The TECHniques Center highlights its Fund for Excellence during the 2025 Texas Tech Day of Giving, and you can help.

Every student on Texas Tech University’s campus has unique needs.

And certain populations need an extra helping hand to ensure they are successful in their college career. 

This is where the TECHniques Center of Texas Tech University steps up to the plate and helps students shine.

The TECHniques Center provides supplemental academic support services to meet the unique needs of undergraduate students with documented evidence of learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD or ADHD) or autism spectrum disorders.

The center recognizes that all students learn differently, so it strives to make education accessible while supporting students in becoming independent self-advocates and accomplishing their educational goals.

Sharon Betzold, program director at the TECHniques Center, stated that alongside hands-on tutoring sessions, this often involves assisting students with the executive function aspects of college, such as organization, time management and study skills. 

“Our students tend to be incredibly intelligent but can struggle with things like turning assignments in on time,” Betzold said. “Students in this population typically have a 30 to 60% retention rate in college without any support, but for those who come to our program and actively participate, we’ve had a 97 to 100% retention rate at Texas Tech every semester since 1999.”

This spring, the center is supporting 165 students and plans to increase its capacity to 200 in the fall. Undergraduate students at Texas Tech who wish to receive services from the TECHniques Center must first apply and be approved for services with Student Disability Services (SDS) and complete the required SDS intake. This is in addition to completing a separate application and approval process for the TECHniques Center. These students are then placed on a waitlist.

Students already enrolled in the program are asked whether they would like to continue their enrollment for the next academic semester and are given the first opportunity to maintain their spots. Open spots remaining from students who have graduated or decided not to re-enroll are then offered to students on the waitlist on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Each student meets with an academic counselor, such as Betzold, once a week for 30 minutes to discuss topics related to executive function skills. Additionally, students are paired with one or two peer tutors based on their coursework and compatibility, and they have five hours of one-on-one sessions with those tutors.

“Students work with those same one or two tutors for the whole semester,” Betzold said. “So, they really get to know each other and build a mentoring relationship. The tutors help the students review content and will talk them through what resources they've used on campus or what they specifically remember from the classes. Maybe they’ll say, ‘I know that the professor's really going to look at this specific thing in your project, so make sure you look at the rubric,’ or ‘Hey, if you can get your political science modules done in the first few weeks of class, you don't have to worry about them the rest of the semester.’ They give them as many tips and advice as they can from their own experiences.”

The tutors not only excel in their academics, but they also complete training courses at the TECHniques Center, which certifies them as tutors through the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). New tutors attend 20 hours of training over the semester while returning tutors receive 11 to 12 hours of training each semester.

Betzold stated the center is continuously seeking tutors and regularly posts job openings. One of these postings piqued the interest of Angela Cardenas, a second-year animal science major from Katy, Texas. 

Cardenas came across the advertisement via TechAnnounce and was immediately intrigued. As she started researching the center, she discovered that their work closely aligned with her values.

“I found out what they strive for, what they stand on, and I actually really liked the values and think what they're doing is really amazing,” Cardenas said. “They want to make a difference in people's lives that not a lot of people would understand. They understand that not everybody learns the same, and they want to do everything that they can to get people where they need to be.”

Cardenas, who has been a tutor for three semesters, discovered a sense of community at the TECHniques Center. This environment, which Betzold noted they have worked hard to cultivate for both staff and students, is immediately apparent to everyone who walks through the center’s doors.

From pairs of students gathered around tables and whiteboards sharing snacks and sketching ideas to the brightly colored posters advertising themed gatherings at the center, along with countless smiles and waves from nearly every person in the room, there is an undeniable sense of camaraderie.

Just as important as the people in the room and the bonds they share, Betzold and Cardenas both emphasized the necessity of the tools available to tutors and students alike. The standard collegiate school supplies are easy to recall: whiteboards, markers, pencils, calculators, notebooks, note cards, blue books, scantrons and more.

However, students with unique learning methods, such as those tutored at the TECHniques Center, often require different tools to best understand the concepts they are trying to learn. These tools can range from specialized planners and programs that help students organize their schedules and study more effectively to models and designs that are more tangible for students who can better comprehend through kinesthetic learning.

“A lot of our students have learning disabilities, and that just means they learn differently,” Cardenas said. “These tools make it easier for them because everybody doesn't learn the same way, and it simply helps put it in terms they understand. It’s worth every moment to see them almost explode with ‘I get it now! It’s falling into place.’ You see the puzzle pieces clicking together. It’s great because you know that you've made a difference in their life and in their education.”

While staff and tutors are the boots on the ground, helping students in the TECHniques Center every day, Betzold said these essential tools – from the basics to the most advanced – are a crucial component that keeps the center running and one of the best ways donors can support students in the program.

This is why, as part of the 2025 Texas Tech Day of Giving, the TECHniques Center has chosen to highlight the TECHniques Center Fund for Excellence. This fund serves as foundational support for the center, providing funding for everything from student scholarships and tutor training to pencils, markers, paper, games, chemical molecule sets and virtual anatomy models. 

For Betzold, contributions to this fund represent more than mere support for a student’s education today; they aim to empower the best and brightest to build a better future for us all tomorrow.

“Our students don't struggle with learning because they can’t learn,” Betzold said. “They struggle with learning because the education environment is not set up the way that they learn. And so, if they are able to come here and do that and get specialized support, they’re going to go out into the world and be the outside-of-the-box thinkers. The difference you make by giving to the TECHniques Center is you are supporting the innovators, entrepreneurs and world difference makers.”

How You Can Make an Impact

To make a donation to the TECHniques Center of Texas Tech University or for more information on Texas Tech’s Day of Giving Opportunities, please visit the Day of Giving website.