By: Mission Matters
College courses don’t exist in a vacuum, and neither should tutoring. As students navigate programs in fields like nursing, business analytics, and artificial intelligence, they’re expected to draw on skills across multiple subjects, including math, coding, ethics, and more. To meet these interdisciplinary demands, tutoring services are rethinking how they staff and support students, leaning into a strategy that puts foundational expertise front and center.
Campus learning centers have been adopting this approach for years. The University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, is a great example. The Excel Mathematics Center employs tutors majoring in math, physics, engineering, or computer science. These students assist with a broad range of math courses. Yale University follows a similar model. Its residential college tutors may specialize in one area, but they’re prepared to support peers in statistics, biology, economics, and other quantitative fields. These examples highlight a key insight: strong knowledge in a core subject often translates well across disciplines.
This strategy becomes even more valuable in emerging fields that don’t fit neatly into one category. Artificial intelligence, for example, isn’t a standalone subject. It’s a convergence of programming, mathematics, data analysis, and ethical reasoning. Supporting students in AI requires tutors who can connect these dots, helping learners understand the tools and principles that power them.
Traditional tutoring frameworks tend to mirror academic departmental boundaries. Students struggling with linear algebra, for instance, are referred to a math tutor. Those needing help with data structures are sent to computer science. Ethics-related questions go to philosophy. This segmentation assumes that knowledge is neatly divisible, but interdisciplinary fields, especially in high-growth sectors, invalidate that assumption.
Fragmentation may cause unnecessary logistical friction. When students are forced to jump between multiple tutoring appointments to resolve one assignment, efficiency and comprehension both suffer. It also misrepresents how knowledge operates in real-world problem-solving, where drawing from multiple domains is the default, not the exception.
That’s exactly the thinking behind NetTutor’s “Collections” model. Developed by Link-Systems International, NetTutor organizes tutoring services around clusters of related subjects instead of treating them in isolation. The AI Hub is an ideal example; it brings together expert support in Python, statistics, logic, and ethical frameworks, all in one place. Students working on AI projects or taking AI-related courses can get help with the foundational elements they need, without bouncing between different subject silos.
“NetTutor’s structure is grounded in how academic subjects interact in real learning environments,” said Vincent Forese, President of Link-Systems International. “By connecting students with tutors who understand the foundational skills behind specialized topics, we’re supporting a more integrated and flexible approach to academic assistance.”
This approach requires structural rethinking in staffing and tutor training. Tutors in a Collections model must demonstrate not only subject mastery. They also must use conceptual mobility, the ability to traverse disciplinary boundaries while maintaining precision. This sets a higher bar for recruitment and development but pays dividends in improved learning outcomes and relevance to real-world challenges.
Further, aligning tutoring support with interdisciplinary demands creates a more authentic continuity between academic study and professional application. For example, a nursing student analyzing health informatics data must apply statistical reasoning, software literacy, and patient privacy ethics simultaneously. A tutor versed in all three, at least at a functional level, provides support and modeling for integrated thinking.
As academic programs continue to evolve, so should the way we deliver support. Whether it’s on campus or online, leveraging tutors’ core expertise across multiple disciplines helps students make deeper connections. They are able to work more efficiently and build the kind of interdisciplinary understanding that today’s world demands. Academic support that mirrors the complexity of modern problems isn’t a luxury, it’s a structural necessity.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional educational or academic advice. The examples and models discussed reflect specific institutional approaches and may not be universally applicable. Readers should consult relevant academic advisors or support services for guidance tailored to their individual needs.
