Khai Tran is the Academic Support Coordinator at the Office of Student Academic Resources (SAR). In his role, he supervises the SAR Office Assistants, the SAR Graduate Interns, and the Deans’ Peer Tutors, who provide free supplementary course-content instruction for students who request additional course support. SAR supports students in their academic pursuits and strives to share information with the campus community, in order to increase awareness and use of appropriate services, with the goal of facilitating academic achievement for all students.
SAR encourages students to use the Find A Resource Tool, and sign up for academic support services, which include individual sessions and group coaching workshops!
What is your favorite part about working with Wesleyan student employees?
Wesleyan students truly care for one another and commit to building a supportive community. I work with around 200 peer tutors every year. I can see how much dedication they put into their work, helping other students learn, grow, and find confidence in their ability to succeed.
Can you share any memorable experiences or achievements from supervising student employees?
We check in with the peer tutors at least twice each semester to support them and the students they tutor. I love reading their reflections, and one thing almost every peer tutor says is: I’ve learned so much about myself from tutoring other students. More than once, someone has said they discovered their passion for teaching or mentoring through peer tutoring.
How do you think on-campus jobs contribute to students’ professional development and goals?
I will turn to my small team of 3 Office Assistants and 1 Graduate Intern for this question. They help me run the Deans’ Peer Tutoring Program and support the office of Student Academic Resources. Each of them has been honing many transferable skills that will enable them to succeed in their professional careers – effective communication with the tutors/students and the faculty, problem solving when a tutoring match doesn’t work out, and developing and following operational procedures. Because they all work remotely, they understand the importance of setting clear goals for each shift and documenting their progress so that others can pick up where they leave off.
How does your department’s campus jobs help you and your students impact change within the university or broader community?
The Deans’ Peer Tutoring Program connects over 400 students to peer tutoring support each year, and it is an important part of learning at Wesleyan. Our team of Office Assistants and the peer tutors alike work hard to support students and the faculty, while dispelling the common and harmful myth that you only seek tutoring when you’re at risk of failing. They also help students understand and explore the different types of support services available on campus.
Shout out any programs, events, resources, or information you want students to know about your department!
Student Academic Resources has a Find a Resource tool that enables you to locate academic resources and services on campus. While the Academic Peer Advisors aren’t involved in the peer tutoring program (though many of them may have worked as a tutor or received peer tutoring!), they can support students on a variety of things, from course registration, academic resources, time management, to study skills, exam preparation strategies, and finding the best study spots on campus (and you can even schedule an “accountability session” with them to get stuff done). And lastly, we will continue our Peer Academic Group Coaching series in Fall 2025!
Updated April 10, 2025.
