When students begin fall term, they will have a new option to pay for college - tutoring.
The University is one of 14 Michigan colleges and universities that is participating in President Clinton's America Reads Initiative, which allows for up to half of all work study students to teach elementary school children to read.
"There's been a literacy effort in the past, but there's never been anything this dramatic," said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), an advocate of the program, in an interview with The Michigan Daily last month.
Mary Beth Damm, assistant director of the University's new Center for Learning Through Community Service, said there has been a positive reaction to the new program.
"People love the idea of college students working with elementary school students," Damm said.
But Damm said the University plans to use only between 75 and 125 of the University's 3,500 work study students for the program.
"It's not realistic to have half of all work study students in this program," Damm said. "We could not fit them all."
Currently the University is hiring a coordinator for the program, Damm said. The University is also in preliminary discussions with two Ann Arbor-area school districts, she said.
The School of Education has also committed to assist the tutors.
"At this point, we made a committment to support the service," said Education Assistant Dean Karen Wixon. "It's really important work."
Wixon said she wants to assure a quality tutoring program for the young children.
"All tutoring is not created equal," Wixon said. "We want a tutoring program that makes a difference."
The option of literacy tutoring has received mixed reaction from University students.
LSA junior Patrick Ryan, who has participated in work study at a laboratory, said his laboratory experience is more beneficial to his future career than tutoring might be.
"The lab is a little more relevant to what I'm doing," Ryan said. "It's a good idea to invest in the future, but what about us?"
Engineering sophomore Jamie Hillock said she would consider tutoring in the program.
"It would be a good idea," said Hillock, who participates in work study at the School of Education.
Wixon said that while there are community service programs where volunteers tutor older children who have difficulty, she said this program is different.
"The thing that is very unique about this program is that it is targeted at very young children," Wixon said. "Most tutoring programs are targeted at older children.
Damm said the Office of the Provost has sent letters to all incoming first-year students to inform them about the program.
"We want a mix of seniors, juniors, sophomores and first-year students," Damm said.
Damm said that while it may be more convenient for University students to bus the children to the University for tutoring, transportation will most likely be provided through work study funds for the University students to go to the elementary schools.
"That's not a good idea, to put them on a bus three times a week," Damm said.
Michigan Student Assembly Vice-President Olga Savic said the program will be beneficial to both University and elementary students.
"It seems like it's a good way to have students give back to the community for the University students and the elementary school students," Savic said. "It could be a very positive experience. We should utilize University students in a positive way for the community while they get paid in return."