What are good models for a Tutorial System for lagging CS students? Some students find themselves falling behind in a course but still have the desire to do well. Some colleges provide a definite system of tutors in which such students can get additional help. What are good models, in your experience, for such systems?

Some questions you might want to answer in giving a model are


Are the tutors other students or professionals?
How are the tutors selected?
Are tutors or sessions supervised formally in any way?
Are tutors paid? If so in what way? (money, academic credit, ...)
What are the scheduling issues? What works and what does not?
Are the tutors and tutees matched with each other in any specific way?
Is tutoring one-one or one-many, generally?
Does the student need a "ticket" to join, say a recommendation from a prof?
Can you get any measure of success?
How do the tutors benefit other than formal pay?


What models have you seen or been part of that might be used elsewhere?
When I started my last job, there were many problems with the CS "tutors" at the CC and university I worked at:


Tutors actually didn't know the content that well themselves.
Tutors "explained" a lot, and used the sessions as hangout time with other buddies, or as a sort of show-off time.
Attendance at tutoring sessions was (unsurprisingly) low.


If no one knows the content, no one knows how to teach the content, and no one is welcoming to new students, what can you do?? I opted for a fairly time-intensive solution because it fit within my role, but others may benefit from at least parts of this model.

I started a Peer-Led Team Learning program, with training in 


CS content
CS pedagogical techniques 
supportive culture


PLTL Leaders didn't just hold tutoring hours. They also led weekly PLTL sessions where they helped students learn CS in a structured setting. This provided a way for students to meet the Leaders, and a context that ensured the students learned something and that the Leaders were trained. PLTL leaders also helped out in the classroom.

PLTL is a proven model with a handbook, a research tradition, and support. I had to make my own exercises for CS1 / CS2, but the model for how to run a PLTL program is already well-established---simply follow the handbook. PLTL emphasizes collaborative work (usually on paper), and Leaders prompt and direct students, but do not give away the answers. 

Being a PLTL leader was advertised as a high-status position, a leader in both content knowledge and professionalism. I was inspired by Section Leader programs at many universities. PLTL Leaders were paid hourly. At the university, I was able to set up a system of interviews to hire new PLTL leaders--this gave another level of professionalism, and also gave students much needed practice in whiteboarding and interviewing, even if they didn't get the job.

Weekly trainings bootstrapped the tutors' content and pedagogical knowledge. We worked through the packet of problems for that week's PLTL session ahead of time as a group. This ensured that everyone knew the content, and also knew how to prompt students to solve the problems. We practiced pedagogical techniques like tracing code, drawing memory diagrams, and prompting students to collaborate. We typically spent 30 minutes talking about issues like making sure students didn't feel afraid of looking stupid or asking questions.

This model does require buy-in from instructors to motivate PLTL attendance. Some CS1/CS2 teachers made PLTL attendance mandatory, others offered extra credit. In an ideal world, the CS1 / CS2 teachers would write the PLTL materials and help run the program, but it fell on me in my setting.

Over time, student coordinators took over running the training sessions. Once problem sets were developed, they were re-used. 

Starting this program was one of the highlights of my job. I'm happy to say that these students did become a strong part of the department's culture over the 2.5 years I ran the program, raising the bar for what professors thought their students could be capable of. Many of those students now have great jobs in industry. I miss 'em :')