Academic Questions

We are making adjustments to classroom spaces and labs following guidance from state and local health authorities. We will apply social distancing guidelines in the classroom in the following ways:

• Separating desks by six feet when possible.
• Alternating attendance in some classes to reduce the number in attendance for any one day.
• We are planning to provide video support and recording of classes in order to assist those whose attendance is limited due to social distancing or illness.

(Updated July 20, 2020)

The Academic Enrichment Center is always available to assist all students with their needs. (Updated July 1, 2020)

In most cases, students will be expected to attend classes as they normally would. Specific concerns should be raised by the student to the professor. (Updated July 1, 2020)

Taylor University officials continue to meet regularly to prepare for all scenarios. Please know we continue to monitor the situation. (Updated December 2, 2020)

Each class will be different. When a student needs to isolate or quarantine, he/she needs to communicate with the professor for details and guidelines. (Updated July 1, 2020)

Any concerns about course work should be directed to your professor. If you have a chronic illness that is impacting your ability to complete your work, contact the Academic Enrichment Center. (Updated July 1, 2020)

Our faculty care deeply about educating students even in the midst of this unusual situation. They will continue to deliver a high quality education while respecting physical distancing guidelines. (Updated July 1, 2020)

Students will need to connect with their academic advisor for details on their specific situation. (Updated July 1, 2020)

Academic Enrichment Center (AEC) services can be found on the Taylor website at: https://www.taylor.edu/offices/academic-enrichment-center/index.shtml.  (Updated July 1, 2020)

If a student remains at home for the semester and attends virtual classes online, they will need to contact the Academic Enrichment Center and request accommodations. If they are a current student and have received accommodations from our office in the past, they will only need to request the accommodations. We will create the accommodation memos and send them to the professors of the student’s classes.

If we have not worked with a student in the past, we will need to receive documentation regarding the disability. The documentation can be a copy of an IEP or 504 plan from high school or a filled out form from a medical provider. Depending on the nature of the disability, the form to be used will be specific to the disability. The various forms can be found at: https://www.taylor.edu/offices/academic-enrichment-center/disabilities. (Updated July 1, 2020)

Appointments during the school year can be made by contacting Lisa Wallace in the AEC at lswallace@tayloru.edu. Briefly explain the nature of the situation and she will be able to set up an appointment with the staff member who could best assist you. (Updated July 1, 2020)

After much careful consideration, the University has decided to suspend student participation in all off-campus programs (domestic and international) this fall semester and January term in 2021. While we regret this suspension of fall off-campus programming for our students, we feel that this is a prudent decision to make given the current conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participating students have already been informed of this decision and this past spring these students were requested to register for fall classes on campus in the event their off-campus options were altered. They have also secured on-campus housing placements. This temporary suspension of off-campus programming does not diminish our commitment to global engagement. While our hope is that a number of programs will resume in spring 2021, this period of time will also provide us with opportunities to explore additional ways of promoting global/intercultural learning for students on campus. (Updated August 24, 2020)

All appointments will be online. We can offer synchronous video conferencing to any students who have computers equipped with mics and cameras. If students don’t have mics or cameras on their computers, we also can offer synchronous consultations via our system’s chat function, Google Docs, or even a domestic phone call. We can likewise offer asynchronous consultations via email if necessary. And we still can help students at any stage in their writing processes, whether that be understanding their assignments or brainstorming ideas; developing outlines, thesis statements, and topic sentences; or writing and revising rough drafts. (Updated August 12, 2020)

Afternoons: Monday -Thursday, 1:00pm - 5:00pm and Friday, 1:00 - 4:00pm

Evenings: Sunday - Thursday, 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Closed Saturdays.

(Updated November 17, 2020)

The process resembles that of in-person appointment scheduling and includes these easy steps:

1. Go to the Writing Center.

2. If you haven’t used the Writing Center’s online appointment system yet this academic year, register in the system first. To do so, click on the registration link on that Web page.

3. Once you've registered, you can access the online schedule (and if you've registered previously, it will automatically appear).

