Faculty Toolbox

The Writing and Learning Commons (WaLC) and Mathematics Tutoring Center (MTC) hire students who are recommended by you to serve as academic role models for your students. Tutoring sessions provide students with a safe, low-stakes environment where they can ask questions and gain problem-solving experience through trial and error. As students develop confidence through tutoring, they often become more actively involved in your classroom and more willing to engage with you outside of class.

The Writing and Learning Commons (WaLC), located in Belk 207, provides six types of free academic support:

• Course tutors are identified by faculty to help students review and practice course content. They are trained to facilitate small-group sessions where students collaborate and learn from each other. Course tutors are expected to provide support to all sections of the class they have been recommended to tutor.
• Writing tutors help students with any type of writing assignment. Writing tutors focus on global concerns such as thesis, structure, research, and assignment requirements as well as surface-level issues such as grammar, citation, and punctuation.
• Writing fellows are undergraduate writing tutors dedicated to a specific discipline. If the writing projects you assign are specialized or unfamiliar to new students, writing fellows may be a good choice for you and your department.
• Academic skills consultants (ASCs) meet one-on-one with students to discuss their habits for note-taking, time management, study skills, test-taking, and reading. They also visit classes to facilitate workshops.
• Spanish Conversation Assistants (SCAs) are native or heritage Spanish speakers who provide an opportunity for Spanish language learners to practice their conversational skills in a friendly, low-stakes environment. Students do not have to be enrolled in a Spanish class to take advantage of this service.
• Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leaders are embedded in classes that have historically high rates of D, F, W grades. SI Leaders facilitate collaborative, weekly SI sessions that focus on the most difficult course concepts. SI session schedules are determined at the beginning of each semester, advertised to all students in the class, and posted on the WaLC website.
  
  

  The Mathematics Tutoring Center (MTC), located in 437 Stillwell, provides these free services:

  • Drop-in-tutors are identified by Math and Computer Science faculty based on performance. Most tutors have successfully completed calculus II or CS 151 and are equipped to assist students with a variety of math and computer science content. Drop-in tutoring is our main service to students. Our tutors provide an active and collaborative learning environment with open space for dialogue and deliberation, as well as private rooms for students to study and work alone or with small groups. Students do NOT need an appointment to use the drop-in space, and private rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • Appointment-based course tutors are available to help with traditionally-difficult liberal studies math classes such as college algebra, precalculus I and II, calculus I, and applied statistics. Online appointments are also available, sometimes on the weekends as well as weekdays.
  • One-on-one and small-group tutoring can be requested by students and/or faculty as needed.
  • Workshops on Math and Computer Science content are provided by request from students and/or faculty.
  • GRE, LSAT, and MCAT reviews are offered in the fall and spring semesters. Additional resources are available online at examprep.wcu.edu.
  • ALEKS is our math placement diagnostic. Please send all inquiries about ALEKS and math placement to Sibley Bryan at fsbryan@wcu.edu or call 828.227.3830.

A sudden influx of required students can overwhelm our services and prohibit students from other classes from making appointments. If you're interested in making writing tutoring a course requirement, contact Haylee Wilkie so that we can plan ahead or discuss other solutions such as writing fellows.

The WaLC offers one-on-one academic skills consultations to students who need help identifying effective learning strategies. To schedule an academic skills workshop for your whole class, visit tutoring.wcu.edu and click on the Faculty Toolbox to read the workshop descriptions and submit a request. Direct individual students to access our online academic success tools.

Instructors can recommend course tutors, writing fellows, and Supplemental Instruction Leaders to work specifically with their classes. Visit tutoring.wcu.edu and click on the Faculty Toolbox to submit a tutor recommendation form. Recommendations should be submitted prior to the first day of class each semester.

Promote tutoring as a resource that is encouraged for all students who want to enhance their academic strategies and improve their knowledge. Include the WaLC and MTC in your syllabus and communicate with tutors who may contact you about the following:

• Meeting with you to discuss your class, your assignments, and your expectations for students.
• Visiting your class to make a brief, 5- to 10-minute introduction to your students.
• Requesting tutor-level Canvas access, where appropriate.

Yes! All new tutors enroll in USI 202: Intro to Peer Tutoring. WCU’s 1-credit hour tutor training course is certified by the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA), which promotes an internationally-accepted standard of training for tutors. Tutors can earn up to 3 levels of tutor certification and merit pay increases based on training and experience.

Faculty have several options to help students learn proper research and citation practices:

• In-class workshops: The WaLC offers a general plagiarism workshop, APA citation workshop, and Chicago/Turabian workshop. 
• Plagiarism resources: Visit the WaLC’s writing support page, writing.wcu.edu, which includes activities for students and resources for faculty.
• One-on-one writing tutoring: Encourage students to visit the WaLC as a preventative strategy.

During the fall and spring semesters, our typical hours of operation are:

• MTC Drop-in Tutors: Monday – Thursday from 9:00 am – 9:00 pm and Fridays from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.
• WaLC: Monday – Thursday from 8:00 am – 9:00 pm and Fridays from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm.
• Hours can vary during break and holidays, check our Hours of Operation for Closings.
• Tutor availability during summer terms will vary, depending on class schedules and demand.
• Students can make appointments with the WaLC’s course tutors, academic skills consultants, international student consultants, Spanish conversation assistants, and writing fellows 24 hours in advance through Navigate. Writing tutors are available on a drop-in basis and by appointment (recommended).
• Some tutors are available for online Zoom appointments on weekends and on a limited basis during the week. If you have a student who needs to meet with a tutor but can’t find a session that works with their schedule, please encourage them to contact us.  
• In addition to the WaLC and MTC’s online tutoring options, distance students and students taking classes in Asheville have free access to Brainfuse online tutoring.

• For course tutoring questions, contact Chesney Reich, WaLC Director, at reich@wcu.edu, x2273.
• For writing tutoring, writing fellows, and writing workshop questions, contact Haylee Wilkie, WaLC Associate Director, at wilkieh@wcu.edu, 828.227.3426.
• For information about Supplemental Instruction or academic skills consultations and workshops, contact Katie Pierce, WaLC Assistant Director, at piercek@wcu.edu, x2149.
• For a Navigate report of your students’ visits to the WaLC, contact Maegan Zigarevich at zigarevichm@wcu.edu, 828.227.3026 and specify your course number and section(s).
• For math tutoring questions, contact Sibley Bryan, fsbryan@wcu.edu, 828.227.3830, and visit mtc.wcu.edu.
• Visit tutoring.wcu.edu and click on the Faculty Toolbox for links to our current tutor assignment list, syllabus statement, tutor recommendation form, in-class workshop request form, and more!