ACE Syllabus Statement

The Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) provides peer tutoring appointments that help students at all skill levels achieve academic success. Subject tutors review content and provide specific study strategies for courses in many disciplines. Writing consultants help undergraduate students with every phase of the writing process from brainstorming to revision. ACE also offers mentorship, resources, workshops and community-oriented programs. For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call (401) 341-2226.

Syllabus and course calendar

Submitting your syllabus and course calendar to ACE can help students and tutors answer questions that frequently arise during tutoring sessions. Having your course calendar also helps us to plan workshops and other programming that is specifically tailored to the needs of your students.

Writing Support

For your course:

• In-class (or virtual) visits
• Pop-up workshops
• Peer review assistance

For instructors:

• Workshops for faculty teaching University Seminars (UNV101 or UNV102)
• Faculty teaching resources through the UNV faculty resource site on Canvas
• Individual consultations on:
  • Writing assignment design
  • Write-to-learn strategies
  • Giving feedback and assessing writing
  • Critical reading strategies
  • Integrating the writing process into your course

Class Visits and Workshops

Submit a class visit or workshop request

We offer brief class visits to describe our services, along with customized, interactive in-class workshops. These workshops are primarily led by peer tutors, with ACE staff overseeing the workshop design. Because we design these workshops specifically for your course, please give us two weeks to plan a workshop, or work with ACE coordinators prior to the semester to integrate workshops into your syllabus. Of course, we understand that sometimes schedules change and that the needs of your students might require workshops with less notice. While we are happy to be flexible, please understand we may not be able to meet last-minute requests.

Embedded Tutors

ACE supports the development of undergraduate learners and study skills. Our partners program allows us to extend our services directly into the classroom and offer learning experiences designed specifically to support student learning in your course. Faculty can request partners from ACE before the semester begins. The writing coordinator or subject tutoring coordinator will meet with you to outline partnership ideas, expectations and upcoming semester assignments.

Faculty members who work with partners should:

• Make time to communicate regularly with partners to discuss and plan upcoming workshops and student writing needs throughout the semester.
• Always be present when the partner attends class or delivers material. Partners are not instructors and cannot facilitate your course in your absence.
• Integrate workshops into the learning/writing process in support of specific assignments. Workshops delivered by partners are interactive learning experiences that engage writers in authentic ways, allowing students to immediately practice and apply the skills of the workshop to a specific assignment or upcoming exam.

Recommend a Tutor

Submit a tutor recommendation

ACE tutors are undergraduate students in their second year or above. Our best tutors often come to us via professor or advisor recommendation, so thank you in advance for your suggestions. Peer tutors are students who come from diverse backgrounds and share a few key qualities: they have a set of excellent communication skills, achievement in their academic discipline, and the ability to work collaboratively with staff and students. We especially encourage recommendations of non-native English speakers, non-traditional students of any kind, and students who hail from diverse educational, cultural and social backgrounds. Students must submit the ACE tutor application and obtain two faculty recommendations to be considered for the position. Students may apply to become a cross-trained tutor for both writing and subject tutoring and must obtain three faculty recommendations if applying for both. Applicants must meet certain hiring criteria and be interviewed by the Writing Center coordinator and/or tutor coordinator before being accepted for the position.