JWU Academic Support

Peer & Professional Tutoring

Peer and professional tutoring is available in math, science, accounting, writing skills, most major courses and study strategies, with either individual or group sessions.

Online Professional Tutoring

If students need help in addition to the CAS tutoring hours, JWU offers 24/7 online professional tutoring through Smart Thinking. Smart Thinking may be accessed through links in JWULink and uLearn.

Study Skills Workshops

Looking to improve your writing, studying, and test-taking skills?

Each term, we offer a series of skills workshops to help students in all majors, at various times, and in multiple locations.

Topics include:

• Learning Styles
• Time Management
• Note-taking Strategies
• Study Strategies
• Test Preparation
• Test Taking Strategies
• Textbook Reading Strategies
• Overcoming Math Anxiety

We also offer this material in individual study sessions. Contact Lauren Gentile for the latest workshop schedule or to schedule an appointment.

Academic Support & Skill Development

Students can make individual appointments with our advisor for counseling regarding study skills and strategies for academic success. If you need help with course selection and planning, meet with academic advisors in Student Academic & Financial Services for more technical assistance with registration.

Online Study Skills

Use these excellent Study Skills Strategies if you want to improve your study skills.  

JWU is dedicated to providing reasonable accommodations to give students with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and chronic medical conditions the opportunity to succeed in their academic pursuits. 

While maintaining the highest academic integrity, the university strives to balance academic rigor with support services that help students with disabilities function in a higher learning environment.

Housing Accommodations 

If you need a particular type of on-campus housing accommodation, you must submit documentation to the Center for Academic Support before a request can be considered.

The Center will then work with Residential Life to evaluate the request to ensure that reasonable accommodations are provided.

Email Lauren Gentile if you are requesting housing accommodations or anticipate the need for additional help in an emergency.

Accommodations

Accommodations for students with disabilities who provide appropriate documentation include, but are not limited to:

• Oral and/or extended time for tests
• Enlarged print
• Use of a tape recorder in class
• Note-taking assistance
• Reduced course load
• Preferential scheduling
• Classroom relocation
• Medical absences
• Use of assistive technology (i.e. Dragon Naturally Speaking, Roger Pen)

If you are a JWU applicant or current student with physical disabilities, contact Lauren Gentile to begin discussing how CAS can assist you.

Some programs of study at the university have technical standards and requirement. Copies of the technical standards applicable to various programs are also available at the Center for Academic Support.

Submit Documents 

Students requesting accommodations should:

1. Submit your disability documentation to the Center for Academic Support.
2. Make an appointment with your advisor.
3. Meet with an advisor to review your documentation, discuss the policies and determine reasonable accommodations.

Email Lauren Gentile for additional information.

You will be expected to:

• Participate in the determination and implementation of reasonable accommodations and support services
• Meet with your advisor at the beginning of every term to complete the Accommodations Form
• Inform your advisor when accommodations are not working or need to be changed
• Keep follow-up appointments or call to cancel and reschedule in a timely manner

The Advisor will be expected to:

• Maintain medical/psychological/educational documentation in a confidential manner
• Identify reasonable accommodations and support services and assist with their implementation
• Request updated documentation (as needed) to determine if accommodations need to be modified

Individualized Testing Policy 

Students with disabilities may receive test accommodations determined on an individual basis; they are responsible for informing instructors each time they plan on utilizing these accommodations (as verified by the Academic Support Advisor) by:

• Going to the Center for Academic Support as soon as a test is announced to fill out an Individual Test Request Form and schedule the test to be taken in the Center
• Giving the top copy of this form to the instructor at least two days prior to the test
• Going to the Center, instead of class, at the time of the test

Note-taking Assistance Procedure 

Students whose documentation warrants note-taking assistance must sign the accommodation agreement at the beginning of each term and meet with the instructor to determine how notes will be obtained.

• The instructor may identify a suitable peer note-taker, and it is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements with the instructor to obtain notes. 
• The instructor may provide the student with a copy of his/her notes, which are for the student’s private study only and must be returned to the instructor at the end of the term/class. 
• The instructor may advise the student to use the copy of his/her notes in the Center for Academic Support.

Service Animal Procedure 

The Academic Support Advisor will determine the appropriateness of a service animal based on whether a student has a disability and the role of the service animal. To request the presence of a service animal, the student must meet with an Academic Support Advisor.

Alternate Format Procedure 

Students who require alternate access to printed material may receive textbooks in alternate format (as determined by the Academic Support Advisor). Students are responsible for:

• Purchasing all books
• Requesting electronic text (e-text) by contacting their Academic Support Advisor
• If the book is not available from the publisher, students are responsible for forwarding relevant textbook information to their Academic Support Advisor, including the following information: Title, Author(s), Publisher, Edition and ISBN

The Academic Support Advisor is then responsible for contacting the publisher for the book’s availability and/or to obtain permission to scan it.

Grievance Procedure 

Any student with a complaint or grievance about an accommodation decision should submit a written request for review of the decision to the Title IX Coordinator (who also serves as the university’s nondiscrimination coordinator and Section 504 coordinator), Matthias Rubekeil, 8 Abbott Park Place, Providence, RI, 02903, 401-598-2703. 

Classroom Relocation Policy 

Students with limited mobility and/or physical disabilities are assisted by having their classrooms moved to an accessible location. Students needing such an accommodation should participate in the priority scheduling process so that accessible classrooms can be arranged. It is the Student’s Responsibility to:

• Provide documentation to verify his/her disability and validate his/her request for relocation of classrooms with the Center for Academic Support.
• Participate in priority scheduling
• Review the class schedule to determine which classes need to be relocated with his/her Academic Support Advisor
• Immediately inform the Academic Support Advisor of any changes in class schedule or problems with classroom accessibility

Academic Support Advisor Responsibilities: The Academic Support Advisor will present student's need for relocation of classroom to Student Academic Services, and the respective department will relocate the class to an accessible location.

Documentation and Guidelines 

Students requesting services must provide the Center for Academic Support with the required disability documentation. Contact the Center for Academic Support at 305-892-7026 or email Lauren Gentile