Handling Daily Tasks

This page will outline the general tasks that you are expected to complete regularly as a Student Ambassador for the LARC. If you have any questions at any time, or any suggestions as to making a process more effective or efficient, please come see Gillian Estes, or email her at estesg@sonoma.edu. 

Opening Shift, Changing Shifts, Closing Shift Expectations & Responsibilities

While all Student Ambassadors have responsibilities throughout the day, there are some tasks that are more specific to particular times of day. The following lists cover general daily tasks, along with those specific to opening shifts, shift changes, and closing shifts.

During All Shifts

• Customer service:
  • Answer inquiries, both in person and over the phone. There is a phone guide provided below.
  • Direct tutees to their tutors; assist any tutees with scheduling appointments, setting up profiles, etc.
  • Check emails regularly, and respond as needed, or forward them to the LARC Admin if you are not sure how to respond. See the email guide below for more details.
• Continue checking the WC Online schedule for the day:
  • Issues to look for include: Writing appointments with subject specific tutors (outside of embedded tutors); subject-specific appointments with tutors that don't cover a particular course, etc. See the page on Monitoring & Using WC Online, Our Scheduling System for more specifics.
  • Enter any new appointments on the "In-Person Check-In" tracking sheet; make notes of any cancellations, or no-shows
• Tutors are expected to arrive for their shifts five minutes early, if possible, so that they do not keep tutees waiting. If tutors are not arriving in a timely manner, please be sure to let the Writing Center Assistant Director/Writing Center Faculty Director or the Tutorial Program & Supplemental Instruction Coordinator know, depending on which program the tutor works in. You can also share this information with LARC Director, and/or Admin Coordinator to pass along.
  • You will track any lateness and/or absences through the "In-Person Check-In" tracking sheet.
• Complete any tasks assigned through Keep Notes.

Opening shift

• The opening person MUST arrive by 8:30 in order to set up the center for the day, and to be ready to greet students and tutors. Admin staff will unlock the doors prior to this time. The exterior doors can then remain shut until 9AM.
• Log onto the front desk computer. Open:
  • WC Online
  • The LARC Desk email
  • The "In-Person Check-In" tracking sheet 
  • Keep Notes
  • Make sure that the phone line is active in the Zoom desktop app (see the section on phones below for more details).
• Check that everything is clean and straightened up from the day before:
  • Bring in the trash cans and recycling cans from outside LARC as needed.
  • Place the sandwich board signs at the library entrance area, and outside the main doors.
  • Unplug any Chromebooks that were charging overnight and place them in the locking drawer.
  • Check the tables for notepads, pens, etc. Get fresh supplies from the back room as needed.
• Check your email to get updated on what is currently happening and if there are any tasks you are asked to complete. Check the LARC Desk email and respond/forward as necessary.
• Check the Reception desk voicemail, if there are messages.
• Check the WC Online schedule for the day to make sure there are no mis-scheduled appointments.
  • Specifics to look for include: Writing appointments with subject specific tutors (outside of embedded tutors); subject-specific appointments with tutors that don't cover a particular course, etc. See the page on Monitoring & Using WC Online, Our Scheduling System for more specifics.
  • Enter any new appointments on the "In-Person Check-In" tracking sheet; make notes of any cancellations

Shift Changes

• Student Ambassadors are expected to arrive at their shifts five minutes early so that there can be a smooth desk shift transition.
• Inform the incoming desk person what’s going on; chat about any items needing attention. This means if you’ve left a post-it note about any issues, or phone calls, tell the incoming person so they don’t have to play detective and figure out what needs to happen.

Closing Shift

• Finish all tasks, if possible.
• Write down what needs to be done for the next Student Ambassador on shift if anything does not get completed.
• Call the next day's tutees with appointment reminders.
• Tidy up LARC:
  • Return chairs to tables and unused supplies to their spots.
  • Straighten up the front reception desk.
  • Wipe down tables with provided wipes as needed.
  • Bring the sandwich boards back in from the library entrance area and outside the main entrance.
  • Log users off of all computers. Force quit (hold down power button), if necessary.
  • Plug in any ChromeBooks that need charging.
• An admin staff member will close and lock workshop/training room doors and LARC doors under most circumstances. However, if they are not available, the Student Ambassador on duty must complete this task. THIS IS VITAL IF YOU ARE THE LAST PERSON IN LARC! All doors must be locked and closed.