4. On the schedule, click on a white box that corresponds to the date & time you wish to meet with a consultant. Be sure you’re clearly distinguishing what time you’re choosing (e.g., 3:00 or 3:30).

5. An appointment form will pop up. In response to the question, “Meet Online?” click on “Yes, Schedule Online Appointment.”

6. Fill out the rest of the appointment form completely, including professor and course names.

7. Our appointment system supports file attachments, so please attach both your assignment and your outline or rough draft by following the directions at the bottom of the form.

8. Click on "Create Appointment."

9. You've done it! You will automatically receive emails confirming and later on, reminding you of your appointment. (Updated March 18, 2020)

That process is quite simple, so we ask students to manage their own appointments in this way. Below are the steps for canceling or changing an appointment:

1. Go to mywco.com/taylor and click on your appointment on the online schedule. It will be a golden yellow color.

2. Your appointment form will pop up. Scroll down to the bottom of that form.

3. Click on “Cancel Appointment.” You now can make a new appointment at a different time. (See the steps above.) (Updated March 18, 2020)

Yes. Students may make two half-hour or one one-hour appointment per day. This policy allows students to access quite a lot of assistance from us while likewise remaining accessible to all students. (Updated March 18, 2020)

Yes. When the Writing Center's schedule is full, students can sign up for the waiting list by clicking on the “WAITING LIST” designator right below each day on the schedule. Fill out the pop-up form and click on "Add to Waiting List." Students on that list will be notified if any appointment gets canceled. (Updated March 18, 2020)

Yes. All our grammar guides and style guides for APA (6th edition) and MLA (8th edition) are available on our website. We also recommend Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) for more extensive online resources: (Updated March 17, 2020)

While online tutoring requires a bit more patience and creativity than face-to-face tutoring, it can still support the academic needs of Taylor’s students. Depending on the tutor’s and tutee’s technology access, tutoring can happen through the following:

• For students with internet, camera, and mic: use Google Hangouts for video, webwhiteboard.com for a shared drawing space, and Google docs for shared text space.
• Other video chat services like Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp, and Messenger are also possibilities depending on tutor/tutee preferences.
• For students with Internet but no camera or mic: use Google Hangouts chat (or other online chat service), Google docs for shared text space, and simultaneous phone call for sound.
• For students with no or limited internet access: phone call and/or email.
  

(Updated March 18, 2020)

If you have a student who is asking for a tutor, please ask them to email Darci Nurkkala at drnurkkala@taylor.edu and copy Dr. Scott Gaier at scgaier@taylor.edu. The student will then be matched with one of our tutors. Taylor’s online program, TutorTrac, will not be used for scheduling appointments during this time. Tutors and tutees will determine their scheduling together.

Tutors have been asked if they would be willing to continue tutoring in an online environment, and if so, to reach out to those they have been tutoring to assure them of the ongoing support. So, many of our current tutees have already been contacted by their tutors. For those tutors who are not comfortable with the online format, the AEC will be finding their tutees other online tutors.

(Updated March 18, 2020)

If you know of a student who is at a higher risk in a distance learning environment, one way to support that student is to identify one of your top students currently in the course to come alongside the at-risk student. The AEC can hire that student as a tutor who could then act as a support in the new online infrastructure of the course, a clarifier of content, a coach in time management, and an accountability partner. Please email Darci Nurkkala and copy Dr. Scott Gaier if this is an option you would like pursue. (Updated March 18, 2020)

Darci Nurkkala, Tutor Coordinator, drnurkkala@taylor.edu
Dr. Scott Gaier, Director of the AEC, scgaier@taylor.edu

(Updated March 18, 2020)

Contact your professor and let them know that you are not feeling well and ask if there is another time you can take it. If you are ill and need to go to your doctor, have the doctor give you a note. Send the note to Trina Hartman at trhartman@tayloru.edu and she will send the professor an official excuse. (Updated March 18, 2020)

Lisa Wallace: lswallace@tayloru.edu, (765) 998-5524

(Updated August 24, 2020)