard work of understanding the difficult concepts through different methods. These include asking questions, engaging in discussions, and solving practice problems. You’re being an active participant in building your knowledge and skills.

With active learning, you become more confident in your ability to deal with specific concepts. Your confidence can spill over into tackling challenging concepts in the future.

Regular feedback and assessment

A tutor is expected to provide constructive feedback on your progress in learning about specific concepts. There may be extra sessions, too, depending on your level of understanding. Regular assessments of your progress are also part of tutoring.

Tutoring is best for these scenarios.

  • Preparing for major exams in a course you’re enrolled in 
  • Preventing yourself from dropping out of a course because you can’t keep up with the discussions
  • Gaining mastery of a specific subject with a significant impact on your academic career
  • Improving your grades in a specific course
  • Learning a new skill or topic

In conclusion, tutoring is a form of targeted academic support for a specific subject. There’s a narrower focus than in academic coaching.

Key Differences Between Academic Coaching and Tutoring

We point out three main differences between academic coaching and tutoring. 

Skill-Building vs. Content Mastery

This is the foremost difference between coaching and tutoring – building skills vs. mastering content, respectively. Academic coaching builds vital skills that students can use in and out of the classroom.

Effective study skills aren’t the only skills you’ll develop in academic coaching. You’ll also learn goal setting, time management, and organization skills. These are the best academic coaching benefits that you’ll get.

These aren’t student-specific skills but are life skills. When you’re applying for jobs, you can highlight these skills. Then, in your job and life in general, these are valuable skills for success, too. 

Furthermore, academic coaching focuses on how you can learn and relearn skills down the road. Learning and relearning is an essential part of life itself.

Tutoring focuses on mastering academic content/course or its specific concepts. Yes, you’ll also learn skills, but these are subject-specific skills.

You may learn life skills, such as persistence and patience in learning, but your tutor won’t focus on them. The focus is on understanding challenging concepts. As a result, you’re more able to give correct answers during class discussions and exams.

If you’re being tutored in organic chemistry, you’ll learn strategies to understand its difficult concepts. You may, for example, tackle reaction mechanisms or resonance structures.

Long-Term Guidance vs. Short-Term Problem-Solving

Academic coaching has a long-term impact that stretches well beyond graduation. You’ll develop a strong sense of independence and confidence in your abilities.

There’s nothing immediate in academic coaching because the focus is on sustainable habits and skills. You will find useful applications for, say, time management skills at many points in your life. 

Tutoring has a short-term focus because it addresses current academic issues. Most of these issues are connected to your grades, too. You may be falling behind in class because you can’t understand the difficult concepts. Tutoring offers a quick and effective solution to these issues.

Of the many tutoring benefits, a boost in your grades in the specific courses you’re being tutored for is the best.

Personalized Mentoring vs. Topic-Specific Expertise

Both academic coaching and tutoring have a personalized approach. However, academic coaching has a stronger mentoring element to it. This isn’t surprising as academic coaching equals skills building, and mentoring has a skills-building aspect to it.

Your coach also provides continuing encouragement and inspiration. This is in addition to holding you accountable for your progress.

In contrast, tutoring has a more topic-specific focus, not a skills-building emphasis. You will gain mastery of a specific topic and even develop specific academic skills. But you necessarily won’t get inspiration or be held accountable for your progress.

When to Choose Academic Coaching or Tutoring

Both coaching and tutoring are highly recommended academic support for college students. But each one has specific applications and purposes. Which one is the best in your current circumstances? Here’s how to choose between the two options.

  1. Define your academic goals. Study skills and coaching have a close relationship, so to speak. So, if you’re struggling with your study skills in particular and your life skills in general, go for coaching. Choose coaching, too, if you’re looking for academic success strategies over the long term. If you’re struggling with understanding specific concepts in a course, go for tutoring.
  2. Determine your current challenges. Do you struggle with time management, motivation, or organization? Choose academic coaching, especially when you’re in a transition period. If you’re struggling with a specific course, choose tutoring. You can choose between one-on-one and group sessions depending on your learning style.
  3. Consider your schedule and budget. Academic coaching usually takes a longer period since skill building takes time. The costs may be higher, too, but if you consider the long-term benefits, it’s worth the cost.
  4. Look for affordable academic coaching services if money is an issue. Check out Wyzant, College Possible, and TRIO programs. Tutoring usually lasts for a few days or weeks (i.e., short-term). Once you learn the concepts you’re being tutored in, you can stop the sessions. You can also hire a tutor whenever you feel it’s necessary.

Can Academic Coaching and Tutoring Work Together?

Yes, coaching and tutoring can work together. In fact, you’ll find that their services and benefits complement each other. You’ll receive well-rounded academic support. Think about it: You gain both life skills and subject-specific skills that enhance your college experience.

Here are the scenarios where coaching and tutoring services work well together:

  • Preparing for college, such as a high school senior preparing for its rigorous demands
  • Overcoming learning challenges, particularly among neurodiverse students
  • Building mastery and confidence in specific subjects and managing academics

Conclusion: Empowering Students with the Right Support

Academic coaching and tutoring have their specific goals and benefits in your college journey. Where academic coaching focuses on long-term skills building, tutoring emphasizes short-term content mastery. Both involve personalized services although with a different scope and level.

Don’t dismiss one for the other. You will find that, when combined in the right way, academic coaching and tutoring will enrich your life.