Phone Guide

Answering Incoming Calls

• Answer the phone by saying: “Hello, this is the Learning and Academic Resource Center/LARC, my name is _________, how can I help you?” or some equivalent.
• *Note: Please do not say “LARC Center.” This may seem picky but since LARC stands for Learning & Academic Resource Center, when you say “LARC Center” it is essentially saying “Center Center.”
• Please get to know the numbers listed on the Important Contact information listed in the beginning of this guide. They will also be posted by the front desk.
• There are message pads for voicemails and phone calls that still need resolution. Please use these to record messages and then indicate if they have been resolved or still need attention.

General Phone How-To Info

These are basic instructions for using the phone. For more detailed instructions, IT has provided a link to a video overview, as well as a Getting Started Guide, and more. 

We recently transferred over to Zoom phones. That means that the line is not active until you are signed into the computer. You can always open the desktop Zom app once you are logged in to make sure the line is active -- click on the phone icon in the app, then on "Lines." If it is NOT active, make sure you login to the Zoom app with the desk sign in information. Molly, Gillian, and Loriann are able to answer desk calls from their offices as well if you need to step away for a moment.

• To make calls: 
  • Enter the phone number with "1" and the area code (example: 1-707-123-4567), then press "send"
  • Calling on campus:
    • Dial “4” and then the four digit campus extension, then "send". The “4” is already included in the important contact information page in the beginning of this guide. (Example: To call Gillian, pick up the phone and dial "44274")
• Placing a call on Hold:
  • While on the call, press the Hold button. To resume the call, just press Resume.
• Transferring a call (to Loriann, Molly, Sakina, or Gillian):
  • While on a call, choose "Consulatative Transfer" then dial the extension to which to transfer, and press "Transfer." For example, if transferring to Loriann, dial “4-2629”.
  • If the person answers, you should “announce” the call before transferring. For example, “Hi Loriann, I have a student who wants to talk about --- on the phone.”
• Check Voicemail:
  • Voicemail transcripts are available in the Zoom desktop app, and get sent to the LARC desk email automatically. This is great becuase if they have a specific question about a course, etc., you can forward the email to Admin to follow up on.

Email Guide

As you will want to have your student email open during your shift, we recommend the following as a general practice:

Choose one of 2 options:

• 1) Open two browsers and have your personal SSU Gmail in one browser and the LARC Desk Gmail in the other;
• 2) Or If you click on your Google account at the top right of your email account, you should see the option to “Add an account.” You can usually add the LARC Desk email account through this (though it may take some logging in and out of accounts) and then you can have both your student and the desk emails open on separate tabs.
• Please note: we do have an auto reply set up for this account, so that students are notified that they cannot expect immediate answers before or after hours (9-5 Monday through Thursday, 9-4 Friday) or on weekends. Please do not turn off or alter this auto-reply.
• If you run into problems logging into the LARC Desk Email, let us know right away and we’ll help you problem solve.
• Current Login Information: please see Gillian for the current password. The user name is simply larcdeskw

Answering and directing emails: How Often to Check Emails:

General Inquiries & Practices

• Please keep email inboxes readily available as described above so that you can answer them as quickly as possible. Check the email at least every 15 minutes.
• Try to give clear information and details in your responses.
  • For example, don't just say "We have two tutors for that subject" but instead say something like "We have two tutors who can support Math 165 - Jared and Mason. They both have open appointments this week, so please let me know what days and times will work best for you, and I will try to book an appointment for you. You can also login to the schedule through your Student Portal, and search for Math 165 using the drop-down "Course/Appt Type" menu."
• If parents email regarding private tutoring, please make note of the type of support needed (course/subjects), if they mention the age of their child/children, and any other relevant information they include. You can reply along the lines of: "Thank you for reaching out to us. I have shared this request with my supervisor, and she will check with our staff to see if anyone can offer private tutoring at this time. She will be in touch shortly." (and make sure you cc Gillian on any of these inquiries/replies).
• If parents email to ask if their child is getting tutoring (SSU student), remember that we are not allowed to share that information. You can simply tell them that FERPA regulations do not allow you to share that information (and again, cc Gillian).
• Student Emails:
  • To help students find a tutor, or make. edit, or cancel appointments, please refer to the WC Online guide.
  • If students email regarding an appointment, please reply as quickly as possible so that they don't worry.

