UHV Quick Links
Online Tutoring

 

In addition to providing writing tutors in face-to-face sessions, the Academic Center provides an online writing lab which allows you to email your papers to the Center for tutoring.

 

Below is a compilation of frequently asked questions about the Center’s online tutoring services.

 

Who are the tutors? 
Academic Center tutors are your peers who

  • have successfully completed COM 3430 or ENG 3430 with an A or B, or have demonstrated exceptional writing ability, or have earned a bachelor’s degree;
  • maintain a high GPA;
  • possess good written and oral communication skills;
  • and have been recommended by instructors.

They receive training and must attend continuing meetings/training sessions during the semester. The Academic Center Manager and the Academic Center Coordinator review their work.

 

What are the hours of the online tutors?
The online tutors are typically available Monday through Friday morning to review papers emailed to the Center. Realize, therefore, that if you submit your paper Friday afternoon through Sunday night, we won't receive it until Monday. You do not need an appointment for email online tutoring.

 

How do I send my papers to the Center?
To send a paper for online tutoring, you must first register in WCOnline, our appointment system. You will register only one time during the semester, although you’ll return to WCOnline each time you want to send a document for tutoring.

 

Registration is easy. Just go to http://www.rich37.com/uhv/  and choose “Click here” to register.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to log into the system using your email address and password.
 

To submit a paper for online tutoring, choose a “Writing Tutoring” schedule (any location).
 

Then, select Click here! where prompted in the question "Looking for Online Tutoring? Click here."


A form will appear in a pop up. Complete the fields in the form and attach your document at the end. (Microsoft Word 95 or above is the preferred program for tutoring; however, you also may submit your documents in Microsoft Works.)


Finally, click “Send e-Tutoring Request.” You will receive a confirmation notice when we receive your email. Also, we'd like to encourage you to add tutor@uhv.edu to your address book or friends list to ensure that automatic reply messages and tutor responses are not inadvertently sent to a bulk mail or spam folder.


Please note that you cannot send a document to us from within WebCT.

 

How do I prepare for an online tutorial?
You can prepare for your online tutoring session in several ways:

  • Allow time for the document to be tutored (don’t expect the document to be tutored the hour after you send it),
  • Remember that some documents may need to be tutored more than once; allow extra time in your writing schedule for these documents,
  • Include your audience, purpose, and assignment guidelines in your email message to the tutor,
  • Include your overall concerns about your paper in your email message to the tutor,
  • Be sure to follow the guidelines about which programs to use and what to include in the subject line and body of your email message.

What will the tutors do once they receive my paper?
The tutors will

  • Respond within three business days for papers under 10 pages, excluding weekends (most undergraduate papers)
  • Respond within 10 days for papers 10 pages or more (most graduate-level papers)
  • Contact you for papers more than 50 pages (i.e. theses, thesis projects, long case analyses, etc) to set us a reasonable return schedule
  • Point out areas of concern
  • Discuss organization, style, or documentation
  • Answer questions about grammar
  • Point out repeated grammatical, mechanical, and punctuation errors.

Tutors will not write your papers or “fix” all the errors in a paper.

 

When will the tutored version of my paper be returned to me?
Generally, documents will be returned within three business days after receipt of email sent Sunday through Thursday for papers under 10 pages; within 10 business days for papers 10 pages or more. For papers more than 50 pages, a tutor will contact you to set up a reasonable return schedule. You may need to allow extra time during peak periods of the semester, which generally occur when research papers are due. Please understand that occasionally papers may get lost in transmission. If you do not receive a reply within the time period outlined above, please contact us at (361) 570-4291.

 

What kind of response will I receive back from the tutors?The tutors will send you back an email with general comments about your paper. Your paper will be attached to the email.

 

If you have an older version of Word (Microsoft Word 1998 or before), the tutored version of your paper may have words, phrases, or sentences highlighted. Tutors will highlight sections of text that they have questions or comments about. Upon highlighting a section, they will also insert a comment, telling you why they are concerned about the word(s) or sentence.

 

To view these comments in Microsoft Word, click "view" and then "comments."

 

 

 

A large comment box will appear at the bottom of the screen.  You will want to compare the comment numbers located within the highlighted information to the comment numbers within the comment box.  When you've found a match with numbers, you've found the comment that refers to the highlighted passage. 

 

If you have a more recent version of Word (version 2000 or higher), the tutored version of your paper may have words, phrases, or sentences highlighted. Tutors will highlight sections of text that they have questions or comments about. Upon highlighting a section, they will also insert a comment, telling you why they are concerned about the word(s) or sentence.

 

In recent versions of Word, comment boxes appear to the right of the passage highlighted, as in the example below.

 

 

For more information about viewing and printing tutor comments, visit A Mini-Tutorial for Viewing and Printing Tutor Comments. This tutorial will cover how you can view and print comments from your documents submitted for on line tutoring.

 

Should I make changes to the tutored version or the original document?
You will want to make changes on your original document and not on the tutored version.

 

How many times can I submit a paper?
You can submit a paper as many times as you like during the semester. However, we ask that you limit your submissions to one per day. We want you to be able to have time to analyze tutor comments and revise effectively. We also want everyone to have the opportunity to receive prompt feedback. You are not limited to a certain maximum number of tutorials per semester.

 

What do I do with the tutor's suggestions?
Once you have left a face-to-face tutorial or received comments via email, consider the tutoring sessions and the concerns you discussed and determine what, if any, changes you think you should make. You may take any or all of the tutor's suggestions, or you may take none. If you are unsure of a suggestion, you might take your paper to another tutor for a different perspective, take it to your instructor, or decide on your own what you want to do.

 

What if I still have questions about a paper after it's been tutored and emailed back to me?
If you have further questions about a paper, you can schedule an appointment in the Academic Center for a face-to-face tutoring session. You can also send the paper back to us via email after you have made revisions. Online tutoring sessions, like the face-to-face sessions, are limited to one per day.

 

Will my paper be ready for me to submit to my instructor after a tutoring session?
In face-to-face or online tutoring sessions, you assume sole responsibility for the final product. Also, formatting changes might occur during the email process and can change the paper's layout. After you've made your revisions, review your paper before you submit the final copy to your instructor.