Faculty Information & Resources for the Spring 2022 Semester

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

As you prepare for the upcoming semester, the Office of Advising & Co-Curricular Programs has put together some information and resources that we hope will be helpful in the first few weeks. 

• Class Dean support – The class deans are your partners in fostering student success! Within the first two weeks of the semester, we will meet with students on academic probation and warning to ensure they have a sound plan for the spring. 

Please reach out to the respective class dean if any of your students are having challenges at the start of the semester (e.g. absences, missing assignments, or disruptive behavior). Receiving these alerts early on in the semester allows us to connect students with appropriate resources such as counseling, accessibility services, and technology services.

Prior to midterms, we hope to identify students with excessive absences and/or poor academic performance. Information on how you can formally request a dean’s review will be sent in a few weeks. 

• Dean’s excuses – Students are expected to meet your attendance and participation requirements. We may provide students with excused absences for extenuating circumstances such as bereavement, family emergencies, or religious observances. Students with health-related absences should be referred to Bailey Health Center. 

We will not issue formal dean’s excuses for COVID-related absences. Instead, faculty will receive a “not cleared” or “cleared” email identifying the respective student. The student’s class dean will also be copied on the notice as an additional resource. 

• Accessibility Services – Students registered with Accessibility Services have been reminded to request their Letter of Accommodation: a document provided by Accessibility Services which outlines the reasonable accommodations that are to be provided to the student. The letter is sent electronically to each instructor  and the student is responsible for communicating directly with each faculty member regarding the accommodations and how the accommodations apply to the course. Please contact Marty Sullivan sullivma@lafayette.edu with any questions
• Academic Resource Hub – The Hub will be partnering with 50+ peer educators to provide academic support programming through Supplemental Instruction, Mentored Study Groups and Individual Peer Tutoring. The SI Leaders, MSG Leaders and Individual Peer Tutors will receive orientation training and be establishing their session schedules over the course of the 1st week of classes.  Hub support sessions will begin Sunday, January 30th and end on May 6th. Schedules are posted on the Hub’s website and in TutorTrac for the students to access. You are encouraged to share this message and the links with your students.  

The individual peer tutor roster is limited. If you are teaching a 100, 200 level course that you believe tutor support may be needed, submit a request to resourcehub@lafayette.edu including the name of the course and any tutor candidates.  Faculty can provide candidates with the link to “How to Become a Tutor”. Requests submitted prior to January 27th will allow the Hub to provide the necessary CRLA Peer Tutor training. Any questions or concerns about academic support can be directed to resourcehub@lafayette.edu.  

• Student Academic Resources – CITLS, in partnership with several offices, has created a one-stop-spot for academic resources. Students and faculty can find information regarding accessibility services, tutoring, advising/registration, healthy living, and more! Please bookmark this site, and share this information with your students. 
• College Transition Workshops – Abby Close, our junior class dean and college transition specialist will host Individual and Small Group Time Management Workshops. Students will leave the workshop with a better understanding of how to map out their daily, weekly, and semester schedules. 

Week 1: Tuesday, January 25 – Friday, January 28
Session 1, 11 – 1 p.m. (EST)
Session 2, 3 – 5 p.m. (EST)

Week 2: Tuesday, February 1 – Friday, February 4
Session 1, 11 – 1 p.m. (EST)
Session 2, 3 – 5 p.m. (EST)
Students can register here: https://forms.gle/gVrqQqKQgt23DGmFA

• Multi-language Learner Academic Support – The English for Academic Purpose Center has updated the academic support services for the multi-language learners on the center’s website. Such services include the college success academic workshops, ENG100-01 class, Conversation PARDner Program, one-on-one English language tutoring sessions, the center’s Spaces site for language learning materials, etc. 

Meanwhile, we are looking for Conversation PARDners for the current year. If you know any students who are suitable for this position, please forward this Call for Application message to your students.

Here are some teaching suggestions for working with multilingual students posted on the center’s website. As always, if you want to have an individual consultation on working with multilingual students, please email Tingting Kang at kangt@lafayette.edu. 

We will send additional communications around the midterm and final examination periods. Until then, please let us know whether you have questions!

Here’s to a great start of the spring semester,

Office of Advising & Co-Curricular Programs