By Kirsten Nguyen and Claudette Richards, The Whetstone

Freshman Mary Getty said the Academic Resource Center (ARC) at Wesley is good for her.

“When I’m in the ARC I feel obligated to do my work and being there helps me focus,” she said.

The ARC is near the library and serves as an area for students to study. The center also offers tutoring. Some students, especially athletes, are required to spend a specific amount of time at the ARC each week.

“During volleyball season I have to have five hours a week,” Getty, a volleyball player, said.

Volleyball isn’t the only sport that requires ARC hours.

“We ask our freshmen players to put in one hour a day around their class schedule,” football coach Michael Drass said.

Drass said requiring athletes to attend the ARC helps promote a positive academic setting.

“It is great knowing that players are preparing for their classes in the ARC or library instead of being in the social atmosphere of the dorm,” he said.

Students in the AS198 course are required to have 70 hours completed at the arc each semester. Which averages to five hours per week.

“We want the students to gain time management skills and tools to utilize in other courses,” Coordinator of Tutoring Services Danielle Archambault said.

For some students, going to the ARC to do their school work is more beneficial than being in their dorm.

“Some people do need that extra little push of, ‘I need to get out of my room because if I am not in my room, then I’m actually going to get their work done’,” sophomore Paige Goodskey said.

Many use the center as a place to group study, get extra help on a subject, and as a place to concentrate better on their school work.

But some use the ARC to watch Netflix and listen to music.

“Some people will sign-in and just leave,” freshman Derick Charles said. “Others will sign-in and stay on their phones, and watch movies on their laptops.”

The ARC’s capacity is 84 people at a time and is available for students for about 840 hours per semester.

With limited space some students said the ARC has been misused by students required to have so many hours logged in each week. Some students that have to complete their hours but have finished all their work, use their time at the ARC doing other activities.

“I feel like a lot will go to just socialize and meet their hour requirement,” Getty said.

Some students said the ARC’s hours of operation don’t work well with their schedule.

Goodskey understands that athletes need to maintain grades in order to be able to play, but finds that the hours of the ARC cause difficulty for some.

“If the ARC was open a little later or maybe even earlier, it might help them to come here,” Goodskey said.

During the 2015-2016 academic year, the ARC averaged 589 visits per week. The tutoring center averaged 60 appointments per week during the same year. The traffic at the ARC can fluctuate, which may cause students to wait or not even be able to go.

“We do have months where traffic increases and decreases depending on what is happening at campus,” Christine McDermott, director of student success and retention, said.

When students arrive at the ARC, they have to enter their student ID number into a computer and select why they are there and for what subject or sports team.

Drass said that the ARC is supportive and students benefit from going.

“I believe students support a concept that is tied to their success academically,” he said.

Charles said he benefits from the ARC and uses the resources they offer.

“I usually study or see a tutor depending on my subject and on the day,” he said. “Most of the time I do homework.”

Freshman lacrosse player Connor Davis said he had required ARC hours for his first semester at Wesley, but was able to earn a good enough GPA to no longer have to go to the ARC this spring.

“I still go to the ARC even though I don’t have to because it’s a quiet place,” he said. “You can get help if you need it, and the internet is better than my dorm.”

Arc Hours

Sunday: 4:30 p.m.- 9 p.m.

Monday-Thursday: 8 a.m.- 12 p.m.; 1 p.m.- 9 p.m.

Friday: 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

Saturday: Closed