myCSUSM
Online Tutoring
One-on-One Sessions
Making an Appointment
What Happens Next
What to Expect
Policies
Quick Help
How to Ask Your Questions
What to Expect
Policies
Microsoft Teams
Asynchronous Feedback
One-on-One Sessions
Making an Appointment
- Proceed to https://appointments.csusm.edu/
- Select The Writing Center
- Select "Meet with us ONLINE"
- Select an available slot (highlighted in green) that works best for you!
- Receive a confirmation email from Accudemia
What Happens Next
- Prepare for the session by gathering digital versions of necessary materials (i.e.: assignment prompt, your drafted material). Consider your top concerns to discuss with your tutor.
- Log into Microsoft Teams at least 10 minutes before your appointment.
- Your tutor will contact you to ask for your materials and provide information about the session.
- Have a great session at the time you reserved!
What to Expect
Online tutoring is tutoring on Microsoft Teams . It is much like meeting in-person with many more powerful tools at your fingertips and a record of the conversation. With this service you can:
- make use of text, voice, and video communication
- keep the chat log and recording for later reference
- receive links to valuable digital resources
- collaborate* on the same document
- share your screen or see the tutor's screen to navigate resources (only available on the Teams app)
- end the session with clear list of strategies for continuing your writing process
*Note: We will only annote your work, not proofread or change it's content.
Policies
Reserving, Canceling, or Missing an Appointment
- Can I walk-in or drop by for tutoring?
Yes! Please know that you are always welcome to visit us during our open hours. Tutoring as walk-in or drop-in is on a first come, first serve basis. This means you may be seen immediately or you may have to wait if someone came before you.
- How do I reserve an appointment?
To reserve an appointment visit appointments.csusm.edu. Be sure to select "Writing Center" when making the appointment because other campus services use the same scheduler.
- When is the soonest I can make an appointment?
You can reserve an appointment 2 hours before the appointment time.
- When is the farthest out I can make an appointment?You can reserve an appointment at most 2 weeks in advance.
- What if I can't make my scheduled appointment?
If you can't make your appointment, please cancel it as soon as possible to avoid restrictions on future visits. Here are the ways you can cancel an appointment:
- Login to the online appointment system
- Call us at (760) 750-4168 *this is the best option if you are sick or unable to get to campus.
- What happens if I don't show up for my appointment and I forgot to cancel?
Your tutor will wait a few moments before taking a walk-in session. If you miss too many appointments without cancelling, then you will be unable to make appointments through our online scheduler without permission.
- How many appointments can I reserve?
You can reserve two sessions a week. Additional sessions will be available on a walk-in basis.
- What if I need to go to the Writing Center for GEW, but there are no appointments
left?
If you are unable to make an appointment, you will have to visit as a walk-in. If there are many people with the same need as you, then you and they might have to wait a while for an available tutor.
So this does not happen to you, come early and come often!
Editing or Proofing Student Work
- Can a tutor edit my work?Absolutely not. Editing your work is your responsibility, not the tutor's responsibility. Please refer to our policies regarding plagiarism.
- Can a tutor tell me what to edit in my work?No. The tutor may help you find errors in your work if you would like. Your discussions, however, will be guided by the sole purpose of helping you learn how to identify these issues on your own and fix them on your own.
Plagiarism
- Can a tutor write my essay for me?Absolutely not. That is plagiarism.
- Can a tutor tell me what to write?
Absolutely not. That is also plagiarism.
- Does the Writing Center follow CSUSM's plagiarism?Absolutely yes. CSUSM introduces its plagiarism policy:
Each student shall maintain academic honesty in the conduct of his or her studies and other learning activities at CSUSM. The integrity of this academic institution, and the quality of the education provided in its degree programs, are based on the principle of academic honesty.
The maintenance of academic integrity and quality education is the responsibility of each student within this university and the California State University system. Cheating and plagiarism in connection with an academic program at a campus is listed in Section 41301, Title 5, California Code of Regulations, as an offense for which a student may be expelled, suspended, put on probation, or given a less severe disciplinary sanction.
CSUSM defines plagiarism as:
Intentionally or knowingly representing the words, ideas, or work of another as one's own in any academic exercise, including:
(a) the act of incorporating the ideas, words, sentences, paragraphs, or parts thereof, or the specific substance of another's work, without giving appropriate credit, and representing the product as one's own work;
(b) the act of putting one's name as an author on a group project to which no contribution was actually made; and
(c) representing another's artistic/scholarly works such as musical compositions, computer programs, photographs, paintings, drawings, sculptures, or similar works as one's own.
Visit Verification
- How do show my instructor that I visited?
If you are a GEW student, all you need to do is sign in and show up for your appointment! Quick Help will not fulfill the requirement. Visit data is sent to your professors every 1-2 weeks.
If you need to show evidence of your visit for a class other than GEW, ask your tutor or front desk assistant at the Writing Center for a verification slip, which will be signed and stamped at the conclusion of your session.
- How many required visits can I complete in a day?
We will only verify one required visit per class each day. If you need two visits for GEW, those visits will have to be on two separate days.
- When do you stop verifying visits for the semester?We usually remain open until the last day of finals week. We will stop verifying visits for class credit--including those from webinar recording views--on the last day of the semester.
Quick Help
How to Ask Your Question
- Sign into Teams and the Online Writing Center in Teams
- Go to the "1. Quick Help" channel
- Post a question about writing or the OWC's services
- Post another question if you have one!
- and another
- ....
- and write on!
What to Expect
Quick help is fast and easy writing support on Microsoft Teams. Quick help can assist you with questions about:
- the OWCs services
- making an appointment
- grammar
- word choice
- formatting
- and so much more
You should probably consider our other one-on-one services (like chat, voice, video, or email tutoring) instead if you have questions
- that involve sharing more than a paragraph
- that involve sharing your instructor's materials or name
- that involve sensitive material
If the tutor or assistant recognizes that you would benefit from another service, they will recommend it!
Policies
Editing or Proofing Student Work
- Can a tutor edit my work?Absolutely not. Editing your work is your responsibility, not the tutor's responsibility. Please refer to our policies regarding plagiarism.
- Can a tutor tell me what to edit in my work?No. The tutor may help you find errors in your work if you would like. Your discussions, however, will be guided by the sole purpose of helping you learn how to identify these issues on your own and fix them on your own.
Visit Verification
- Does Quick Help count toward required visits.No. Quick Help can last between 2 and 15 minutes, and although it is helpful, it is not the type of engagement expected by instructors who require Writing Center visits.
MICROSOFT TEAMS
Logging into Teams
To access Teams and other Office365 apps navigate to office365.csusm.edu. When logging in, please use your Microsoft log-in:
Google Log-in: username@cougars.csusm.edu
Microsoft Log-in: username@csusm.edu
For the best experience, download the Teams application, available for all devices. If you choose to use the browser version of Teams, it works best with Chrome and Firefox. Safari causes some users technical difficulties.
Your tutor will message you 10-minutes before your session time inviting you to upload your materials.
Using Teams
Prepare to use Teams by reviewing: Accessing Microsoft Teams
Helpful Features:
- Making a Call
- Sharing Your Screen
- Blur your Background
- Basics of Teams chat
- Uploading a document
- Viewing a document while chatting. After uploading a document, click on it to work on it within Teams. At the top right-hand side of the document, click the chat icon to resume chat while working with the document.
Confirm you have a working microphone and camera before your session.