More Specific Types of Emails & Who to CC

• WEPT/GWAR/WIC Emails:
  • If you get ANY WEPT inquiries, please let the student know that the WEPT exams have been canceled permanently. The GWAR has been waived for all students who are continuously enrolled, and those who enroll in Fall 2022 and Spring 2023, who stay continuously enrolled.
  • For students beginning in Fall 2023 or later, it will be replaced by WIC courses or other methods determined by the University/CSU. For more information, please direct students to our GWAR page and WIC FAQs.
  • IF the student has more extensive questions about the WEPT or the GWAR (Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement) that you don’t feel you can answer, please forward that email to Loriann or Gillian.
• Who To CC -  When replying to messages regarding appointment issues, etc., you will often be cc’ing someone. To help you direct those emails, please use the following general guidelines:
  • WEPT/GWAR/WIC questions go to Loriann or Gillian.
  • Writing Center related email responses get cc’d to Sakina Bryant and the Assistant Writing Center Director.
  • Questions regarding subject requests/academic support requests and Tutorial Program issues or Supplemental Instruction should have Molly cc’d on them.
  • For general LARC questions, virtual visit requests, or emails you are not sure how to answer, you can cc Loriann and Gillian.
  • Scheduling questions be cc'd to Gillian.
  • Tutor absences: Please cc the supervisor for the tutor's program AND Gillian. 
  • Please do NOT cc anyone on password reset request responses.
    • If the student’s WC Online account has been deactivated for no-shows, please forward that email to Gillian so that she can chat with the student before reactivating their account.
• Deleting & Sorting Emails:
  • To avoid an overfull inbox, you can delete some emails, and there are folders set up to store others after they are answered/forwarded, using the following guidelines:
    • Anything to do with ENGL 99T goes in the 99T folder.
    • Emails to do specifically with the Writing Center have a folder of their own, as do emails dealing directly with the Tutorial Program.
    • Subject-request or academic support request emails should go in the Subject Requests folder.
    • Appointment request emails will go in the Appointment Request folder.
    • Anything related to issues with WC Online (not including password resets and account reactivation) can go in the WC Online folder, including notifications of tutor absences.
    • Password resets and account reactivation can be deleted.
    • Emails regarding virtual classroom visits or other LARC Admin issues can go in the LARC Admin folder.
    • Please delete any marketing emails or emails from Canva, or any other marketing emails.

Other General/Regular Tasks

While not a comprehensive list, here are some of the other tasks you may complete during your shifts as Student Ambassadors. You will be trained for these tasks during your time scheduled on the desk, either by Gillian, or by the Lead Student Ambassador:

• Tracking no-show appointments; doing outreach to students with no-shows.
• Tracking appointment requests and requests for academic support (previously subject requests).
• Running reports in WC Online to check 99T appointment counts, and other appointment data.
• Assisting with any special tasks assigned by Admin staff.
• At the beginning of each semester, you will help schedule students for recurring Engl 99T appointments.

Handling Aggressive or Irate Students

Unfortunately, as with any position in customer service, you may occasionally be faced with a student who is upset. The following are LARC policies on dealing with these students. Please note that at any time, you can use Google Chat to alert Admin to the situation.

• If a student becomes aggressive and/or irate, be polite and try to remain calm. There may be several reasons for a student’s aggression (fear, frustration, stress, etc.), so try not to take it personally.
• Ask how you can assist them, and try to be sympathetic. If you feel you cannot or do not want to handle the situation, you can always refer the student to a LARC administrative staff member. Gillian, the Administrative Support Coordinator, is easily available to help, as is Molly, the Tutorial & Supplemental Instruction Coordinator.
• Be sure to inform Loriann, the LARC Director, in writing if any troublesome situations arise, even if you handled it fine. This will help to keep her informed and may help another staff member who may be having similar problems with the same student.
• If a situation with an aggressive student feels unsafe, please call campus Police & Safety Services (4-4444) and notify a LARC administrative staff member immediately. You are NEVER expected to remain in a situation or conversation that feels unsafe, or overtly or personally aggressive. If this happens, please excuse yourself and come get a member of the LARC administrative staff immediately. Your emotional and physical safety are paramount to us.
• Through Email: This is a rare situation through email, but it may occur as many students are frustrated with and/or new to online learning. If a student becomes aggressive and/or irate, be polite and try to remain calm. There may be several reasons for a student’s aggression (fear, frustration, stress, etc.), so gain, try not to take it personally.
  • Ask how you can assist them, and try to be sympathetic. If you feel you cannot or do not want to handle the situation, you can always refer the student to a LARC administrative staff member. Gillian, the Administrative Support Coordinator, is easily available to help.
  • Be sure to inform Loriann, the LARC Director, in writing if any troublesome situations arise, even if you handled it fine--it is best to cc her on replies to any upset/difficult students. This will help to keep her informed and may help another staff member who may be having similar problems with the same student.

Return to the main LARC Handbook Page.